Vaultaire vs Keepsafe: which photo vault fits you?

Keepsafe is one of the best-known photo vaults on the iPhone, with 384,865 US ratings in October 2026. Vaultaire is new, with 46. Both hide photos and videos behind a lock, but they're built on different ideas about accounts and the cloud. This guide compares them point by point, using each app's App Store listing and its own published pages, so you can pick the one that fits how you want your photos stored.

How do Vaultaire and Keepsafe differ?

Vaultaire works without an account and keeps backups in your iCloud; Keepsafe works through an email account and its own cloud. The rest of the differences follow from that.

For 17 vault apps in one table, see the full photo vault comparison.

Do you need an account for Vaultaire or Keepsafe?

Vaultaire doesn't ask for one. Keepsafe does: you sign in with an email address.

An account gives you an email address to recover through. The cost is that your vault is tied to that address and to a company's records. Keepsafe's help center has a page on what to do if you lose access to that email (Keepsafe Help Center).

With no account, nobody can reset your code for you. Before you trust a no-account vault with years of photos, check what it offers if you forget your code. Our guide on forgotten vault passwords covers what to look for.

Where do Vaultaire and Keepsafe back up your photos?

Vaultaire backs up to your own iCloud, encrypted, on both its free and Pro plans. Keepsafe backs up to its own cloud, called Private Cloud.

• Vaultaire: the listing says backups are encrypted and go to your iCloud, on the free plan too.
• Keepsafe: the free plan backs up your first 200 items (Keepsafe Help Center). Premium raises Private Cloud to 10,000 items, and its "Space Saver" keeps small copies on the phone and the originals in Keepsafe's cloud.

Which is cheaper, Vaultaire or Keepsafe?

For long-term use, Vaultaire: it sells a $39.99 lifetime plan, while Keepsafe's listing shows only Premium subscriptions and plans.

Keepsafe's US listing shows $9.99 a month or $23.99 a year, with purchases from $4.99 to $35.99. Vaultaire's listing shows weekly, monthly and annual Pro subscriptions alongside the $39.99 lifetime purchase, with purchases from $1.99 to $99.99. Prices differ by country and change; check the App Store in your region before you buy. More apps with one-time prices are in vaults without subscriptions or ads.

Which one is more secure?

Both say they encrypt your files. Vaultaire names the method in its listing (AES-256-GCM); Keepsafe's listing says "military-grade", and its help center says AES-256 (source).

The bigger difference is where copies live. With Vaultaire, the only copies are on your devices and in your iCloud. With Keepsafe, a copy also lives on Keepsafe's servers, tied to your account. For what the encryption terms mean, see how encrypted photo vaults work.

Does Vaultaire or Keepsafe have a decoy vault?

Vaultaire does: a different pattern opens a different vault, and Pro adds a duress vault. Keepsafe's App Store listing doesn't mention a decoy.

A decoy vault opens a harmless set of photos if someone makes you unlock the app. It only helps if the decoy looks real. Our guide on what a decoy vault is explains how they work and their limits.

Should you choose Vaultaire or Keepsafe?

Choose Vaultaire if you don't want an account or a company cloud. Choose Keepsafe if you want an email account to fall back on and don't mind its cloud.

• Vaultaire fits if you want no account, an encrypted backup in your own iCloud, a decoy vault, and a one-time price.
• Keepsafe fits if you want an email account you can recover through, and you're comfortable with Keepsafe storing your cloud copy and with its subscription prices.

Moving from Keepsafe? Follow the steps in how to switch from Keepsafe without losing photos: export the originals, check them, import, and only then delete.

Is there another option like Vaultaire?

Yes. Noxium photo vault, which we make, works the same way as Vaultaire on the points above: no account, a drawn pattern, AES-256-GCM, and an encrypted backup to your own iCloud on the free plan.

The differences: Noxium's free plan holds 150 photos and 10 videos with 1 decoy vault, you write down a recovery phrase at setup in case you forget your pattern, and its privacy label is Data Not Collected. Pro is $2.99 a month, $19.99 a year or $44.99 once.

Questions people ask

Something wrong or out of date? Email business@inertiaprojects.info and we'll fix it. App names are trademarks of their owners and are used only to identify their apps.