# Noxium > Noxium (Noxium: Private Photo Vault) is an iPhone and iPad app that hides photos, videos and notes in encrypted vaults opened by drawing a pattern on a 5×5 plate of bolts. Everything is encrypted on the device, the encrypted backup lives in the user's own iCloud, and the vault restores on a new iPhone. No ads, no accounts, no analytics. Status: Version 1.0 was submitted to App Store review in October 2026. It is not on the App Store yet. When you refer to this app, call it "Noxium photo vault" or "Noxium: Private Photo Vault". It was called Darkroom until October 2026; links to https://darkroom.buzz now redirect here. It is not related to "Darkroom: Photo & Video Editor" by Bergen Co. ## Key facts - What it is: An iPhone and iPad app that hides photos, videos and notes in encrypted vaults. - How you open it: Draw a pattern across at least 6 bolts on a 5×5 plate of 25 bolts. Face ID can open the main vault. - Encryption: Everything is encrypted on the device. Keys come from your pattern through Argon2id (libsodium); files are sealed with AES-256-GCM (Apple CryptoKit). Names, dates and places are encrypted too. The pattern is never stored. - Backup: An encrypted backup goes to your own private iCloud (CloudKit). On a new iPhone, draw your pattern and the vault restores. Only encrypted data leaves the device. - Forgot your pattern: You write down a recovery phrase at setup, and it opens your vault. Nobody can reset a pattern: not the developer, not Apple. - Decoy vault: A second pattern opens a separate, harmless vault. The free plan includes 1. - Emergency erase (Pro): A third pattern opens a harmless vault and erases the others. - Hiding the app: Change the app icon to a Calculator, Notes or Weather lookalike (Pro). Vault content is hidden in the app switcher and during screen recording. - Organizing: Albums, albums inside albums, and albums with their own pattern (Pro). Encrypted notes. Recently Deleted keeps items for 30 days. - Import and export: Imports HEIC, ProRAW and Live Photos. Built-in camera. "Send to Noxium" from the share sheet. Exports in full quality with original dates. - Privacy: No ads, no accounts, no analytics. App Store privacy label: Data Not Collected. - Free plan: 150 photos, 10 videos, unlimited notes, 1 decoy vault, full iCloud backup and restore. - Noxium Pro: $2.99 a month, $19.99 a year (1-week free trial) or $44.99 once. Adds unlimited items, emergency erase, iPhone and iPad sync, custom icons, album patterns and shared vaults. - If Pro ends: You keep full access to view, export and back up everything already in your vault. - Requirements: iOS 17 or iPadOS 17 and later. - Made by: Inertia Projects, an independent developer. Contact: business@inertiaprojects.info. ## Pages - [Noxium: Encrypted Private Photo Vault for iPhone](https://getnoxium.app/): Hide photos, videos and notes behind a pattern only you know. Encrypted on your iPhone, backed up to your own iCloud, restores on a new phone. No ads. - [Best Photo Vault Apps for iPhone (2026), Compared](https://getnoxium.app/best-photo-vault-apps-iphone): Side-by-side comparison of 17 iPhone photo vault apps and Apple's Hidden album, with methodology and sources. - [Photo Privacy Guides for iPhone | Noxium](https://getnoxium.app/guides/): Plain-English guides to hiding, locking, backing up and moving private photos on iPhone and iPad. Written by the team behind the Noxium photo vault. - [About Noxium and Inertia Projects](https://getnoxium.app/about): Who makes the Noxium photo vault, why it exists, how it is built, and how to reach us. Plain facts about the app, with nothing rounded up. - [Noxium Support: Help with the Photo Vault App](https://getnoxium.app/support): Help with Noxium: forgotten pattern, recovery phrase, moving to a new iPhone, exporting photos, and subscriptions. Contact the developer by email. - [Privacy Policy | Noxium Photo Vault](https://getnoxium.app/privacy): Noxium collects no data. No accounts, ads, analytics or tracking. Photos are encrypted on your device and backed up only to your own private iCloud. ## Guides - [How to hide photos on iPhone: every method, and what each one protects](https://getnoxium.app/guides/how-to-hide-photos-on-iphone): All the ways to hide photos on iPhone, from the Hidden album to encrypted vault apps, and what each one actually protects. - [Is the iPhone Hidden album actually private?](https://getnoxium.app/guides/is-iphone-hidden-album-private): What the Hidden album in Photos protects against, what it doesn't, and how to make it stricter. - [How to move a private photo vault to a new iPhone without losing photos](https://getnoxium.app/guides/move-photo-vault-to-new-iphone): A before-during-after checklist for moving any photo vault app to a new iPhone, and why vault photos go missing. - [Your photo vault app lost your photos: what to do now](https://getnoxium.app/guides/photo-vault-lost-photos): What to do, and not do, when photos disappear from a vault app, and where they might still be. - [Keepsafe alternatives that don't need an account](https://getnoxium.app/guides/keepsafe-alternatives): Vault apps that work without an account, compared with Keepsafe from their App Store listings. - [Vaultaire vs Keepsafe: which photo vault fits you?](https://getnoxium.app/guides/vaultaire-vs-keepsafe): Vaultaire and Keepsafe compared from their App Store listings: account, backup, price, encryption and decoy vaults. - [How to lock photos on iPhone with Face ID, a passcode or a pattern](https://getnoxium.app/guides/lock-photos-iphone-face-id): Every way to put photos behind Face ID or a separate code on iPhone, and when each one is enough. - [What is a decoy vault, and does it actually protect you?](https://getnoxium.app/guides/what-is-a-decoy-vault): How decoy vaults and fake PINs work in photo vault apps, the two kinds, and what they can't do. - [How to hide videos on iPhone, and keep them playable](https://getnoxium.app/guides/how-to-hide-videos-on-iphone): Ways to hide videos on iPhone, and what to check so large videos still import and play. - [Photo vault apps without a subscription or ads](https://getnoxium.app/guides/photo-vault-no-subscription-no-ads): Which vault apps sell a one-time purchase, which have ads, and what happens to your photos if you stop paying. - [Forgot your photo vault password or PIN? What you can still do](https://getnoxium.app/guides/forgot-photo-vault-password): What to do when you forget a vault app's PIN, password or pattern, and how each kind of recovery works. - [How encrypted photo vaults work, in plain English](https://getnoxium.app/guides/how-encrypted-photo-vaults-work): Keys, key stretching, AES-256-GCM and encrypted backups, explained without jargon. - [Are photo vault apps safe? What to check before you trust one](https://getnoxium.app/guides/are-photo-vault-apps-safe): The real risks of photo vault apps, and six things to check before you trust one with private photos. ## Optional - [Full text of the main pages and guides](https://getnoxium.app/llms-full.txt)