It depends on how you feel about tracking: Photo Lock App Hide Pictures declares data used to track you. None of it falls in Apple's most sensitive categories (health, financial, location, contacts or your own content). In total the label lists 2 data types; 51% of private photo apps we checked declare tracking.
Photo Lock App Hide Pictures privacy in one look
- 1Collects nothing
- 2Not linked
- 3Linked
- 4Tracks you
Built only from the developer's App Store label. It describes disclosure, not tested behaviour.
Photo Lock App Hide Pictures' developer reports using usage data to track you across other companies' apps and websites.
Did Photo Lock App Hide Pictures ask for something?
Pick the permission prompt you saw. We compare it with what Photo Lock App Hide Pictures' developer declared.
Location is not on Photo Lock App Hide Pictures' label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.
User Content is not on Photo Lock App Hide Pictures' label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.
Contacts is not on Photo Lock App Hide Pictures' label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.
Photo Lock App Hide Pictures declares data used to track you, so expect the “Allow to track?” prompt. Tap Ask App Not to Track; the app must keep working without it.
Health & Fitness is not on Photo Lock App Hide Pictures' label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.
A permission is what the app can reach on your iPhone; the label is what the developer says leaves it. They answer different questions.
What Photo Lock App Hide Pictures collects, explained
| Data type | What it covers | Where to limit it |
|---|---|---|
| IdentifiersNot linked to you | An account ID, screen name, customer number or a device-level ID such as the advertising identifier. | Settings › Privacy & Security › Tracking: turn off Allow Apps to Request to Track, or tap Ask App Not to Track when prompted. |
| Usage DataUsed to track youLinked to you | What you tap, open and view inside the app, plus which ads you have seen. | There is no single iOS switch. Look for an analytics or personalised-ads toggle in the app's own settings. |
What Photo Lock App Hide Pictures' label means for you
Photo Lock App Hide Pictures' label has 1 type under “Data Used to Track You”, 1 type under “Data Linked to You”, 1 type under “Data Not Linked to You”. A data type can appear in more than one section when it is used for different purposes — for example, identifiers used for both analytics and advertising.
Tracking is the declaration that most separates apps. It means usage data from Photo Lock App Hide Pictures can be combined with data from other companies to target or measure ads, or shared with data brokers. On iOS 14.5 and later, the app must ask your permission before tracking you through the advertising identifier; answering “Ask App Not to Track” blocks that identifier and tells the developer you have declined.
None of the data types fall into the categories most people consider sensitive: health, financial information, precise location, contacts, browsing history or the content you create.
Private-photo apps promise to keep pictures out of your main library. The label shows what leaves the phone; it cannot show whether the hiding is a real lock or just a separate folder. Check whether the app needs full Photos access or works with selected photos, and whether hidden items still appear in iCloud Photos.
Among the 85 private photo apps in our snapshot with a label, 51% declare tracking, 61% collect data linked to you and 18% say they collect nothing. Photo Lock App Hide Pictures lists 2 data types, fewer than the average of 3.1 for this group.
Utilities range from calculators to VPNs, so their labels vary more than any other category. A simple tool that collects identifiers and usage data for tracking is a sign of advertising SDKs.
Settings to check for Photo Lock App Hide Pictures
- 1
Tracking
Settings › Privacy & Security › Tracking. If “Allow Apps to Request to Track” is off, apps cannot ask, and they are told to treat you as having declined. You can also turn it off for this app alone.
- 2
Photos
Settings › Privacy & Security › Photos. Limited Access lets you pick exactly which pictures the app can see; Add Photos Only lets it save without reading your library.
- 3
Lock the app
On iOS 18 and later, touch and hold the icon and choose Require Face ID. Anyone who picks up your unlocked phone then needs your face, fingerprint or passcode to open it.
- 4
Notifications
Settings › Notifications › Photo Lock App Hide Pictures › Show Previews: When Unlocked keeps message and account details off the Lock Screen.
