York Vault vs SPV: which photo vault should you use?

Side by side

Which one suits you

Pick SPV if you want many tools in one app, such as a password list, hidden contacts and a private browser, and you accept that your photos live on one phone with no free backup. Pick York Vault if you want named encryption, a free backup of every item to your own cloud, and export and Trash recovery that never need a plan.

Our full review of SPV on its own: SPV review: is SPV Secret Photo Vault safe, and is it worth paying for?

What protects your files

This is the biggest difference between the two apps.

SPV says it locks your data with “the PIN protection”. Its App Store page names no cipher and does not say that files are encrypted. Our read of its app package found no encryption library and no mention of encryption in its text. Apple encrypts the app code, so we could not read all of it. That is not proof that SPV stores files in the clear. It means SPV 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. We run no server that holds your library, and we cannot reset a code or open a file. Read how the encryption works and what we can and cannot see.

Forgotten code

SPV offers a PIN recovery email. You must add it before you forget the PIN. The app warns that without it, “you wont be able to access your photos.”

York Vault 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

SPV’s listing is direct: “If you delete the app, your photos & data saved in the app will also be deleted.” Our read of the current app package found a Google Drive backup option that its settings mark as Premium only. We could not read its screens, so we cannot say how it works. On the free plan, your photos live on one phone.

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. See encrypted backup and how to move to a new iPhone.

Decoy codes, break-in photos and disguise

SPV has a Fake Passcode that opens a fake gallery, and 5 reviews in our sample praise it. 4 reviews also say real photos flashed on screen for a moment at launch or on decoy exit. Break-In Alert takes a photo after a wrong PIN, but the free plan shows only a count. Viewing the photo is Premium. Facedown Lock and 41 alternate icons are part of the app. We found no erase code.

York Vault puts these on the free plan:

• A cover code that opens a separate library, and an erase code that also removes the keys to the rest.
• No flash: nothing from a library shows before its key is loaded.
• A wrong-code photo and a log of attempts.
• A working calculator front, 12 or more neutral icons and a face-down exit.

Export, ads and price

SPV’s paywall sells “Unlimited export for your medias” and “Recover files you deleted in trash”. So free export has a cap, and Trash recovery is paid. One reviewer who tried to leave could take out “only about five” items. The free plan shows ads, and the privacy label lists identifiers, usage data and diagnostics as data used to track you. On the US App Store, Premium is sold as 10 purchases from $4.99 to $39.99 (checked October 8, 2026).

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 SPV does better

SPV packs more tools into one app. It has a password list and a contacts vault, which York Vault does not have. Its private browser works on the free plan with limits, and York Vault’s browser needs Plus. Its Facedown Lock is a favorite: 7 reviews praise SPV’s fast-exit features. One wrote: “i love the screen down feature where it will switch you to another app when face your screen down.” SPV has also kept up the app for more than 7 years, with 69,859 US ratings at 4.6.

Switching from SPV

Export from SPV first, album by album, to the photo gallery. Free export has a cap, so plan for a trial or one month of Premium if you have many items. Recover anything you need from Trash before you do. Do not delete SPV until the counts in Photos match, because SPV keeps no other copy. The SPV alternative page has every step, and our SPV review covers the rest of the app.

Download York Vault on the App Store or Google Play.