It depends on how you feel about tracking: Secret Photo Vault Album declares data used to track you. The sensitive items are location. In total the label lists 7 data types; 46% of photo vaults we checked declare tracking.
Secret Photo Vault Album 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.
Secret Photo Vault Album's developer reports using identifiers to track you across other companies' apps and websites.
Did Secret Photo Vault Album ask for something?
Pick the permission prompt you saw. We compare it with what Secret Photo Vault Album's developer declared.
Secret Photo Vault Album lists Location on its label, linked to you. Choose While Using and turn off Precise Location if the feature works without it.
User Content is not on Secret Photo Vault Album's 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 Secret Photo Vault Album's 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.
Secret Photo Vault Album 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 Secret Photo Vault Album's 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 Secret Photo Vault Album collects, explained
| Data type | What it covers | Where to limit it |
|---|---|---|
| LocationSensitiveLinked to you | Where your phone is, either precisely (street level) or approximately (city or area). | Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services: choose Never or While Using, and turn off Precise Location if the app does not need it. |
| Contact InfoLinked to you | Your name, email address, phone number or postal address. | Use Sign in with Apple with Hide My Email where offered, and check the app's account and marketing preferences. |
| PurchasesNot linked to you | What you have bought or tend to buy. | Review in-app marketing settings; subscriptions are listed in Settings › [your name] › Subscriptions. |
| IdentifiersUsed to track youLinked 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 DataLinked 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. |
| Other DataLinked to you | Any data the developer did not fit into Apple's named categories. | Read the app's privacy policy, linked from its App Store page. |
| DiagnosticsLinked to youNot linked to you | Crash logs, launch times, hang rates and energy use. | Settings › Privacy & Security › Analytics & Improvements › Share With App Developers controls what Apple passes on; the app's own crash reporting is separate. |
What Secret Photo Vault Album's label means for you
Secret Photo Vault Album's label has 1 type under “Data Used to Track You”, 6 types under “Data Linked to You”, 2 types 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 identifiers from Secret Photo Vault Album 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.
The items that deserve the most attention are location. Location history reveals home, work and routines. Precise location deserves the most scrutiny.
A photo vault holds the pictures you least want seen, so the questions that matter are where the files live, whether they are encrypted, and what happens if you forget the PIN or change phones. Import a harmless test photo, then confirm the original in Photos is deleted or kept as you expect, and try the app's backup and restore before trusting it with anything important.
Among the 167 photo vaults in our snapshot with a label, 46% declare tracking, 54% collect data linked to you and 28% say they collect nothing. Secret Photo Vault Album lists 7 data types, more than the average of 2.5 for this group.
Photo and video apps usually request access to your photo library. iOS lets you share only selected photos, which keeps the rest of the library — and its location metadata — away from the app.
Settings to check for Secret Photo Vault Album
- 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
Location
Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services › Secret Photo Vault Album. Choose While Using or Never, and switch off Precise Location if a city-level answer is enough.
- 3
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.
- 4
Sign-in
When creating an account, Sign in with Apple can give the app a relay address from Hide My Email instead of your real one.
- 5
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.
- 6
Notifications
Settings › Notifications › Secret Photo Vault Album › Show Previews: When Unlocked keeps message and account details off the Lock Screen.
Does Secret Photo Vault Album track you?
Identifiers. 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 Secret Photo Vault Album track you? Full answer and how to stop it →
Lock Secret Photo Vault Album behind Face ID
- Find Secret Photo Vault Album 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. Secret Photo Vault Album now asks for authentication every time it opens.
The lock is an iPhone feature, so it works whether or not Secret Photo Vault Album has a passcode of its own. It does not change what the app sends to its developer.
About Secret Photo Vault Album
| Developer | RV AppStudios LLC |
| App Store category | Photo & Video (also Utilities) |
| Latest version | 3.5, released October 2024 |
| First released | April 2019 |
| Requires | iOS 13.0 or later |
| Size | 84 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ |
| Languages | 5 (EN, FR, DE, JA, ES) |
| Bundle ID | com.rvappstudios.photo-vault-hide-photos-videos |
The current version shipped in October 2024, over a year before our snapshot. Older apps can lag behind iOS privacy features such as limited photo and contact access.
Also by RV AppStudios LLC: Best Secret Folder, Password Manager Secure, Duplicate Contact Cleaner Ⓞ.
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 Secret Photo Vault Album 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 Secret Photo Vault Album's developer: Can I get my photos back on a new iPhone without the old one?
Secret Photo Vault Album vs similar photo vaults
- Secret Photo Vault Album (this app)
- LockPic:Secret Photo Vault
- Veilify
- Secret Photo Vault-Hide Photos
- Gallery Vault Secrete Photo
- Gallery Lock Private Vault
- Photo Vault Secret Base
- Photo Vault Secret Locker
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 Secret Photo Vault Album
All photo vaults → Who tracks you? A–Z → Apps that collect location → Privacy label decoder →
Your Secret Photo Vault Album privacy checklist
Done. You have applied every control the label points to.
True or false?
- Right.Not quite.
True: it lists identifiers 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: Location appears on its label.
- 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.
Secret Photo Vault Album privacy FAQ
Is Secret Photo Vault Album safe to use?
Does Secret Photo Vault Album track you?
What data does Secret Photo Vault Album collect?
Who makes Secret Photo Vault Album?
Can I lock Secret Photo Vault Album with Face ID?
How does Secret Photo Vault Album compare with other photo vaults?
Can I get my photos back on a new iPhone without the old one?
How do I delete my data from Secret Photo Vault Album?
For photos and documents you choose to keep apart from your main library, see VaultForYou.