Does Photo Lock App Hide Pictures track you?
Usage data. Apple defines tracking as linking data from this app with data from other companies' apps, websites or offline sources for targeted advertising or ad measurement, or sharing it with a data broker.
Does Photo Lock App Hide Pictures track you? Full answer and how to stop it →
Lock Photo Lock App Hide Pictures behind Face ID
- Find Photo Lock App Hide Pictures on your Home Screen or in App Library.
- Touch and hold the icon until the quick-actions menu opens.
- Tap Require Face ID (or Require Touch ID / Require Passcode, depending on your iPhone).
- Tap Require Face ID again to confirm. Photo Lock App Hide Pictures now asks for authentication every time it opens.
The lock is an iPhone feature, so it works whether or not Photo Lock App Hide Pictures has a passcode of its own. It does not change what the app sends to its developer.
Lock or hide Photo Lock App Hide Pictures: step-by-step guide →
About Photo Lock App Hide Pictures
| Developer | Arvind Murali |
| App Store category | Utilities |
| Latest version | 1.1, released June 2026 |
| First released | June 2026 |
| Requires | iOS 15.0 or later |
| Size | 39 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ |
| Languages | 23 (AF, AR, BN, DA, NL, EN, FR, DE…) |
| Bundle ID | com.am.private.vault |
The current version shipped in June 2026. That is recent enough that the label should reflect current practices, but check the App Store page again before relying on it.
Also by Arvind Murali: File Manager Files & Vault.
What the label cannot tell you
- A label is self-reported. Apple publishes the developer's answers and can reject apps that misrepresent them, but it does not independently verify what Photo Lock App Hide Pictures sends.
- It does not say where data is stored, how long it is kept, whether it is encrypted, or which companies receive it. The privacy policy covers those points.
- Optional data counts: if a feature lets you add something (a profile photo, a phone number), the type is listed even if you never use the feature.
- Data handled only on your iPhone is not 'collected', so a no-collection label is compatible with an app that reads your files locally.
- Third-party sign-in, payment processors and SDKs are supposed to be included, but a label can lag behind a new version.
The question to ask Photo Lock App Hide Pictures' developer: Are my pictures stored only on this phone, or uploaded?
Photo Lock App Hide Pictures vs similar private photo apps
- BeReal
- App Lock Locked Apps Vault
- PicLoop
- CalcX Vault Secret Photo Lock
- Photo Lock App Hide Pictures (this app)
- Video Safe 2
- Baby Photo Editor & Story Art
Fewer types is not automatically safer: a cloud backup app has to collect your files to work. Compare like with like.
Look up any of our apps in seconds, or put two labels side by side.
Apps similar to Photo Lock App Hide Pictures
All private photo apps → Who tracks you? A–Z → Apps that collect identifiers → Privacy label decoder →
Your Photo Lock App Hide Pictures privacy checklist
Done. You have applied every control the label points to.
True or false?
- Right.Not quite.
True: it lists usage data under Data Used to Track You.
- Right.Not quite.
Labels are self-reported by developers. Apple can reject or remove apps that misrepresent practices, but it does not audit each label.
- Right.Not quite.
True: Identifiers appears on its label, in the Not Linked to You section.
- Right.Not quite.
It is collected and sent; the developer says it is de-identified rather than tied to your account or device.
- Right.Not quite.
Apple's rules require apps to work the same whether or not you allow tracking.
Photo Lock App Hide Pictures privacy FAQ
Is Photo Lock App Hide Pictures safe to use?
Does Photo Lock App Hide Pictures track you?
What data does Photo Lock App Hide Pictures collect?
Who makes Photo Lock App Hide Pictures?
Can I lock Photo Lock App Hide Pictures with Face ID?
How does Photo Lock App Hide Pictures compare with other private photo apps?
Are my pictures stored only on this phone, or uploaded?
How do I delete my data from Photo Lock App Hide Pictures?
For photos and documents you choose to keep apart from your main library, see VaultForYou.