Hidlet vs HiddenVault: Which Decoy Vault Keeps Photos Private?

Hidlet is an iPhone app

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HiddenVault Secret Photo Vault, by developer Kyle Allen, has been on the App Store since 2020. On paper it covers a lot of the same ground as Hidlet: a decoy vault, iCloud backup and talk of strong encryption. So how do you choose between two apps that sound alike?

The difference is in the detail each one gives you. This comparison sets them side by side, using only what HiddenVault’s own App Store listing, website, privacy policy, terms and guide say. Where the developer doesn’t say something, neither do we.

Checked on 25 October 2026, against HiddenVault 3.43 on the US App Store.

The short version

What “military-grade” does and doesn’t tell you

HiddenVault’s website promises “military-grade encryption”. Its App Store listing says the app is “built with Zero-Knowledge security architecture”, and the developer’s guide calls the photos “fully encrypted”. Those are reassuring words. But none of these pages names a cipher, says whether each album has its own key, or explains where the keys are kept.

That doesn’t mean the encryption is weak. It means you can’t check what’s behind the words.

Hidlet spells out how it works:

• Each vault has its own random key.
• Every photo and video is encrypted with AES-256 before it’s saved.
• Your pattern unlocks the vault’s key on the phone and is never stored anywhere.
• Guessing patterns is slowed down on purpose, and after three wrong guesses each one adds a growing wait.

More on that on the pattern lock page, and on what AES-256 really protects in Is the iPhone Hidden Album Encrypted?

Decoys and break-in photos

Both apps plan for the moment someone makes you open the vault. HiddenVault’s website lists a decoy vault as a feature. It doesn’t say how you open it, or whether it’s kept separate from your real photos.

HiddenVault also has break-in alerts. According to the developer’s guide, after a wrong passcode the app takes a picture of whoever is trying to open it. Hidlet doesn’t do this. It has no intruder photos.

In Hidlet, different patterns open different vaults, and the app never shows a list of them. You can keep a vault of ordinary photos and open that one when someone insists. Nothing on screen hints that another vault exists. That’s the decoy vault, and it’s in the free plan. Pro adds a duress pattern that also removes this phone’s access to your other vaults, while the encrypted backup stays safe in your iCloud. Read more about how hidden vaults stay invisible.

Backup, new phones and forgotten PINs

HiddenVault backs up to iCloud. Its website lists “iCloud Backup + Restore Safeguard” among the Premium features, and the guide says the app backs up to your iCloud automatically. The developer doesn’t say whether the iCloud copy is encrypted, how moving to a new phone works, or what happens if you forget your PIN.

Hidlet keeps the key with you:

• Backup: each vault is encrypted on the phone, then saved to your own iCloud. Neither Apple nor we can open it. It’s in the free plan.
• New phone: install Hidlet and draw your pattern. This works when iCloud Keychain is on; if it’s off, your recovery phrase restores the vault instead.
• Forgot your pattern: enter the 9-word recovery phrase and set a new pattern, free.

The trade-off is real: lose both the pattern and the phrase, and the vault can’t be opened by anyone, including us. More in encrypted backup.

Ads, tracking and accounts

HiddenVault’s pages don’t fully agree here. The listing says the app “does not store, save, or access any of your personal data”. Its App Store privacy label lists usage data under “Data Used to Track You”. It also lists usage and advertising data linked to you, for third-party advertising, the developer’s own marketing and analytics. The website lists “No Ads” as a Premium feature.

On accounts, the listing doesn’t mention signing up. The privacy policy, dated 2020, describes creating “a basic HiddenVault account”. We couldn’t confirm whether the iPhone app asks for one.

Hidlet has no accounts, no email and no ads, and it includes no analytics or tracking code.

Where HiddenVault is better

HiddenVault does some things Hidlet doesn’t:

• Break-in photos: the developer says it photographs whoever enters a wrong passcode. Hidlet has no intruder photos.
• A private browser and a password manager with one-tap sign-in. Hidlet has neither.
• Familiar unlock: a PIN with Face ID, if you’d rather not learn a pattern. Hidlet opens only with a pattern.
• A track record: on the App Store since 2020, with more than 2,000 ratings.

Hidlet’s limits are worth knowing too. It runs on iPhone and iPad (sync between them needs Pro), and the free plan holds 3 vaults with up to 100 photos and 10 videos in each.

The bottom line

HiddenVault packs a lot into one app, and its break-in photos and decoy vault are useful ideas. But its encryption claims come without detail, and its own pages disagree about your data and its yearly price. If you want to know exactly how your photos are locked, with no ads, no tracking and a free encrypted backup, Hidlet is built for exactly that.

Hidlet is available on the App Store.