York Vault vs Calculator Lock: which calculator vault should you use?

Side by side

Which one suits you

Pick Calculator Lock if you want a low-cost calculator vault with a password list, hidden contacts and notes in one app, and you accept ads, a public reset code and an app with no update since December 2024. Pick York Vault if you want a calculator front over encrypted files, no master code, a free cover code and no ads.

Our full review of Calculator Lock on its own: Calculator Lock review: is Calculator Lock - Secure Vault safe, and is it worth it?

What protects your files

This is the biggest difference between the two apps.

Calculator Lock makes one encryption claim, and it covers the password list: “Secure Vault has password lock in encrypted formats”. It says nothing about photos or videos. Our read of its app package found no file encryption library. The app also turns on file sharing, which can show its documents folder in the Files app and in Finder. One reviewer wrote: “You can just search your hidden files from HomePage and will find all your files in iFiles.” Apple encrypts the app code, so we could not read all of it. That is not proof that files are stored in the clear. It means the app makes no claim you can check.

York Vault has no account. Each item gets its own random key and is sealed with AES-256-GCM on your phone, before it is stored or backed up. File names, dates and thumbnails are encrypted too. Nothing from the library shows in the Files app, Finder or search. We cannot reset a code or open a file. Read how the encryption works and what we can and cannot see.

Forgotten code

Calculator Lock’s App Store FAQ gives the reset: “You can enter “11223344=” for master reset your password by verifying your security question and reset the password.” The code is the same on every install, and anyone can read it on the listing. After that, one security question is the only barrier. The people you most want to keep out, such as a partner or a parent, are the people most likely to know your answer.

York Vault has no master code and no security question. It shows a 12-word recovery key at setup and asks you to type 3 of the words back. The key opens your library and restores a backup on a new phone. If you want a softer fallback, you can turn on a 72-hour reset through your Apple Account or Google account. During the wait, every device with York Vault shows a banner, and the right code cancels the reset.

Backup and new phones

Calculator Lock offers iCloud and Google Drive backup and an App Migration tool for a new device. The listing does not say which plan includes them. It also says the app “does not copy or store your Photos, Videos, Audio, Contacts, Notes, Passwords, etc.” and warns: “Do not uninstall Calculator Vault - Secure Vault app otherwise, all your files will be lost forever.”

York Vault backs up every item for free to your own iCloud, or to your own Google Drive on Android. The backup is encrypted before upload, so Apple and Google store only encrypted data. A restore check confirms that every file is back on the new phone. Phone-to-phone transfer works over local Wi-Fi. See encrypted backup and how to move to a new iPhone.

Decoy codes, break-in photos and disguise

Both apps open to a calculator that does real sums. In Calculator Lock, the home screen name still reads “Calculator Lock - Secure Vault”. 7 reviews in our sample say the name or the look gives the vault away. One said the name “is a dead giveaway in our app list and folders”. Another said the calculator “has to load an add first”. Of its 9 alternate icons, 8 show a padlock. It takes an intruder selfie after a wrong password, and its panic switch leaves the app on a palm, a face-down phone or a shake. We found no decoy code.

York Vault puts these on the free plan:

• A working calculator front with no ad before it. On iPhone the home screen name is “YV” under every icon.
• 12 or more neutral icons, and a face-down exit with shake and palm options.
• A cover code that opens a separate library, and an erase code that also removes the keys to the rest.
• A wrong-code photo and a log of attempts.

Ads, tracking and price

The free version of Calculator Lock shows ads, and its privacy label lists Identifiers as data used to track you. Our read of the app package found AdMob, AppLovin and Meta Audience Network. On the US App Store, Pro costs $1.99 a week, $4.99 a month, $14.99 a year or $29.99 lifetime, and Remove Ads costs $3.99 (checked October 8, 2026). The current version, 3.8, came out on December 20, 2024. No update has followed in the 21 months since.

York Vault shows no ads on any plan. It does measure its own ad campaigns, so its label lists identifiers and usage data for that. The measurement code never sees your files, names or codes. York Vault has Free, Plus, Pro and Family plans. Viewing, export, Trash recovery and restore of your own items stay free on every plan. See pricing and what stays free.

What Calculator Lock does better

Calculator Lock puts more kinds of private data in one app. It has a password list and hidden contacts, and York Vault has neither. It also stores audio and notes, and has a private browser and Wi-Fi transfer to a computer. Its calculator is real and keeps a history. Its prices are low: 41 of the 63 reviews we read give 5 stars, and one said “with the subscription of under $5 it’s so much better and worth the price to keep your privacy.” It holds 6,402 US ratings at 4.57.

Switching from Calculator Lock

Open each album and export or unhide the items to Photos. Do the same for videos, audio and notes, because Calculator Lock stores more than photos. Count the items in Photos against each album. Do not uninstall Calculator Lock until the counts match, because its listing warns that every file is lost when you do. The Calculator Lock alternative page has every step, and our Calculator Lock review covers the rest of the app.

Download York Vault on the App Store or Google Play.