Your passcode, your choice
A 4, 6 or 8-digit passcode, a password or a pattern. Add Face ID or Touch ID on top, or leave biometrics off. Wrong guesses are slowed with growing delays.
Vault Max
By Mad Max Labs, the independent studio of Syed Zaid.
Private photo vault. No cloud.
Photos, videos, notes and files encrypted on your iPhone, iPad and iPhone Duo. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is collected, and there is no account to create. Start free, then choose a subscription or lifetime unlock.
No accountNo serversNo analyticsOn-device encryption
The whole app, on the phone
No account, no servers, no analytics. The app's only network traffic is to the App Store, for purchases and subscription status. There is no telemetry and nothing to opt out of.
Free to start$19.99 onceAge 4+
Built for iPhone Duo
Privacy that fits the fold.
Vault Max uses the whole inner display, moves its controls into the side strip on the outer display, and locks when you fold the phone shut if Lock when folded shut is enabled. Open it and the tabs become a sidebar with more columns in the grid.
Stand it partially open on a table and the viewer turns into a flex-mode photo stand: the picture on the upper half, the filmstrip and controls on the lower half. Touch ID in the side button unlocks it.
Decoy and duress vaults
Every vault looks like the only one.
Each vault has its own passcode and looks exactly like the real one. Give a decoy its own harmless photos and that is what opens when its passcode is entered. The lock screen does not list your vaults.
A duress vault can be set to erase every other vault the moment it is opened. This is optional and off by default. The creating vault can manage its child vaults in Settings; the keyring on disk always contains eight identical slots.
A working calculator, if you want one
Type your passcode. Press equals.
Turn on disguise mode and the app opens as a real calculator that adds, subtracts and divides. Type your passcode and press equals to unlock; press and hold equals for the normal lock screen.
Choose an alternative app icon to match: Calculator, Notes, Weather or Timer. A privacy cover hides the contents in the app switcher. Optional shake and face-down gestures can lock it.
Everything else you expect
A real vault, not a PIN screen in front of a folder.
Break-in photos
Optional Break-In Alerts record failed attempts, including the time, attempt count and code tried. They can include a front-camera photo when permission and camera availability allow it.
Share in while locked
Share supported photo, video and file attachments into the encrypted inbox while locked. They appear when you unlock the main vault. The extension has no vault decryption keys; text and web links are skipped with feedback.
Live Photos in one place
When the source provides both parts, the still and motion clip are stored as one encrypted item. Touch and hold to play; check the saved result after import and export before removing originals.
Private camera
Capture photos and videos directly into the vault. For imported media, open a sample at full size, check playback and inspect saved exports in their destination before removing your originals.
Albums, favorites, trash
Albums with icons and colours, favorites, filters and search, drag and drop. The trash keeps deleted items for 7, 30 or 90 days before they are really gone.
Clean sharing
Optional metadata stripping removes location and camera data from shared still photos. Videos, Live Photo motion clips and documents keep their original metadata.
Notes and documents
Encrypted notes beside your photos, and previews for PDFs and other files you bring in from Files.
One backup file
A password-protected .vaultmax file holds the current vault and its descendants. Save it through Files and restore it in Vault Max, with new passcodes for restored child vaults.
How the encryption works
Real encryption, in plain words.
Every file is encrypted with AES-256-GCM under its own key, in chunks, with keys derived from your passcode and bound to your device's Keychain. Here is what that means, step by step.
- 01
Your passcode becomes a key
The passcode is stretched with PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256, calibrated to take about a third of a second on your device, then combined with a random secret that lives only in the device's Keychain. The result opens your vault's master key. Neither half is enough on its own.
- 02
Every file gets its own key
From the master key, each file derives a key of its own and is encrypted with AES-256-GCM in one-megabyte chunks. Each chunk is authenticated and bound to its position and the file's length, so a file that has been cut, reordered or altered fails to open instead of opening wrong.
- 03
Playback from encrypted storage
Supported videos stream in small slices from encrypted storage. Other playback formats may use a temporary decrypted copy, removed when playback ends or the vault locks.
- 04
Nothing on disk says what is yours
Files have random names, thumbnails and notes and the index are encrypted too, and the keyring holds eight identical slots whether you have one vault or six. A copy of the app's files does not reveal how many vaults there are or which file belongs to which.
What this does not do, said plainly
- If you forget your passcode and have no backup, your vault cannot be recovered by anyone, including us. No server holds a copy of your keys. That is the point.
- Someone with a copy of the app's files can see how many encrypted files there are and how big they are, not what is in them or which vault they belong to.
