Can a photo vault keep private notes and voice recordings?

Why notes belong next to photos

Notes are not why most people get a vault. In our study of 836 App Store reviews, fewer than 3 users ask for notes directly. But 9 users keep IDs and documents in their vault, and a document often comes with a few words. The policy number that goes with an insurance card. A checklist for the papers you need for a visa. The story behind an old photo.

If those words live in another app, they sit outside the lock. So York Vault keeps them in the same library as the photos, behind the same code.

Text notes and checklists

• Notes in albums. A note is an item, like a photo. It sits in an album, next to the photos or scans it belongs to.
• Checklists. Turn lines into a list you can tick off.
• Encrypted. York Vault encrypts each note on the phone, like every other item. Notes are part of your backup.
• Free. No limit on the number of notes or on their length.

You can move, copy, tag and delete notes like any other item. See albums and organizing.

Voice notes

1. Open an album and tap Add.
2. Pick the voice note option and record.
3. Stop the recording. York Vault saves it into the album, encrypted.

York Vault records in AAC, a common audio format that stays small. There is no length limit, and voice notes are free. The recording goes straight into your library. It never goes through a separate voice app.

On iPhone, an orange dot shows while any app uses the microphone, as Apple explains. York Vault does not hide that dot. No app can. To play a voice note, open it in the viewer. Background play is off by default, so the Lock Screen does not show the title.

How iPhone Notes compares

Apple Notes has a lock. You can lock a note with your iPhone passcode or with a separate password. The Apple guide also lists its limits:

Apple Notes lock	What Apple says
Notes you cannot lock	Notes “with video, audio, PDF, or file attachments”, notes with tags, Quick Notes, and shared notes
The title	“When a note is locked, the title remains visible in the notes list.”
A lost password	“Apple can’t help you regain access to those notes.”

So a locked note still shows its title. A note with a video or a voice recording cannot take a lock. In York Vault, notes, videos and voice notes sit behind the same code. Nothing shows until you open the library. For the full Apple method, read how to lock photos on iPhone.

How other vault apps do it

App	Notes and audio	Where we read it
LockMyPix	Stores “private photos, videos, documents & notes”. Free notes have a cap on count and length.	App Store listing and app text
Calculator Lock	“Personal Notes” and audio notes.	App Store listing and app package
Privault	A voice recorder for “audio notes/memos”. Its app text gives 2 minutes free.	App Store listing and app text

We read the app text in each App Store package in September 2026. We checked the listings on 2026-10-02.

Where to go next

Your notes sit with your photos, so it helps to bring those photos in too. Read how to hide photos on iPhone to move them out of the camera roll. To play voice notes and other audio, see the viewer. Every note and recording goes into your encrypted backup with the rest of the library.