None declared
It depends on how you feel about tracking: Gallery Vault Private Photos 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 3 data types; 51% of private photo apps we checked declare tracking.
Gallery Vault Private Photos 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.
Gallery Vault Private Photos' developer reports using identifiers, usage data, diagnostics to track you across other companies' apps and websites.
Did Gallery Vault Private Photos ask for something?
Pick the permission prompt you saw. We compare it with what Gallery Vault Private Photos' developer declared.
Location is not on Gallery Vault Private Photos' 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 Gallery Vault Private Photos' 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 Gallery Vault Private Photos' 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.
Gallery Vault Private Photos 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 Gallery Vault Private Photos' 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 Gallery Vault Private Photos collects, explained
| Data type | What it covers | Where to limit it |
|---|---|---|
| IdentifiersUsed to track youNot 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 youNot linked 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. |
| DiagnosticsUsed to track 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 Gallery Vault Private Photos' label means for you
Gallery Vault Private Photos' label has 3 types under “Data Used to Track You”, 3 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, usage data, diagnostics from Gallery Vault Private Photos 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. Gallery Vault Private Photos lists 3 data types, about the same as the average of 3.1 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 Gallery Vault Private Photos
- 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 › Gallery Vault Private Photos › Show Previews: When Unlocked keeps message and account details off the Lock Screen.
Does Gallery Vault Private Photos track you?
Identifiers, usage data and diagnostics. 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 Gallery Vault Private Photos track you? Full answer and how to stop it →
Lock Gallery Vault Private Photos behind Face ID
- Find Gallery Vault Private Photos 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. Gallery Vault Private Photos now asks for authentication every time it opens.
The lock is an iPhone feature, so it works whether or not Gallery Vault Private Photos has a passcode of its own. It does not change what the app sends to its developer.
Lock or hide Gallery Vault Private Photos: step-by-step guide →
About Gallery Vault Private Photos
| Developer | Niraj Mangukiya |
| App Store category | Photo & Video (also Utilities) |
| Latest version | 2.1, released September 2023 |
| First released | May 2022 |
| Requires | iOS 13.0 or later |
| Size | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ |
| Languages | 1 (EN) |
| Bundle ID | com.secure.galleryvault |
The current version shipped in September 2023, 3 years before our snapshot. Apps that are not updated may not support newer iOS privacy controls, and an abandoned app will not get security fixes.
Also by Niraj Mangukiya: Gallery Vault Secrete Photo.
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 Gallery Vault Private Photos 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 Gallery Vault Private Photos' developer: Are my pictures stored only on this phone, or uploaded?
Gallery Vault Private Photos vs similar private photo apps
- Secret Key Lock Album
- Gallery Vault Private Photos (this app)
- Lock Master Photo Album
- Photo Album Private Manager
- My Album
- Private Pics
- Safety Photo+Video Pro
- SoloGallery
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 Gallery Vault Private Photos
All private photo apps → Who tracks you? A–Z → Apps that collect identifiers → Privacy label decoder →
Your Gallery Vault Private Photos privacy checklist
Done. You have applied every control the label points to.
True or false?
- Right.Not quite.
True: it lists identifiers, usage data and diagnostics 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.
- 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.
Gallery Vault Private Photos privacy FAQ
Is Gallery Vault Private Photos safe to use?
Does Gallery Vault Private Photos track you?
What data does Gallery Vault Private Photos collect?
Who makes Gallery Vault Private Photos?
Can I lock Gallery Vault Private Photos with Face ID?
How does Gallery Vault Private Photos compare with other private photo apps?
Are my pictures stored only on this phone, or uploaded?
How do I delete my data from Gallery Vault Private Photos?
For photos and documents you choose to keep apart from your main library, see VaultForYou.