Can a photo vault sync between devices?

Why sync goes wrong in vault apps

In the 836 App Store reviews of vault apps that we read, 64 report backup or sync failures. 21 of those mention a new phone or a second device. One Keepsafe user wrote: “The new phone only synced about 10 photos in my main album. The rest were blank squares or photos that wouldn’t load past thumbnails”. Another said the app “only uploads when you are in the app.”

So York Vault treats sync as a count you can check, not a promise. Sync between devices on the same platform is in Plus and Pro. Sync between iPhone and Android is in Pro. See pricing for what each plan includes.

How sync works

Your devices	How they sync	Plan
iPhone, iPad and Mac only	Through your own iCloud, in York Vault’s private space	Plus or Pro
Android phones and tablets only	Through your own Google Drive, in a folder only York Vault reads	Plus or Pro
A mix of Apple devices and Android	Through York Cloud	Pro

Each device encrypts an item before it uploads it. iCloud, Google Drive and York Cloud hold encrypted data and no key.

Apple’s iCloud security page says: “When you turn on Advanced Data Protection, third-party app data stored in iCloud Backup and CloudKit encrypted fields and assets are end-to-end encrypted.” York Vault does not depend on that setting. It encrypts every item on your device first. The result is the same with Advanced Data Protection on or off.

Adds win, large deletes ask

Two devices can change the same library while one of them is offline. When they meet again, York Vault follows one rule: an add wins over a delete that did not see it. If you add a photo on your iPhone while your iPad deletes the album offline, the new photo stays.

Large deletes get a second check. Another device may delete more than 20% of a library, or more than 100 items. York Vault then asks before it removes them on this device. A mistake on a shared iPad does not empty your phone.

Settings show how many devices sync, never their names. A device name such as “Anna’s iPad” can tell a person who looks at the screen more than you want.

Change your code once

When you change your code on one device, York Vault syncs a new key wrapper to the others. The next time you open York Vault on another device, it asks for the new code. The code itself never leaves the device where you typed it.

Keepsafe has a similar message in its app text: “Your PIN was changed on another device. Enter your new PIN to continue.”

The iPad app

The iPad app is on the Free plan. It has a sidebar, Split View, Stage Manager, keyboard shortcuts, pointer support and drag and drop. Android tablets get the Android app.

On Free, the iPad keeps its own library. With Plus or Pro, it shares a library with your iPhone, your Mac and your other Apple devices. To add an Android device to the same library, you need Pro.

On the Free plan

Each device keeps its own library and its own free backup. To move a whole library to a new phone, use phone-to-phone transfer or the encrypted backup file. Both are free. See encrypted backup and move to a new iPhone.

If your plan ends, nothing locks. You can still view, export and restore every item on each device. See what stays free.

How other apps sync

App	Sync	Where we read it
Keepsafe	“Syncs images and videos in Keepsafe to all of your Keepsafe installations on any platform”	App Store listing
Vaultaire	Device sync in Pro, on Apple devices. Its app text asks: “Another device removed %lld files from this vault. Delete them here too, or keep them?”	App Store listing and app package
Private Photo Vault	Cloud Vault backup in a paid plan. “The free version of the app does not backup your files to Cloud Vault.”	App Store listing
LockMyPix	“You can even sync between multiple devices.” Premium.	App package

We read each app package in September 2026 and checked the listings on 2026-10-03.