Hidlet vs Inner Gallery: PIN Spaces or Pattern Vaults?

Hidlet is an iPhone app

Point your iPhone camera at the code to install. No account needed.

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Inner Gallery is a young photo vault, first released in February 2026, and it’s built much like Hidlet. Each “space” has its own lock and its own encryption key, there’s no account, and there are no ads. If you’re choosing between the two, you’re not choosing between a hiding app and an encrypted one. Both encrypt.

The differences are in how you unlock, which features cost extra, and what happens if you forget your code. This comparison sets them side by side, using only what Inner Gallery’s own App Store listing, website, privacy policy and blog posts say. Where we couldn’t confirm something, we say so.

Checked on 25 October 2026, against Inner Gallery 1.3.1 on the US App Store.

The short version

How each one protects your photos

Inner Gallery’s listing says “Every photo is encrypted using ChaCha20-Poly1305”. Its developer adds that this uses Apple’s CryptoKit, file by file. Each space has its own PIN and its own key, and the PIN is used to make that key on the phone. A blog post mentions PBKDF2, but the developer doesn’t say how many rounds. The PIN hashes are kept in the iOS Keychain.

Hidlet takes a similar route with a different cipher and a different lock:

• 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 is slowed on purpose with PBKDF2, and after three wrong guesses each one adds a growing wait.

The everyday difference is the unlock. Inner Gallery uses a PIN, with Face ID if you like. Hidlet uses a pattern drawn on a 5×5 grid, every time, with no Face ID and no PIN. Hidlet also locks the moment you leave the app. More on that on the pattern lock page.

When someone makes you unlock it

Both apps plan for this, and both do it with a second, working vault.

Inner Gallery’s Panic PIN opens a decoy space. The developer says the panic space is a full space with its own encryption, isolated from the main one. It also says PIN timing is evened out, so someone watching can’t tell which PIN you typed. Panic spaces are never synced to iCloud. Panic PIN is a $9.99 add-on, or part of the Pro Bundle.

In Hidlet, every pattern opens its own vault, and the app never lists them. Any vault can be the decoy vault: fill one with ordinary photos and open that one when pressed. It’s on the free plan. Pro adds a duress pattern that removes this phone’s access to your other vaults. The encrypted iCloud backup stays, so you can restore them later. See how hidden vaults stay out of sight.

Backup, new devices and forgotten PINs

Inner Gallery runs no servers. Its Cloud Sync sends your spaces to your own iCloud through Apple’s CloudKit, and “Everything is encrypted on-device before reaching iCloud”. It’s off by default and costs $14.99, or comes in the Pro Bundle. With sync on, the listing says you set up a new device with your PIN.

Without Cloud Sync, the privacy policy says Inner Gallery’s data is left out of iCloud and iTunes device backups by default. One of the developer’s blog posts says device backups may include app data, so its pages don’t fully agree here. You can also export a space as an encrypted or unencrypted ZIP, and import an encrypted one again later.

If you forget your PIN, the developer is clear: “No PIN recovery exists — by design.”

Hidlet keeps a way back in:

• Backup: each vault is encrypted on the phone, then saved to your own iCloud. Neither Apple nor we can open it. It’s free.
• 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.

Lose both the pattern and the phrase, and nobody can open the vault, including us. More in encrypted backup.

Price and your data

Inner Gallery has no subscriptions. The free version gives you 2 spaces and 50 photos, with no ads. Everything else is a one-time purchase: Panic PIN $9.99, Cloud Sync $14.99, Disguise Icons $4.99, and Media and Space packs at $9.99 each. The Pro Bundle ($34.99) covers unlimited spaces and media, Panic PIN and Cloud Sync. Lifetime ($99.99) adds the disguise icons and all future features.

Hidlet’s free plan holds 3 vaults with up to 100 photos and 10 videos in each, and includes the decoy vault, encrypted backup and recovery phrase. Pro is an optional upgrade with unlimited storage, the duress pattern, iPad sync, shared vaults, a slideshow and alternate app icons. Its price hasn’t been announced.

On data, neither app needs an account. Inner Gallery’s privacy policy says “Inner Gallery collects no data whatsoever”, with no analytics or tracking. Its App Privacy label, though, lists photos and videos, other user content and a device ID as data not linked to you, for app functionality. The developer doesn’t explain the difference. Hidlet has no account, no ads and no analytics or tracking code.

Where Inner Gallery is better

Inner Gallery does some things Hidlet doesn’t:

• PIN and Face ID: if you’d rather tap a code or glance at your phone than draw a pattern.
• iPad today: with its own layout, keyboard shortcuts and drag and drop. A Mac app is listed as coming next on its roadmap.
• Pay once: no subscriptions, and every add-on is a one-time purchase.
• Personal spaces: each space gets its own name, icon, color and lock.
• Handy tools: a photo details viewer with a map, details removed automatically when you share, and imports from USB or the share sheet, even while locked.

Hidlet’s limits are worth knowing too. It runs on iPhone and iPad (sync between them needs Pro), there’s no Face ID, and the free plan holds 3 vaults with up to 100 photos and 10 videos in each. In return, it has a built-in camera that saves straight into the vault, which Inner Gallery doesn’t have yet. See secure camera.

The bottom line

Inner Gallery and Hidlet are built on the same idea: a key for each vault, no account and no ads. Inner Gallery is ready now, works with Face ID and on iPad, and sells its extras once, with no subscription. Hidlet suits you if you’d rather draw a pattern, want the decoy vault and encrypted iCloud backup without paying, and want a recovery phrase so a forgotten code isn’t the end.

Hidlet is available on the App Store.