It depends on how you feel about tracking: Photo Vault Secret Lock declares data used to track you. The sensitive items are location and user content. In total the label lists 6 data types; 46% of photo vaults we checked declare tracking.
Photo Vault Secret Lock 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 Vault Secret Lock's developer reports using identifiers, usage data to track you across other companies' apps and websites.
Did Photo Vault Secret Lock ask for something?
Pick the permission prompt you saw. We compare it with what Photo Vault Secret Lock's developer declared.
Photo Vault Secret Lock lists Location on its label. Choose While Using and turn off Precise Location if the feature works without it.
Photo Vault Secret Lock lists User Content on its label, linked to you. Choose Limited Access and pick only the photos you want to share.
Contacts is not on Photo Vault Secret Lock'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.
Photo Vault Secret Lock 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 Vault Secret Lock'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 Photo Vault Secret Lock collects, explained
| Data type | What it covers | Where to limit it |
|---|---|---|
| LocationSensitiveNot linked 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. |
| User ContentSensitiveLinked to you | Messages, photos, videos, audio recordings, documents and support chats you create or upload. | Settings › Privacy & Security › Photos: choose Limited Access or None; review Microphone and Files access too. |
| 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. |
| 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 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. |
| DiagnosticsLinked 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 Photo Vault Secret Lock's label means for you
Photo Vault Secret Lock's label has 2 types under “Data Used to Track You”, 4 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, usage data from Photo Vault Secret Lock 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 and user content. 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. Photo Vault Secret Lock lists 6 data types, more than the average of 2.5 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 Vault Secret Lock
- 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 › Photo Vault Secret Lock. 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 › Photo Vault Secret Lock › Show Previews: When Unlocked keeps message and account details off the Lock Screen.
Does Photo Vault Secret Lock track you?
Identifiers and 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 Vault Secret Lock track you? Full answer and how to stop it →
Lock Photo Vault Secret Lock behind Face ID
- Find Photo Vault Secret Lock 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 Vault Secret Lock now asks for authentication every time it opens.
The lock is an iPhone feature, so it works whether or not Photo Vault Secret Lock has a passcode of its own. It does not change what the app sends to its developer.
About Photo Vault Secret Lock
| Developer | MPR MEDIA INC |
| App Store category | Utilities (also Photo & Video) |
| Latest version | 2.0.14, released April 2026 |
| First released | August 2018 |
| Requires | iOS 16.0 or later |
| Size | 134 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ |
| Languages | 12 (NL, EN, FR, DE, IT, JA, KO, PT…) |
| Bundle ID | a.pub.store.com |
The current version shipped in April 2026. That is recent enough that the label should reflect current practices, but check the App Store page again before relying on it.
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 Vault Secret Lock 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 Vault Secret Lock's developer: Can I get my photos back on a new iPhone without the old one?
Photo Vault Secret Lock vs similar photo vaults
- Google Photos
- Secret Photo Album SA
- Photo Vault Secret Lock (this app)
- Gallery Private Photo Vault
- InCalc
- Photo Vault Secure Gallery
- Hide Photos Video Hide it Pro
- Photo Vault Private Lock
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 Vault Secret Lock
All photo vaults → Who tracks you? A–Z → Apps that collect location → Privacy label decoder →
Your Photo Vault Secret Lock privacy checklist
Done. You have applied every control the label points to.
True or false?
- Right.Not quite.
True: it lists identifiers and 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: Location 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 Vault Secret Lock privacy FAQ
Is Photo Vault Secret Lock safe to use?
Does Photo Vault Secret Lock track you?
What data does Photo Vault Secret Lock collect?
Who makes Photo Vault Secret Lock?
Can I lock Photo Vault Secret Lock with Face ID?
How does Photo Vault Secret Lock 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 Photo Vault Secret Lock?
For photos and documents you choose to keep apart from your main library, see VaultForYou.