Is my iPhone encrypted?

Your iPhone encrypts almost everything on it, and you turned that on when you first set a passcode. This guide explains what that encryption covers and what it leaves open, in plain terms. Every fact comes from Apple’s iPhone User Guide for iOS 27 and the Apple Platform Security guide, which we checked on 2026-10-09.

How iPhone encryption works

Apple calls it Data Protection. The iPhone User Guide says that setting a passcode “turns on data protection, which encrypts your iPhone data with 256-bit AES encryption”. The Platform Security guide adds the detail:

• One key per file. Each time a file is created, Data Protection makes a new 256-bit key for it. A hardware engine encrypts the file as it is written to storage.
• Keys tied to your passcode. Your passcode is mixed with a secret built into the iPhone’s chip. So guesses must run on that iPhone, not on a faster computer.
• Built-in apps by default. Apple names Calendar, Contacts, Mail, Messages, Photos and Health data as using Data Protection by default. Apps from the App Store get it automatically.

There is no separate encryption switch. To check, open Settings, tap Face ID & Passcode (or Touch ID & Passcode), and confirm the passcode is on.

When your files can be read

Apple sorts files into classes. Two of them explain most of what people ask:

Class	When the file can be read
Complete Protection	Only while the iPhone is unlocked. Apple says the key is discarded about 10 seconds after the phone locks, if Require Passcode is set to Immediately
Protected Until First User Authentication	After the first unlock since the iPhone started, until it restarts

Apple says the second class is the default for app data that no app assigns to another class. It “protects data from attacks that involve a reboot”. So a restarted iPhone that nobody has unlocked yet is the most protected state. That is also why Face ID asks for your passcode after a restart.

A stronger passcode means a stronger key

Apple says “the stronger the user passcode is, the stronger the encryption key becomes”. Each guess takes about 80 milliseconds on the device, and the Lock Screen adds delays:

Wrong attempts	Wait on the iPhone Lock Screen
1 to 3	None
4	1 minute
5	5 minutes
6	15 minutes
7	1 hour
8	3 hours
9	8 hours
10 or more	The iPhone locks and must connect to a Mac or PC

To set a longer passcode, open Settings, tap Face ID & Passcode, tap Change Passcode, then tap Passcode Options. Apple calls Custom Alphanumeric Code and Custom Numeric Code the most secure options. You can also turn on Erase Data at the bottom of the same screen, which erases the iPhone after 10 failed passcodes.

What encryption does not protect

• An unlocked phone. Once you unlock it, Photos shows every photo, and apps with photo access can read them. Anyone who knows your passcode gets the same view. See when someone knows your passcode.
• iCloud copies. Apple says that with standard data protection, which is the default, Apple keeps the keys for iCloud Backup and Photos. Advanced Data Protection makes them end-to-end encrypted. Our iCloud Photos encryption guide covers it.
• Copies elsewhere. A photo you sent in a chat, synced to a computer or shared to an album lives on under that service’s rules.
• A thief who watched you type. Encryption cannot tell you from someone who knows your passcode. Stolen Device Protection helps here. See when a thief knows your passcode.

How York Vault adds a second layer

York Vault encrypts each photo, video and file on your phone with its own random 256-bit key, using AES-256-GCM, before it saves it. File names, dates, places and thumbnails are encrypted too. On iPhone, York Vault keeps its files in Apple’s Complete Protection class, and its keys depend on the Secure Enclave. York Vault opens with its own code, not your iPhone passcode, so a person who knows your passcode still cannot open your library. See end-to-end encryption.

We run no account system and cannot reset your code or read your files. See zero knowledge. The same design runs on Android, with keys in Android Keystore. Our Android encryption guide covers that side. Download York Vault.