AlbumVault vs Vaultaire

Vaultaire and AlbumVault are close cousins. Both lock photos behind a pattern you draw, both let a second pattern open a separate vault (in AlbumVault, with Pro), and both name the cryptography they use. If you are choosing between them, the cipher is not the deciding factor. Your phone, your other devices and a few features are.

What Vaultaire does well

Vaultaire is a photo vault for iPhone and iPad made by Wraxle LLC. It is a small app so far: 50 ratings in the US App Store, averaging 4.7, as seen on 24 October 2026. It publishes a lot about its design, and most of it is good news for users.

• No account. The site says: “No account, no sign-⁠up, no email.”
• Named cryptography. Files are encrypted with AES-⁠256-⁠GCM. A key derived from your pattern with PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA512 wraps a separate random 256-⁠bit master key. The vendor says it does not store keys and has no backdoor.
• Free encrypted backup. Encrypted iCloud backup is included in both Free and Pro and is on by default. Vaultaire encrypts the vault on your device first, and Apple stores the ciphertext without receiving the backup key in readable form.
• Decoy and duress vaults. A different pattern opens a different vault, and the app never shows a list of your vaults. With Pro, drawing a duress vault’s pattern removes access to your other vaults on that device.
• Sync and sharing. Multi-⁠device sync needs Pro. You can also share a separate encrypted vault with someone you trust, who opens it in Vaultaire with a phrase you give them.
• A roomy free plan. Up to 3 vaults, 100 photos and 10 videos in total.

What the two apps share

Read the two security pages side by side and the core matches. Vaultaire states PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA512 with 600,000 iterations for pattern-derived keys, and AES-⁠256-⁠GCM for files. AlbumVault publishes the same algorithm, the same round count and the same cipher. Here is each item, with Vaultaire’s published fact first and AlbumVault’s after it:

• Key stretching. Vaultaire: PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA512, 600,000 iterations. AlbumVault: PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA512, 600,000 rounds, plus a hardware key.
• File cipher. Vaultaire: AES-⁠256-⁠GCM. AlbumVault: AES-⁠256-⁠GCM in 1 MB pieces, each one checked.
• Unlock. Vaultaire: a shape drawn on a 5×5 grid. AlbumVault: 5×5 pattern or 6–⁠12 digit PIN.
• Second vaults. Vaultaire: a different pattern opens a different vault, with no vault list. AlbumVault: Each pattern leads to one vault. No vault list, no vault count.
• Duress. Vaultaire Pro: a duress pattern removes access to other vaults on the device. AlbumVault: Emergency pattern removes every other vault on the phone (Pro).
• Account. Vaultaire: none, says the vendor. AlbumVault: No account needed.

Extra vaults depend on the plan. Vaultaire’s duress vault needs Pro; both apps’ plans are under Prices and ratings below.

One design difference is worth knowing. Vaultaire’s security page says the vault key comes from your pattern and a device-⁠wide Keychain salt.

AlbumVault Every pattern or PIN attempt goes through a key that stays in your phone’s security chip, so a copy of the vault files cannot be guessed at on another computer. Read both pages in full rather than judging either app on one line.

Where they differ

Platforms and devices

This is the biggest difference. Vaultaire is an iPhone and iPad app. It does not sync across Apple Accounts, and it does not sync to Android, Windows or the web. If you own an iPad, Vaultaire covers it, and Pro keeps your devices in step.

AlbumVault AlbumVault is built for iPhone and Android. Move a vault between them with an encrypted transfer file and its recovery phrase.

If anyone in your household uses Android, or your next phone might be one, this matters more than any cipher detail.

Unlock options

Vaultaire unlocks with a pattern on a 5×5 grid. Its site and App Store listing, as checked, don’t state Face ID or Touch ID unlock.

AlbumVault Unlock by drawing a pattern on a 5×5 grid of dots, using at least 6 dots. Prefer numbers? A PIN of 6 to 12 digits works too. Face ID or fingerprint can open at most one vault. Your other vaults always need their pattern.