- The duress wipe is local and best-effort, and the screenshot shield is best-effort, as on every iPhone app.
Free to start
Subscribe or keep it for life.
Free
$0
To start
- Up to 50 photos, videos and documents per vault
- 1 extra vault, decoy or duress
- Every security feature included
- Unlimited notes
- Viewing, export, delete and backup never limited
Weekly
$1.49
Per week · auto-renews
- Unlimited photos, videos and documents
- Up to 8 total vaults per device
- Every security feature included
- Cancel in Settings; access lasts through the paid period
- Existing files stay accessible after expiry
Monthly
$3.99
Per month · auto-renews
- Unlimited photos, videos and documents
- Up to 8 total vaults per device
- Every security feature included
- Cancel in Settings; access lasts through the paid period
- Existing files stay accessible after expiry
Annual
$14.99
Per year · auto-renews
- Unlimited photos, videos and documents
- Up to 8 total vaults per device
- Every security feature included
- Cancel in Settings; access lasts through the paid period
- Existing files stay accessible after expiry
Lifetime Unlock
$19.99
One-time purchase
- Unlimited photos, videos and documents
- Up to 8 total vaults per device
- Every security feature included
- One payment, no renewal
- Bought once on the App Store, restorable on your other devices
Prices shown are in US dollars; the app shows your local App Store price before purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the current period ends. Payment is charged to your Apple Account. Manage or cancel in Settings → About → Manage Subscription. Lifetime Unlock is a single payment with no renewal. All paid plans have the same benefits on every vault on your device. Restore Purchases is in Settings, under About. Terms of Use · Privacy Policy
The Vault Max guides
Choose carefully. Keep what matters.
The best photo vault apps for iPhone, by what you need.
Compare the price, the account and the backup. Our picks explain where Vault Max leads and which other workflows to consider.
Vault Max vs Vaultaire
Calculator entry, local privacy and a lower one-time price.
Pay once or renew each year?
Change the assumptions and compare the actual totals.
Hidden album or separate vault?
Start with the built-in option and understand the difference.
Before changing phones
Keep the archive, its password and your recovery plan together.
All privacy and comparison guidesHow a local vault worksExplore the privacy controls
Questions
Asked before buying.
More, including backups, Live Photos and the share sheet, on the help page.
Who makes Vault Max?
Vault Max is made and published by Mad Max Labs, the independent studio of Syed Zaid. Its official website is vaultmax.madmaxlabs.com. Apple's App Store lists the app as Vault Max and its developer as Syed Zaid, who operates under the Mad Max Labs trading name.
Does Vault Max upload my photos anywhere?
No. Everything you put in it is encrypted and stored on your phone. There is no account, no server and no analytics; the only network connection the app makes is to Apple's App Store for purchases and subscription status.
What happens if I forget my passcode?
There is no account reset link or server copy we can recover for you. If already-enabled Face ID or Touch ID still opens the vault, create an encrypted backup while you have access. A readable .vaultmax backup and its password let you restore with a new vault credential. Without a working unlock method or usable backup, we cannot recover the encrypted contents.
Is it free?
Free to start. The free plan holds up to 50 photos, videos and documents per vault plus one extra vault, with every security feature included. Lifetime Unlock is a one-time $19.99 purchase for unlimited items and up to eight total vaults per device. You can also subscribe for $1.49/week, $3.99/month or $14.99/year (U.S.). Every paid plan has the same benefits.
Can anyone tell that I have more than one vault?
The lock screen does not list your vaults. Every vault opens with its own passcode and uses the same interface; the vault that created a child vault can manage it in Settings. On disk, the keyring has eight identical slots and files have random names.
Does the calculator really work?
Yes. With the disguise on, the app opens as a working calculator. Type your passcode and press equals to unlock; press and hold equals to get the normal lock screen.
What about long videos?
Each file is encrypted in one-megabyte chunks, so a multi-gigabyte video is never loaded into memory in one piece. Supported videos stream from encrypted storage. Other playback formats may use a temporary decrypted copy, removed when playback ends or the vault locks.
Which devices does it run on?
iPhone, iPad and iPhone Duo on iOS 26 or later. On the Duo it moves its controls into the side strip when closed, locks when you fold it shut if Lock when folded shut is enabled, and turns the viewer into a flex-mode stand when the phone is partially open.
Private photo vault. No cloud.
Available on the App Store. Free to start. Choose a weekly, monthly or annual subscription, or Lifetime Unlock for $19.99 once.