Backroom vs Hide It Pro

Hide It Pro covers photos, videos, app locking and a disguised crash screen. Backroom focuses on an encrypted vault opened by a pattern.

Hide It Pro is a long-running, wide-ranging privacy app with cloud backup, an empty-looking escape code and a fake crash screen. Its site says your data is encrypted on your device. Backroom, coming soon to the App Store, is narrower: encrypted vaults opened by patterns, a recovery phrase and no cloud.

Side by side

BackroomHide It Pro

AvailabilityComing soon to the App Store. iPhone.On the App Store. Also on Android, per its site.

What opens itA pattern of at least 6 dots on a 5 by 5 grid.A lock screen, with fingerprint unlock mentioned on its site.

EncryptionAES-256-GCM on each file, with a random key for each vault."Your data is encrypted and safely stored on your device," per its site. No cipher named.

Where files liveOn your iPhone, and in your device backups in encrypted form if you make them. No cloud sync.On the device, with optional cloud backup and USB export.

AccountNone.The listing and site do not say.

Forgotten codeA 12-word recovery phrase for each vault. Lose the pattern and the phrase, and nobody can open that vault.A $4.99 Password Reset purchase appears on the listing.

If someone pressures youA different pattern opens a different vault, and the app shows no list of vaults. No duress mode.Escape Unlock code that makes the app look empty.

DisguisePaid plan: alternate icons and a working calculator screen. The name under the icon stays Backroom.A disguise screen that makes the app look crashed.

Ads and dataNo ads and no analytics.Apple label: diagnostics, not linked to you.

Code and reviewSource code is unpublished. No outside review has been completed.No published source or audit is mentioned on its listing or site.

PriceFree: 50 photos and files, 5 videos and 10 notes in each vault. Paid: $1.99 a week, $19.99 a year or $39.99 once.Free app. $9.99 Cloud Storage and $4.99 Password Reset purchases.

Hide It Pro facts checked October 31, 2026 against its own listing or site, US prices. See Sources below. Apps change, so check before you buy.

What Hide It Pro does that Backroom does not

Its reach is wide. The listing covers albums, cloud backup, USB export and emailing files from inside the app. Its site adds app locking, private notes, a private browser with ad blocking and a chat feature. It also works on Android. Backroom does none of the sharing, browsing, chat or backup, though it does have encrypted notes.

Hide It Pro also has two tricks aimed at a person looking over your shoulder: a screen that looks like a crash, and an escape code that shows an empty app.

Where Backroom takes a different path

Backroom’s protection rests on encryption tied to a pattern you draw. It names AES-256-GCM and gives each vault a random key, where Hide It Pro’s public pages say your data is encrypted without giving more detail. Backroom has not had an outside review yet, so that describes the design.

If you forget your pattern, Backroom’s only way back is the recovery phrase you wrote down. That is less forgiving than a reset you can buy.

Which one fits

Pick Hide It Pro if you want one app for many privacy jobs or if you also use Android. Backroom suits someone who only wants a vault for photos, videos, files and notes on an iPhone.

Frequently asked questions

Does Backroom have an escape code like Hide It Pro?

No. Backroom has no duress mode or code that changes what the app shows. You can store ordinary photos in a second vault under another pattern.

Can Backroom lock my other apps?

No. Hide It Pro's site describes app locking. On iPhone, you can also lock most apps with Apple's built-in Require Face ID.

Which one can reset a forgotten password?

Hide It Pro lists a paid Password Reset. Backroom cannot reset anything. It gives you a 12-word phrase per vault, and without the pattern or the phrase, that vault stays closed.