I forgot my photo vault password. How do I get back in?

Forgetting a vault password is common. In our study of 836 App Store reviews of 7 vault apps, 26 reviews describe a lockout. Some had a forgotten code with no way back. Others had a correct code that stopped working after an update. This guide covers what to do first, what each type of recovery means, and what the main apps and phone tools offer. We checked each app’s own help pages and store listings on 2026-10-09.

First: do not delete the app

The fastest way to lose a locked vault for good is to delete it and hope a fresh install lets you in. On iPhone, an app’s files go when the app goes.

• SPV’s App Store listing: “If you delete the app, your photos & data saved in the app will also be deleted.”
• LockMyPix’s help center says the files of an iPhone app “are deleted by default when uninstalling”.

So keep the app, keep the phone, and try every option below. Our guide on whether deleting a vault app deletes your photos covers the exceptions, such as Android folders that stay behind.

The four kinds of recovery

Recovery	How it works	Who else can use it
Recovery email	The app sends a code to an email you set up	Anyone who can read that email
Second password	A fallback password you set up in advance	Anyone who knows it
Security question or master code	A fixed code plus one answer	Anyone who knows the answer, often a partner or a parent
Recovery key	Words or a key that only you hold, shown once at setup	Only the person who holds the key

Each one is only there if you turned it on before you forgot. If you set up none, an app that truly encrypts your files has nothing to reset.

What the main apps offer

LockMyPix. Two options, both set up in advance in the LockMyPix settings: a recovery email, or an Alternative Access Password of at least 6 characters. To use them, open the LockMyPix login, type a wrong password, then tap the password recovery hint in the top menu. The email route sends a link with a verification code. LockMyPix says delivery can take up to 5 minutes and that a new code makes the old one useless. Once you enter the code, LockMyPix says “your password will be displayed”. Without either option, its help center says: “There’s no backdoor.”

Calculator Lock. Its App Store listing says: “You can enter “11223344=” for master reset your password by verifying your security question.” That code is the same for every user, so the security question is the only real lock. We counted 6 lockout reviews for Calculator Lock in our study.

Keepsafe. On iPhone, tap Forgot PIN in the top right corner of the PIN screen. On Android, tap the 3-dot icon, then Reset PIN, then Send code. Keepsafe sends an access code to every verified email on the account, and says it waits 5 minutes before it sends the email. If you lost access to your only verified email, Keepsafe says “it will not be possible to recover that Keepsafe account or its contents”.

Private Photo Vault. Its App Store listing says that Cloud Vault backup needs its own Cloud Vault Password. It adds: “if you forget your Cloud Vault Password, you will also not be able to view your Cloud Vault data”. The listing says the free version does not back up to Cloud Vault.

Other apps. Check the app’s settings for a recovery entry, its help center, and its App Store or Google Play listing. If none mentions a reset, contact support before you change anything.

Phone tools: Secure Folder, Safe folder and Notes

• Samsung Secure Folder. Samsung says you can reset a forgotten PIN, password or pattern if you turned on Reset with Samsung account when you set it up. If you did not, “you will not be able to recover access”. You can remove the Secure Folder and make a new one, which loses its contents. See our Secure Folder guide.
• Files by Google Safe folder. Google says that if you forget the PIN or pattern, you cannot get to your files. Resetting the Safe folder deletes them for good.
• Apple Notes with a custom password. Apple says it cannot help you back into notes locked with a forgotten custom password. A reset applies only to notes you lock afterward. See how to lock notes on iPhone.
• The iPhone Hidden album and Google Photos Locked Folder use your phone’s own passcode or screen lock, so there is no separate password to forget.

If you can still open the vault: set this up now

1. Turn on the app’s recovery option today. Use an email only you can read, or a recovery key you write down.
2. Write the code and the key in two places that are not the phone, such as a paper note at home and a password manager.
3. Export a copy of anything you cannot lose, or turn on a backup that you have tested by restoring.
4. Choose a recovery that does not open the vault for others. An email reset is only as private as your email. A master code printed in a store listing is not private at all. Read are photo vault apps safe for what to check.

How York Vault handles a forgotten code

York Vault gives you a recovery key at setup: 12 words that only you hold. You type 3 of them back before setup ends, so you know you saved them. On the lock screen, tap Use recovery key, enter the words, and set a new code. Your items stay where they are. See recovery key and the forgot your code help page.

There is no email reset, no master code and no security question, and we never hold your code or your key. As a second way back, you can turn on a 72-hour reset through your Apple Account on iPhone, or your Google account on Android. It shows a banner on your other devices during the wait, and the right code cancels it. It is off by default and works only if you turned it on before you forgot. York Vault is on iPhone, iPad and Android. Download York Vault.