How do you transfer a photo vault from iPhone to Android?

A move between iPhone and Android is harder on a photo vault than a move to a new phone of the same kind. The cloud backup that worked before often lives somewhere the new phone cannot read. This guide explains why, what to check before you switch, and how the moves work in both directions. We checked the Apple and Google transfer steps against their help pages. The vault app details come from the help pages of each developer.

Why vault photos often stay behind

The transfer tools skip most app data. Transfer to Android is in iOS 26.3 and later. It moves photos, contacts, messages and more to a phone with a compatible version of Android 17. Apple says the data of other apps moves only “once the developer enables this feature”. The Google table for iPhone to Android shows the same. App data moves only with the newer transfer method on some phones, and only if the developer allows it. The phones Google names are Pixel 8 and later, Galaxy Z Flip 8 and Galaxy Z Fold 8.

The photos in your camera roll are not the photos in the vault. Both tools copy your normal photo library. A vault app keeps its items in its own storage, usually encrypted. So the transfer can bring every photo you did not hide, and none of the ones you did.

The cloud backup may not cross over. Many iPhone vaults back up to iCloud. Many Android vaults back up to Google Drive. Android phones do not read iCloud, and an iPhone app may not read Google Drive. LockMyPix states this plainly in its docs. It does not support its iCloud transfer from iPhone to Android. It does not support its Google Drive transfer from Android to iPhone. Its backup file works both ways.

Paid plans do not move. Google lists paid apps and in-app purchases among the things that do not transfer from an iPhone. App Store and Google Play subscriptions are separate.

Before you switch

1. Check that the vault app is on both the App Store and Google Play. Find its help page about moving between platforms.
2. On the old phone, open the vault. Write down how many photos and videos each album holds.
3. Make the backup that works on both platforms, such as a backup file or the app’s own cloud. Wait until it finishes.
4. Write your app code, any decoy code, any cloud password and any recovery phrase on paper.
5. Install the app on the new phone. Restore from the backup file, or sign in to its cloud.
6. Open every album on the new phone and compare each count with your notes. Play a long video to the end.
7. Delete the app or erase the old phone only after every count matches.

A decoy vault is a separate set of items with its own code. Count it and back it up on its own.

How to move a backup file

A backup file is one file that holds your vault, usually encrypted. To get it from one phone to the other, LockMyPix suggests a computer or a cloud service of your choice. On the new phone, you save the file and import it from the app’s settings. On an iPhone, save it to the Files app first.

Keep the file until the new phone shows every item. Then delete the copy from the computer or cloud drive you used.

If the app has no cross-platform path

Some vault apps run on one platform only. Others have no backup that crosses over. Then the only way is to take the photos out:

1. On the old phone, export every item from the vault to your gallery or to files.
2. Move them with the Apple or Google transfer tool, a computer, or a cloud drive.
3. On the new phone, add them to the new vault app.
4. Delete the exported copies from both phones and from any cloud drive you used.

Exported copies are not encrypted. Keep the window between export and cleanup short.

Android to iPhone

The same rules apply in the other direction. The Move to iOS app from Apple copies contacts, messages, camera photos and videos, photo albums, files and folders, and more. The Apple list does not include app data, though some free apps that are on both stores can move. So the items in a vault app need the app’s own path again. The LockMyPix docs say its backup file moves from Android to iPhone, but its Google Drive transfer does not.

Private Photo Vault, which runs on iPhone and Android, recommends its Cloud Vault for a new phone. Its FAQ says to “verify your files on the new phone before removing them from the old one”. Its FAQ does not say whether Cloud Vault restores across platforms, so test with a few photos first.

For a move between two iPhones, read transfer a photo vault to a new iPhone. To compare vault apps, see the best photo vault apps for Android and the best photo vault apps for iPhone.

How York Vault moves between iPhone and Android

York Vault is on the App Store and Google Play. Its library format and encryption are the same on both. There are two free ways to move:

• Phone to phone. The old phone shows a QR code and the new phone scans it. The items move over your local Wi-Fi, encrypted with a one-time key. No internet is needed. This works from iPhone to Android and from Android to iPhone.
• Encrypted backup file. Export a library or album as an encrypted file to a folder, a USB drive or a cloud drive. It opens on either platform with your code or your 12-word recovery key.

After either move, York Vault checks every item and shows a count, such as “12,400 of 12,400 items”. Keep the old phone until the counts match.

The free backups stay on their own platform. On iPhone, York Vault backs up to your own iCloud. On Android, it backs up to a hidden app folder in your own Google Drive. Only York Vault can read that folder. iCloud backups do not restore to Android, and Drive backups do not restore to iPhone. After the move, the new phone starts its own backup. To keep one library on an iPhone and an Android phone at the same time, Pro syncs it through York Cloud. See encrypted backup and pricing.

York Vault ties Plus or Pro to your library, not to the store, so your plan comes with you to the new phone. You still manage and cancel it in the store where you bought it. Viewing, export and restore stay free on every plan. The move between iPhone and Android help page has the York Vault steps. Download York Vault.