Break-⁠in photos

We did not find an intruder or break-⁠in photo feature in Vaultaire’s App Store listing or website.

AlbumVault Break-⁠in photos (Pro): after 3 wrong tries AlbumVault can take a front-⁠camera photo, encrypted so only your vault can open it. The phone’s camera indicator still lights up when the photo is taken, so the person may notice.

Recovery phrase

Vaultaire: “Every vault gets a nine-⁠word recovery phrase, or you can set your own.”

AlbumVault Each vault has its own 12-⁠word recovery phrase (BIP-⁠39), shown once. We never see it and cannot reset it. If you forget your pattern, the phrase gets you back in.

Disguise

Vaultaire Pro lets you swap the vault icon for Calculator, Printer or one of five other utility icons, and every icon still opens the pattern screen.

AlbumVault Icon disguise (Pro): make the app look like a calculator. A code you choose on the calculator brings up the unlock screen; it is a gate, not your key, so a vault still needs its pattern.

Backup and sharing

Vaultaire backs up to your private iCloud by default, in both plans.

AlbumVault Save an encrypted backup file of a vault to Files, a computer or a drive you trust. Only its 12-⁠word recovery phrase opens it.

For sharing, Vaultaire shares a whole separate vault that the other person opens with a phrase.

Usage data

Vaultaire says anonymous usage and crash data are on by default, and you can turn them off in Settings. Its App Store privacy label lists Email Address as data linked to you, for app functionality, while its site says no email is attached to an account. The vendor does not explain the difference.

AlbumVault The apps contain no analytics, ad or tracking SDKs. Purchases use Apple’s or Google’s own in-⁠app purchase.

Prices and ratings

As seen in the US App Store on 24 October 2026, Vaultaire is free with in-⁠app purchases:

• Vaultaire Pro: $1.99 weekly, $5.99 monthly, $19.99 annual, $39.99 lifetime.
• Vaultaire Pro Family: $49.99 annual, $99.99 lifetime.
• Rating: 4.7 from 50 ratings. We found no Google Play listing.

AlbumVault Free: 1 vault, up to 100 photos and 10 videos, encrypted backup file included. Pro: as many vaults as you want, including the guest vault, with no limit on photos and videos.

• AlbumVault Pro: $1.99 weekly, $19.99 annual with 7 days free on iPhone, $39.99 lifetime.

If you want a second vault without paying, Vaultaire’s free plan allows up to 3.

Which to choose

Pick Vaultaire if:

1. Every device you use is an iPhone or iPad, and you want the same vault on more than one of them.
2. You want up to 3 vaults without paying.
3. You want to share a whole encrypted vault that someone opens with a phrase.
4. You want a family plan.

Pick AlbumVault if:

1. You use Android, or you might move between iPhone and Android.
2. You want break-⁠in photos after wrong tries (a Pro feature), which Vaultaire’s listing and site don’t describe.
3. You want a PIN as an alternative to a pattern, or Face ID on one vault; Vaultaire’s site describes pattern unlock only.
4. You want the option to back up to Google Drive.

If your only worry is someone scrolling through your camera roll, you may not need either app. Apple’s Hidden album is free and locked by default.

Limits to know on the AlbumVault side

No vault can promise everything. AlbumVault does not hide that some private data exists: your phone’s storage settings, and a forensic examiner, can still show that. Deleting is not shredding: a lab that images the phone may recover deleted bytes. Use AlbumVault to keep people out of your photos, not to beat a forensics lab.

The hardware key cannot move to a new phone, so on a new phone, or a phone restored from a backup, a vault opens only with its recovery phrase. Keep the phrase safe before you switch phones.

AlbumVault cannot protect against malware or a jailbroken or rooted phone running code while the vault is open, against what is on screen or shared out once decrypted, or against someone deleting files they can reach (they can destroy data, not read it).