We make Photo Vault, a vault app, and it is one of the apps in the table. This page is about any vault app: the rule is the same for all of them.
Why the iCloud backup does not save them
Apple's iCloud Backup normally includes app data (Apple, What does iCloud back up?). But an app can mark files so they are left out of backups (Apple developer documentation). Vault apps do this on purpose, so your private photos do not end up in an ordinary iPhone or computer backup. The side effect: when you delete the app, iOS deletes its files, and there is no copy in the backup to restore.
Apple's own Hidden album is different: it is part of the Photos library and, with iCloud Photos, it is in iCloud like any other photo.
What four popular vaults say
From each app's US App Store listing, read on 25 October 2026:
| App | Its own cloud copy | What the listing says about deleting the app |
|---|---|---|
| Private Photo Vault | Cloud Vault, encrypted with a password only you know; the listing says the free version does not back up to Cloud Vault | Asks you to back up so a lost device does not mean lost data. If you forget the Cloud Vault password, the backup cannot be opened |
| Keepsafe (Secret Photo Vault) | Private Cloud of up to 10,000 items, a Premium feature | Not stated |
| SPV - Secret Photo Vault | None: it keeps everything on the device | “If you delete the app, your photos & data saved in the app will also be deleted” |
| PV - Secret Photo Album | Cloud sync and backup to Dropbox or Google Drive for paid members | “If you never backup the data in the app, the photos/videos will be gone” |
| Photo Vault (ours) | Optional copy in your own iCloud, encrypted on the iPhone (Premium to turn on), and a password-protected backup file | Without a copy, everything is gone. With the iCloud copy or a backup file, you can restore it (details below) |
Exactly what happens in Photo Vault
Read from the code of Photo Vault 1.3.0 on 25 October 2026:
- No copy: deleting the app deletes every photo, video and album in the vault, and Recently Deleted with them. They are not in the iPhone backup.
- With the iCloud copy on (off by default; turning it on is part of Premium): photos already uploaded stay in your private iCloud space after you delete the app. Each one is encrypted on the iPhone before it leaves, with a key only your devices can read. Reinstall the app with the same Apple ID and, when the vault is empty, it offers to restore from iCloud. Restoring does not need Premium. You set a new PIN; album passwords come back.
- With a backup file (Settings, iCloud & Backup, Export Backup; no Premium needed): one
.pvbackupfile with your photos, videos, albums and album passwords, encrypted with a password of at least 8 characters. Keep it in Files, iCloud Drive or on a Mac. It restores on any iPhone, even with another Apple ID, with that password. Without the password nobody can open it, us included. - Never restored: the decoy vault (it is never uploaded or exported), the PIN itself, and items in Recently Deleted.
Step by step
- Open the vault before you delete it. Look for Export, Backup or Cloud in its settings. If there is nothing, export the photos to Photos or Files.
- Make the copy. In Photo Vault: Settings, iCloud & Backup. Turn on the iCloud copy, or use Export Backup and choose a password you will remember.
- Check that the copy opens. Open a few photos and one video from the export, or restore the backup file on another device.
- Write down the passwords. A Cloud Vault password (Private Photo Vault) or a backup file password (Photo Vault) cannot be recovered by anyone.
- Cancel the subscription if you are leaving. Deleting an app does not cancel it: Settings, your name, Subscriptions.
- Only then delete the app. Restore later from the app's own copy, not from the iPhone backup.
If you already deleted it
Reinstall the same app and sign in to the same Apple ID or account. If it had its own cloud copy (Private Photo Vault's Cloud Vault, Keepsafe's Private Cloud, Photo Vault's iCloud copy) it can restore from there. If it did not, the photos are gone: restoring the whole iPhone from an iCloud backup will not bring them back, because the app left them out of it.
Switching phones rather than deleting? See how to move a photo vault to a new iPhone.
Sources
- Apple, What does iCloud back up? (108770), published 1 May 2025, read 25 October 2026.
- Apple developer documentation, Optimizing your app's data for iCloud backup.
- App Store listings (US) of Private Photo Vault, Keepsafe, SPV and PV, read 25 October 2026.
- Photo Vault 1.3.0 code (backup exclusion, iCloud copy, backup file, decoy), read 25 October 2026.
Questions people ask
If I delete a photo vault app, do I lose my photos?
Usually yes. Vault apps keep their files out of the iPhone backup, so deleting the app deletes the photos unless you exported them or the app had its own cloud copy.
Can I get vault photos back from an iCloud backup?
No, in most vault apps. They mark their files to be left out of iCloud and computer backups. Only the app's own copy (a cloud copy or an exported file) can bring them back.
Does reinstalling the vault bring the photos back?
Only if the app had its own cloud copy. In Photo Vault, with the iCloud copy on, reinstalling with the same Apple ID offers to restore them; you set a new PIN.
Does Photo Vault's backup need the same Apple ID?
The iCloud copy does. The backup file does not: it restores on any iPhone with its password.
What is never restored in Photo Vault?
The decoy vault, the PIN and items in Recently Deleted.