Does a photo vault app back up to iCloud, and will it move to a new iPhone?

Why backup comes first

Lost photos are the largest complaint about photo vault apps. In 836 App Store reviews of 7 vault apps that we read, 136 say photos or videos disappeared. The causes users name most are an app update (35), a new phone (28) and deleting or reinstalling the app (26). One Keepsafe user, after 4 years of paying, wrote: “The first time I actually needed to restore my photos, I discovered that all of my pictures were gone.”

So York Vault treats backup as a base feature for every user, not a paid extra. Every backup feature on this page is in the app now, and only the ones marked Plus or Pro need a paid plan.

How the backup works

On iPhone and iPad, the backup goes to your own iCloud. On Android, it goes to your own Google Drive, in the app data folder that only York Vault can read. It counts toward your Google storage. Both work the same way. The steps below use iCloud.

1. During setup, York Vault asks to back up to your iCloud. Backup starts once you agree.
2. Each item is encrypted on your iPhone and split into chunks.
3. The chunks upload to your own iCloud, in a private area that only York Vault on your devices can use.
4. iCloud confirms each chunk. Only then does the item count as backed up.
5. The upload keeps going when you leave the app or lock the iPhone, and it continues from the last chunk after a restart.

Every library backs up: your main library, your cover library and any extra library. Each one uses its own key.

What iCloud can see

Record names are random. Chunks are padded to steps of 1 MB, and the list of what you stored is encrypted too. So iCloud sees no file names, file types, dates or album names. We run no server that stores your items, and we hold no key. See security for the key design.

If iCloud is full, York Vault shows how much space it needs and does not touch any item on your iPhone. Apple gives every account 5 GB of iCloud storage for free and sells more as iCloud+. A library with a lot of video needs more than 5 GB. If you do not want to buy more iCloud space, see York Cloud below.

Status you can check

Each item that is not yet backed up carries a small badge. Settings show a count, for example “9,812 of 9,820 items backed up”, the time of the last backup, and the reason any item waits: no internet, iCloud full, or Low Power Mode. A “Not backed up” filter lists those items.

York Vault never shows “backed up” before iCloud confirms the item. In the reviews we read, at least 5 users who lost photos said their app had shown the files as backed up.

Restore on a new iPhone

1. Install York Vault on the new iPhone.
2. York Vault finds its backup in your iCloud and offers to restore.
3. Enter your code. If iCloud Keychain is off, enter your 12-word recovery key instead.
4. Your albums and thumbnails come first, so the library is usable in under 1 minute. Originals follow in the background.
5. The restore check runs and reports a count such as “9,820 of 9,820 items restored”.

Each library restores with its own code. York Vault never shows how many libraries a backup holds.

You may move to a new iPhone with Quick Start or an iPhone backup. In that case, York Vault finds the items it cannot open yet and offers to restore them with your code or key. It deletes nothing. Our guide on moving a photo vault to a new iPhone covers other apps too.

The restore check

On your current iPhone, the restore check compares your library with the backup. It says “All 9,820 items are in your backup”, or it lists what is missing with a button to fix it. Once a month it tests itself: it downloads 20 random chunks, decrypts them and compares them with the originals. No app we studied offers this.

Backup and billing

Your backup never expires or shrinks when a plan ends. It lives in your iCloud or Google Drive, so we have nothing to delete. Viewing, export and restore stay free on every plan. Export everything saves every item, with albums, dates and Live Photos, to Photos or Files in one action. See pricing for what each plan includes.

Phone to phone, with no internet

Your old iPhone shows a QR code, and the new iPhone scans it. The items move over the local network, encrypted with a one-time key, and the restore check runs at the end. This works with no internet connection, on the Free plan, and also between iPhone and Android in both directions. An iCloud backup does not restore to Android, and a Google Drive backup does not restore to iPhone. To change platforms, use this transfer or the backup file below. See move to a new iPhone for the steps.

Wi-Fi or mobile data

Backup uses Wi-Fi only by default. You can allow mobile data in settings, or for one session, and York Vault shows an estimate of the size first. Low Data Mode and Low Power Mode pause uploads, and the status row says why.

Backup history

iCloud keeps deleted and changed items for 30 days by default. You can pick from 0 to 90 days. The history uses your own iCloud space, and the storage screen shows how much.

An encrypted backup file

You can export a library or an album as one encrypted .york file to Files, a USB drive or any cloud drive. It opens only with your code or your recovery key. To restore it, import the file into York Vault, on iPhone or on Android. This is free.

York Cloud (Pro)

York Cloud is a Pro option for people who do not have enough iCloud or Google Drive space. Each item is encrypted on your phone first, then uploads to storage that we run. We hold only encrypted data and no key, so we cannot open it. The free backup to your own iCloud or Google Drive stays the default. See pricing for what Pro includes.

Sync across iPhone, iPad, Mac and Android (Plus and Pro)

With Plus or Pro, your devices on the same platform share one library. iPhone, iPad and Mac sync through your own iCloud. Android phones and tablets sync through your own Google Drive. Pro adds sync between iPhone and Android, through York Cloud. The Pro web app at app.yorkvault.com shows a library that syncs through York Cloud, in your browser. If another device deletes a large part of a library at once, York Vault asks before it removes those items. Settings show how many devices sync, never their names.

Optimize iPhone storage (Plus and Pro)

With this Plus and Pro option, thumbnails and previews stay on your iPhone, and originals download when you open them. It is never on by default. Items you mark Keep on phone always stay local. If your plan ends, nothing is deleted, and Download all stays free.

How other apps back up

App	Backup	Where we read it
Vaultaire	“Encrypted iCloud backup is included with both Free and Pro and is on by default.”	App Store listing
Private Photo Vault	“The free version of the app does not backup your files to Cloud Vault.” Its app text also warns “Cloud backup will be deleted in %@. Renew your subscription now to fix it”.	App Store listing and app text
Keepsafe	Free backup holds 200 items. Its app text says “Only backed up files are safe during reinstalls.”	App text and our review study
SPV	“If you delete the app, your photos & data saved in the app will also be deleted.”	App Store listing
Calculator Lock	iCloud and Google Drive backup. Its listing also says “Do not uninstall” the app or “all your files will be lost forever.”	App Store listing
NQ Vault	Paid cloud backup. After a plan ends, the app text says “Cloud Backup space has been reset to 1GB.”	App text

We read the app text inside each App Store package in September 2026, and checked the listings on 2026-10-02. Before you pick any app, read are photo vault apps safe and our Keepsafe alternative page.