What happens to your photos when a photo vault subscription expires?

Why this rule exists

Many vault apps sell access to the photos you already stored. In the 836 App Store reviews we studied, 63 describe files held behind a paywall. Users use words like “hostage” and “extortion”. One Keepsafe user wrote: “Any data will be inaccessible until you pay”. A Private Photo Vault user wrote: “Unless I buy a subscription all will be erased.”

York Vault sells space, devices and extras. It never sells access to your own items. The paywall says so in plain words: “Your files stay yours if you stop paying.”

What never checks your plan

These paths in York Vault never ask if you pay:

• Viewing photos, videos and files
• Export, and sharing through the share sheet
• Recovery from Trash
• Backup and restore
• The cover code, the erase code and album codes
• Attempts and wrong-code photos

Before each release, a test runs the app with an expired subscription. The release fails if any of these paths shows a paywall. See what stays free for the full list.

What the Free plan limits

The Free plan has a limit on how many new items you can add. The limit applies to adding, never to keeping. At the limit, York Vault shows the paywall for new items only. Items you share into York Vault above the limit wait in a safe inbox. They come in after you upgrade or delete other items.

Plus removes the item limit. It adds sync between your devices on the same platform, the Mac app, extra libraries and more. Pro adds York Cloud, the web app, sync between iPhone and Android and shared albums. See pricing for the plans.

What happens when your plan changes?

Moment	What happens to your items
A trial ends	Every item stays open. The paywall showed the end date before you started.
You cancel Plus or Pro	The plan stays on until the end of the paid period. Then every item stays open.
A payment fails	The store keeps trying during a grace period. Your items stay open during and after it.
A plan lapses	You can view, export, back up and restore every item. Shared albums you created turn read-only. York Vault deletes nothing in them.

For a failed payment, York Vault turns on the billing grace period. Apple says this lets subscribers keep access “while Apple continues to attempt to collect payment.” Google says that during a grace period, the user keeps access to the subscription. In York Vault, your own items never depend on that access.

How do you cancel?

You cancel in the store you bought from. On iPhone or iPad:

1. Open Settings and tap your name.
2. Tap Subscriptions.
3. Tap the York Vault subscription.
4. Tap Cancel Subscription.

On Android:

1. Open Google Play and go to Subscriptions.
2. Select the York Vault subscription.
3. Tap Cancel subscription and follow the steps.

Google says that if you cancel a yearly plan halfway, you keep access to the end of that year. Inside York Vault, Settings, then Subscription shows your plan, the renewal date and a button that opens the store page. A short screen then lists what stays free. At most, the store shows one calm offer later. There is no timer and no guilt text. Read cancel a subscription for more detail.

No countdowns, no fake badges

Other vault apps show countdown timers, “today only” badges and guilt screens when you try to leave. York Vault has none of these:

• No countdown timers
• No fake sale badges
• No guilt prompt when you close the paywall
• No weekly plan picked for you

Introductory offers come only from the App Store or Google Play, with the dates they show.

No ads, on any plan

York Vault shows no ads. The build fails if an ad network SDK appears in the app. The one outside tool measures our own ad campaigns, and it never sees your library. Read ad measurement and privacy.

Billing text also never appears in the cover library. A message like that could tell someone that another library exists.