How do you get your photos out of LockMyPix and move to York Vault?

LockMyPix runs on iPhone, iPad and Android, and its help center documents the way out. It calls export “unlock”. This guide follows the LockMyPix help pages and the app text of version 4.1.1, from September 2026. We checked each Apple and Google step against their help pages on 2026-10-06. If you are still deciding, read the LockMyPix alternative page or Keepsafe vs LockMyPix first.

What LockMyPix offers to get files out

Path	What it does	Can York Vault use it?
Unlock (app text: Save to gallery)	Saves decrypted files to a destination you pick	Yes. This is the route out
Create Backup	Makes an encrypted backup file, a zip archive	No. Only LockMyPix opens it
Cloud backup (Premium)	Keeps an encrypted copy in your own iCloud or Google Drive	No. LockMyPix encrypts it first

The backup file is still useful. Keep it as a spare copy until York Vault shows every file.

Before you start

1. Update LockMyPix. Since 4.1.1, the App Store notes say Live Photos save back “as real Live Photos”. On older versions, some users got videos instead.
2. Count your files. Write down the count of every folder and subfolder. The app shows counts such as photos, videos and documents per folder.
3. List every password. A FakeVault has its own password. A locked folder has an extra password.
4. Keep Premium for now. The FakeVault is a Premium feature. In the app text we read, a lapsed plan shows “Reactivate LockMyPix Premium to open your FakeVault again”.
5. Check free space. Unlocked files take the same space as the encrypted ones.

Step by step: move from LockMyPix to York Vault

1. Update and count. Update LockMyPix, open it, and write down the number of files in every folder and subfolder.
2. Restore Trash. Open the Trash from the top right of the LockMyPix settings. Restore every file you want to keep.
3. Make a backup file. Use Create Backup in the LockMyPix settings. Keep the file until the move is done.
4. Unlock your files. Press and hold a file to enter select mode. Tap each file, then tap the unlock button in the top menu.
5. Unlock the FakeVault and locked folders. Open the FakeVault with its password and unlock its files. Open each locked folder and do the same. Do this while Premium is active.
6. Check the counts. Count the files in your gallery and compare them with your notes.
7. Add the files to York Vault. In York Vault, tap Add and pick the files. Wait until York Vault checks each copy. Then remove the gallery copies.
8. Cancel, then delete LockMyPix. Cancel Premium in the store that bills you. Delete LockMyPix only after every count matches.

Why Trash comes first

The LockMyPix help center says: “Files in your Trash are not considered in Cloud backups or backup files.” A file in Trash is easy to miss in a count. To restore all of them, use the restore button at the top right of the Trash.

Where unlocked files go

The help center mentions a blue arrow in the unlock menu. Use it to pick where the files go, or to keep the folder structure. It also warns: “Unlocked files are no longer securely encrypted and can be viewed by anyone who gains access to the device.” Move them into York Vault on the same day.

On iPhone, LockMyPix asks for Photos access to save files back to your gallery. Allow it when the prompt shows.

On Android

The help pages give the same unlock steps for both phones, with no difference stated. Two Android facts change the cleanup:

• Files stay after uninstall. LockMyPix says: “Your files persist.” They sit in a folder named .LockMyPix at the root of storage. Delete them inside LockMyPix first if you want them gone.
• Google Photos keeps a Trash. If the unlocked files show in Google Photos, delete them there after York Vault checks its copies. Google keeps them in Trash for 30 days. To clear it, tap Collections, Trash, More, Empty Trash, then Delete permanently.

York Vault is on Google Play too, and the add step is the same there.

Clean up on iPhone

Unlocked files in Photos are not protected. After York Vault checks its copies, tap Remove from Photos. The remove originals help page explains the check. Photos then keeps the items for 30 days. These Apple steps work in iOS 18 and later:

1. Open the Photos app and tap Collections.
2. Tap Recently Deleted (below Utilities), tap View Album, then unlock your iPhone.
3. Tap Select, then choose the items.
4. Tap the More button, then tap Delete.

See our Recently Deleted guide for more.

If you used the LockMyPix iCloud backup, the app text offers Deactivate iCloud with Delete files on iCloud and deactivate. Use it after the move, so no encrypted copy stays in your iCloud.

Cancel Premium, then delete the app

Cancel first. Deleting the app does not stop a subscription.

• iPhone. Open Settings, tap your name, tap Subscriptions, tap LockMyPix, then tap Cancel Subscription.
• Android. Go to your subscriptions in Google Play, select LockMyPix, then tap Cancel subscription. Google says: “When you uninstall the app, your subscription won’t cancel.”

A Lifetime purchase does not renew, so it needs no cancel. For the same store screens, see cancel a subscription.

To delete LockMyPix on iPhone, touch and hold the app, tap Remove App, tap Delete App, then tap Delete. On iPhone, LockMyPix says the files of an app “are deleted by default when uninstalling.” So delete it only after the counts match.

On Android, open the Play Store and tap the profile icon. Tap Manage apps & devices, then Manage. Select LockMyPix and tap Uninstall.

What York Vault does for this move

York Vault adds files from the photo picker, from Files and from the share sheet. Live Photos keep their motion, and folders from Files keep their tree as albums inside albums. York Vault reads back each encrypted copy and checks it before it offers Remove from Photos. See import and cleanup.

The FakeVault has a free equivalent in York Vault, the cover code. It never shows a billing message. See cover and erase codes. Backup to your own iCloud, or Google Drive on Android, is free and encrypted. Viewing, export and restore stay free on every plan, with no ads. See pricing. Download York Vault on the App Store or Google Play.