Backroom vs Private Photo Vault

Private Photo Vault has decoy passwords, break-in reports and an optional encrypted cloud. Backroom uses a pattern per vault and has no cloud.

Private Photo Vault uses AES encryption, needs no account for local storage and offers an optional paid Cloud Vault, a decoy password and break-in reports. Backroom, coming soon to the App Store, opens a separate vault for each pattern and stays on your iPhone. Private Photo Vault has more features. Backroom has a narrower design with no ads or analytics.

Side by side

BackroomPrivate Photo Vault

AvailabilityComing soon to the App Store. iPhone.On the App Store, for iPhone and iPad.

What opens itA pattern of at least 6 dots on a 5 by 5 grid.PIN, password or pattern, with Face ID or Touch ID. Can require Face ID plus a PIN.

EncryptionAES-256-GCM on each file, with a random key for each vault.AES for on-device and Cloud Vault files, per its site. Cloud Vault encrypts before upload.

Where files liveOn your iPhone, and in your device backups in encrypted form if you make them. No cloud sync.On the device. Optional premium Cloud Vault for backup and sync.

AccountNone.None for local storage. Cloud Vault requires one.

Forgotten codeA 12-word recovery phrase for each vault. Lose the pattern and the phrase, and nobody can open that vault.Its site says the Cloud Vault password cannot be recovered.

If someone pressures youA different pattern opens a different vault, and the app shows no list of vaults. No duress mode.Decoy password, password-protected albums, and break-in reports with photo and GPS.

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: usage data used to track you. Identifiers, purchases, usage data and user content 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Code and reviewSource code is unpublished.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. Premium entries on the listing run $6.99 to $39.99.

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

What Private Photo Vault adds

This is the more feature-rich app. It has a private web browser, wireless transfer, break-in reports that record a photo and GPS position, a face-down lock and a decoy password. Its Cloud Vault, a paid option, encrypts files on your device before upload with a password its team never receives. Backroom has none of these, and it also lacks Face ID unlock and iPad support.

Where they are alike

Both name AES, and both let you store photos locally with no account. Both also warn that a lost secret can mean lost files: Private Photo Vault for the Cloud Vault password, and Backroom for a pattern and recovery phrase.

Where Backroom differs

Each pattern in Backroom opens its own vault with its own key, and the app shows no list of vaults. You also get a 12-word recovery phrase for each one, which you write on paper. Backroom has no analytics, while Private Photo Vault’s Apple privacy label lists data linked to you, including identifiers and user content.

Which one fits

Private Photo Vault makes sense if you want cloud backup, quick biometric unlock or break-in reports today. Backroom is aimed at people who want fewer moving parts and no data collection, and it is coming soon to the App Store.

Frequently asked questions

Does Private Photo Vault have a pattern lock too?

Yes. Its listing offers a pattern or dot lock alongside PIN. In Backroom, the pattern is the only way in, and a different pattern opens a different vault.

Which has better backup?

Private Photo Vault, if you pay for Cloud Vault. Backroom has no cloud backup of its own, and its files reach your device backups in encrypted form if you make them.

Does Backroom have a decoy password?

It has no decoy feature as such. You can keep ordinary photos in a second vault under another pattern. Backroom has no duress mode and no break-in reports.