Can a photo vault require Face ID and a code together?

Three ways to make the lock stricter

The standard York Vault lock is a code: a PIN, a pattern or a passcode. Face ID, Touch ID or a fingerprint is an optional fast way in. Read lock options for those. This page covers three extra options.

Option	Plan	What opens the main library
Two-step lock	Plus and Pro	Your face or fingerprint and your code, together
Location lock	Plus and Pro	Your code, at one of up to 5 places you trust
Second code	Free	Any of your codes for that library, up to 3 in total

Two-step lock: face and code together

With the two-step lock on, York Vault asks for your face or fingerprint and then your code, every time. This is a real key split. The library key opens only when two parts are present:

• A key from the security chip, which your face or fingerprint releases.
• A key that York Vault builds from your code.

With your code alone, the library stays shut. With your face alone, it stays shut too. A test checks all three cases before each release.

Each part covers a gap in the other. Someone can watch you type a code. A face can open a phone that someone holds up to you. With the two-step lock, a person needs both.

On iPhone and iPad

The face step uses Face ID or Touch ID. Apple puts the chance that a random person can open an iPhone with Face ID at “less than 1 in 1,000,000”. Apple also says apps learn only whether the check passed: “Apps can’t access Face ID data associated with the enrolled face.”

On Android

The face or fingerprint step accepts only biometrics that Android rates as Class 3. Android rules let no weaker class release keys from Android Keystore. York Vault keeps the key for this step in Keystore, in StrongBox where the phone has it.

Location lock: open only at places you trust

The location lock is part of Plus and Pro. You add up to 5 places, such as home. At one of those places, your main code opens your main library as normal. Somewhere else, your main code does one of two things. You choose which:

• It opens the cover library, as if you typed the cover code.
• It shows a wrong-code message.

York Vault reads your location on the phone only at the moment you open the app. It asks for location access while the app is in use. Apple calls this While Using the App. It gives access “only when the app or one of its features is visible on screen.” On Android, the same access is foreground location. York Vault compares your location with your places on the phone, and sends it nowhere.

The location lock can never lock you out for good. Your recovery key opens your main library anywhere. A test sets a location outside every place and checks that the cover library opens. Then it checks that the recovery key still opens the main library.

To check or change location access on iPhone, go to Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Location Services, and select York Vault.

A second code for the same library

On every plan, you can add up to 2 extra codes for your main library. A common setup is a short PIN for daily use and a long passcode that you keep as a spare.

Each code has its own key slot, and each slot opens the same master key. So every code opens the same items. If you remove one code, the others keep working. The usual code rules apply: no two codes can be equal, and no code can be the start of another.

An extra code opens the same library. To open a different library with a different code, use multiple libraries instead.

Which option fits you?

• If people around you might see you type your code, the two-step lock helps most.
• If your library should open only at home, use the location lock.
• If you want a quick code and a strong spare, add a second code.

To compare these with what Apple offers without an app, read how to lock photos on iPhone.