HushKeep 
Comparisons — HushKeep
People usually choose one of four ways to keep photos private on an iPhone: the built-in Hidden album, a standalone vault app, a calculator-style hiding app, or a pattern-based vault app like HushKeep. This page compares them on the dimensions that matter. Competitor details change with app updates — check each app’s current App Store listing before deciding.
At a glance
| HushKeep | Apple Hidden album | Keepsafe | Private Photo Vault | Calculator apps | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Pattern-locked vault, one vault per pattern | A folder inside the Photos app | Standalone vault with cloud backup | Standalone vault | App disguised as a calculator |
| Where content lives | Your device, encrypted; optionally your own iCloud | Your Photos library on the device, and iCloud Photos | Device plus the vendor’s encrypted cloud | Device (details vary by version) | Device only, typically |
| Account needed | No. We run no server that receives your files or keys. No account needed. | No (uses your Apple ID for iCloud) | Yes (vendor account) | Varies by version | No |
| Who can read the content | Your vaults can only be decrypted with your pattern or recovery phrase. We hold neither. | You, once the phone is unlocked (Face ID / passcode gates the album, not separate content keys) | You, and the vendor’s servers hold the keys for backup | Varies by version | You; vendor claims vary |
| Encryption of your files | Files are encrypted on your device with AES-256 before they’re saved or backed up. | Standard iOS data protection; not a separate per-item key hierarchy | Vendor-documented encryption (see their documentation) | Vendor claims (see their listing) | Often claimed; rarely documented |
| Multiple vaults | Each pattern opens its own vault. The app keeps no list of your vaults. Unlimited vaults, free. We never count them. | One Hidden album | Multiple albums in one vault | Varies by version | Usually one hidden gallery |
| Backup | Backups are encrypted before they reach iCloud. Apple stores data it can’t read. | Via iCloud Photos, like your other photos | Vendor’s encrypted cloud | Varies by version | Usually none |
| Recovery if you forget the unlock | Per-vault recovery phrase (9 words), generated on your device | Apple account recovery for the device | Vendor account recovery | Varies by version | Usually none — a lost unlock code can lose the photos |
| Duress / emergency mode | The emergency pattern opens a decoy vault and instantly destroys the keys to your other vaults on this device (Pro) | No | No | No | No |
| Analytics or ads | We collect no analytics and no personal data. | Apple’s standard privacy (iCloud, diagnostics) | Vendor’s privacy policy applies | Vendor’s privacy policy applies | Common in free calculator apps; check the listing |
How HushKeep differs, point by point
- Against the Hidden album. The Hidden album is convenient, but it lives inside the Photos app: the photos stay in your library, and the Face ID / passcode check is a gate on the album, not a separate set of encryption keys. With HushKeep, your vaults are a separate app, files are encrypted on your device with AES-256 before they’re saved or backed up, and each pattern opens its own vault with its own keys.
- Against account-based vaults (Keepsafe, Private Photo Vault, and others in their class). Their cloud backup is a service you must sign up for, run by the vendor, under the vendor’s privacy policy. HushKeep needs no account at all: backups are encrypted before they reach iCloud, into your own iCloud, and Apple stores data it can’t read.
- Against calculator apps. A calculator skin is a hiding place, not a vault: usually one gallery, vendor-claimed encryption, and no way to recover the photos if the unlock code is forgotten. HushKeep encrypts every file with per-vault keys, gives each vault a recovery phrase, and backs up to your own iCloud.
- Against similar pattern-based vaults (for example Vaultaire). The concept is the same — one pattern, one vault. What HushKeep adds: backups go to your own iCloud instead of a vendor cloud, there is no account or analytics at all (we collect no analytics and no personal data), and the emergency pattern is a one-time duress unlock that destroys the keys to your other vaults on the device.
The one number to check
If an app says your photos are “safe,” ask three things: who holds the decryption keys, where the backup actually lives, and what happens if you forget the unlock. For HushKeep the answers are: only you (pattern or recovery phrase), your own device and your own iCloud, and each vault’s recovery phrase. Our security page goes into the full threat model.