What is a good alternative to Calculator Lock?

Calculator Lock - Secure Vault and York Vault side by side

This page covers Calculator Lock - Secure Vault by Zipo Apps Ltd. Other calculator vault apps, such as Calculator#, are separate products.

Why do people look for a Calculator Lock alternative?

Calculator Lock has 6,348 US ratings at 4.6. We read 63 US and Australian reviews from October 2023 to September 2026. 41 give 5 stars, and many of those are a word or two. The 27 reviews with a clear theme point at three problems.

Theme in 63 reviews	Reviews
Name or look gives the vault away	7
Locked out after a forgotten or broken password	6
Ads, including before the calculator	3
App will not open	2
Import problems	2

A disguise that gives itself away

A calculator front only works if nothing else gives it away. Reviewers point at the name: ““calculator lock - secure vault” is a dead giveaway in our app list and folders” (2★, July 2026). Another noticed the ad: “Has the calculator Lock Screen, but has to load an add first…no calc does this” (2★, October 2024). A third found files through search: “You can just search your hidden files from HomePage and will find all your files in iFiles.” (2★, April 2026).

A reset code that anyone can read

The App Store FAQ says: “You can enter “11223344=” for master reset your password by verifying your security question and reset the password.” That code is the same on every install. The people you most want to keep out, such as a partner or a parent, are the people most likely to guess your security answer. Some users never find the code: “there’s no forgot password option so once U forget it’s gone forever” (2★, September 2026).

Unclear encryption and ads in the way

The listing’s only encryption claim covers the password list: “Secure Vault has password lock in encrypted formats”. It says nothing about photos and videos. The same page says the app “does not copy or store your Photos, Videos, Audio, Contacts, Notes, Passwords, etc.” next to an offer of cloud backup, so it is hard to tell where your files live. Ads also slow things down when it matters: “oh the stupid advertisements load and come through but I can’t access my things!” (1★, September 2025).

No decoy, and a stalled app

The listing offers no decoy. One reviewer asked for one: “there should be a decoy instead of just the vault screen” (4★, October 2025). Version 3.8, from December 2024, is still the current version.

What to look for in a replacement

1. A calculator that really works, with no ad and no flash of the vault before it.
2. A neutral home screen name. iOS does not let an app rename itself, so check the name before you install. See disguise icons.
3. A recovery path with no master code. A recovery key that only you hold is safer than a public code and a security question.
4. Encryption of the photos themselves, not only of a password list.
5. A decoy code that opens something believable.
6. Nothing visible in the Files app or in search.

Our guide on the secret calculator app explains how these fronts work.

How to export your files from Calculator Lock

Calculator Lock has no help center. Its App Store page says only that “you can anytime export secret gallery lock data within Secret Calculator and it will move from Secret vault to your phone,” and it mentions “Unhide”. We could not confirm the button names, a select-all option or any limit.

A safe order of steps:

1. Back up first. If you set up iCloud or Google Drive backup in the app, check that it finished.
2. Open each album in the vault and use the export or unhide option to move the items to Photos.
3. Export videos, audio, notes and contacts too. Calculator Lock stores more than photos.
4. Count the items in Photos against each album.
5. Add them to your new app, check that each item opens, then delete them from Photos and Recently Deleted.

The listing warns: “Do not uninstall Calculator Vault - Secure Vault app otherwise, all your files will be lost forever.” Keep the app until the counts match.

What Calculator Lock does well

Calculator Lock has real fans, and some parts work well:

• The calculator is real. It does sums and keeps a history, so a quick look at the screen shows a calculator.
• A low price. “with the subscription of under $5 it’s so much better and worth the price to keep your privacy.” (5★, April 2024)
• Backup choices. iCloud or Google Drive backup, plus an app migration tool for a new device.
• More than photos. Videos, audio, notes, contacts, a password list and a private browser in one place.
• An intruder selfie after a wrong password.
• A panic switch that leaves the app when you put a palm on the screen, turn the phone face down or shake it.

What York Vault does differently

York Vault is on the App Store for iPhone and iPad and on Google Play for Android. Plus adds the Mac app, and Pro adds the web app. Here is what it does differently:

• A working calculator front, free. It does real sums and keeps a history. Your code followed by = opens the vault, and any other input just calculates. No ad and no splash come before it.
• Neutral icons, 12 or more, free, that never change after an update.
• A face-down exit that locks the app and opens another app or page.
• No master code and no security question. A 12-word recovery key that you hold, shown once at setup.
• Encryption of every item on the iPhone, and nothing visible in the Files app or Finder.
• A free cover code and erase code.
• A free encrypted backup of every item to your own iCloud, or Google Drive on Android.
• No ads on any plan. York Vault uses an attribution tool to measure its own ads, and its privacy label says so.

See plans for Free, Plus, Pro and Family, download York Vault on the App Store or Google Play, and read our guide to hiding apps on iPhone for the built-in iOS options.

Other alternatives worth checking

• Privault has a calculator-style keypad and an erase-all code.
• SPV has a fake passcode and a face-down switch.
• Private Photo Vault offers themed icons and a decoy password.