How do you find private photos in your camera roll and move them to a vault?

Why scan the camera roll at all

Most people do not remember every private photo on their phone. A passport photo, a screenshot of a bank code or an intimate photo can sit among thousands of others. Anyone who scrolls the camera roll can see it.

In the 836 App Store reviews we studied, 42 praise vault apps for privacy from family, partners and kids. The same users want the camera roll to stay clean. A scan finds those photos for you, so you do not scroll through years of pictures. For the Apple options without an app, read how to hide photos on iPhone.

How the scan works

The scan is part of setup, and it runs before York Vault shows any offer of a paid plan. You can skip it.

1. York Vault asks if you want a scan, and explains why it needs full access to Photos.
2. If you agree, York Vault scans your camera roll on the phone.
3. It groups what it finds: IDs and cards, documents, private screenshots and intimate photos.
4. Each group shows as blurred tiles, so nothing private fills the screen.
5. You add a whole group, or pick single items.
6. York Vault copies each item and checks the copy. Then one system dialog asks you to remove the originals.
7. On iPhone, a short guide shows how to empty Recently Deleted.

The last step matters. Apple says deleted photos “go to your Recently Deleted album for 30 days.” Read adding and cleanup for the full steps.

Nothing leaves the phone

York Vault looks at your photos on the phone. It reads text, card and page shapes, faces and screenshots, and it looks for nudity. No image, thumbnail or result goes to us or to anyone else. The scan works with airplane mode on.

A test records all network traffic during a scan. The test passes only with zero requests. On iPhone, you can check the network yourself with the App Privacy Report. Go to Settings, then Privacy & Security, then App Privacy Report. Apple lists the domains each app contacted in the past 7 days. See zero knowledge for what we can and cannot see.

Suggestions after setup

New private photos arrive after setup too. With suggestions on, York Vault runs the same on-device scan on new photos. You choose when: once a week, or each time you open York Vault. It then suggests items to add. You can turn suggestions off in settings.

Find what is still in Photos

Adding a photo to a vault does not remove it from Photos by itself. York Vault can check for that. It compares your library with your photo library on the phone. It matches by photo IDs first, then by picture. It lists every item that is still in Photos, with one tap to remove it. This check needs full access to Photos.

A test adds 20 photos and keeps the originals. The check must find all 20.

Each permission when it is needed

York Vault asks for each permission at the moment a feature needs it. A plain screen explains why, and it never looks like a system alert. If you say no, the screen says what still works.

Permission	What it is for
Full access to Photos	The scan, suggestions and removing originals
Camera	The York Vault camera and wrong-code photos
Microphone	Sound in videos, optional
Location	Only for wrong-code locations or the location lock
Notifications	Alerts about attempts and backup
Local network	Wi-Fi transfer to a computer

To add photos by hand, York Vault uses the system photo picker. Android Developers says the picker gives an app access to “only selected images and videos”. On iPhone, you can change access at any time in Settings, then Privacy & Security.

If you skip the scan

York Vault then helps you add a first item. You can choose the photo picker, the camera or Files. Each tile shows its state as it changes: first Encrypted, then Backed up.

The security checkup

After setup, York Vault shows one screen with your protection at a glance. Each row has a one-tap fix:

• Recovery key saved
• Backup complete, with a restore check
• Face ID or fingerprint
• Auto-lock
• Cover code and erase code
• Neutral icon and neutral notifications

You can open the checkup again from settings. In the cover library, it never shows rows about cover codes or erase codes. Read cover and erase codes to set them up.