Backroom vs Obscura

Obscura publishes its encryption code and a security paper. Backroom offers pattern unlock and recovery phrases but has no published code or review yet.

Obscura and Backroom both use AES-256-GCM on the device with no account. Obscura goes further on transparency, with open-source encryption code and a detailed security paper. Backroom, coming soon to the App Store, opens with a pattern and offers a 12-word recovery phrase, where Obscura has no password recovery by design.

Side by side

BackroomObscura

AvailabilityComing soon to the App Store. iPhone.On the App Store. An Android version is described on its site.

What opens itA pattern of at least 6 dots on a 5 by 5 grid.Vault password, with Face ID and Touch ID.

EncryptionAES-256-GCM on each file, with a random key for each vault.AES-256-GCM, with PBKDF2 at 600,000 rounds, per its listing and security paper.

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

AccountNone.None.

Forgotten codeA 12-word recovery phrase for each vault. Lose the pattern and the phrase, and nobody can open that vault.None by design. Its encrypted exports open with the vault password.

If someone pressures youA different pattern opens a different vault, and the app shows no list of vaults. No duress mode.10 fixed encrypted vault slots, each with its own password, with limits set out in its security paper.

DisguisePaid plan: alternate icons and a working calculator screen. The name under the icon stays Backroom.None listed.

Ads and dataNo ads and no analytics.Apple label: Data Not Collected.

Code and reviewSource code is unpublished. No outside review has been completed.Encryption code is open source on GitHub, and it publishes a security paper.

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: 50 photos in one vault. Pro: $6.99 monthly, $29.99 yearly or $39.99 once.

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

Obscura’s lead on transparency

Obscura’s security paper explains its key hierarchy, its threat model and what it does not protect against. Its encryption package is public, so a reader can run the tests and compare files. Its App Store label is Data Not Collected. This is the most openly documented app on our comparison list, and Backroom can’t match it today.

Obscura also adds Face ID, photo editing, collages, duplicate detection, slideshows and folder passwords. An encrypted export file lets you move a whole vault between iPhones, while Backroom saves one unencrypted item at a time to Files and has no whole-vault export.

Passwords and patterns

Obscura asks for a password, while Backroom asks you to draw a pattern on a 5 by 5 grid. A long random password can hold far more possibilities than a pattern you can remember. A pattern is quicker to enter, and our pattern checker shows how yours would rate. Someone standing nearby may find a pattern easier to follow, so shield your screen.

Recovery

This is the sharpest difference. Obscura chose no recovery: forget the password and your photos are gone. Backroom creates a 12-word phrase for each vault, so a forgotten pattern need not be fatal. The tradeoff is a piece of paper that opens your vault if someone finds it.

Separate vaults

Both apps avoid showing a list of vaults, and both are candid that this has limits. Backroom says a forensic examination could still estimate how much data the app stores. Obscura’s paper gives its own detailed limits.

Frequently asked questions

Which is more transparent?

Obscura. It publishes its encryption code, tests and a security paper with a threat model. Backroom has neither published code nor a completed outside review.

What happens if I forget my code in each app?

Obscura says your photos cannot be recovered without your password. Backroom gives each vault a 12-word phrase to keep on paper, and without the pattern or the phrase the vault stays closed.

Does the free plan include separate vaults?

Obscura's free tier has one vault, and Pro unlocks the others. Backroom's free limits apply to each vault.