How does the York Vault backup work?

Where the backup goes

York Vault saves its backup in the private part of your own iCloud account. We hold no copy of it. The backup is free on every plan. It uses your iCloud storage, so the space you have in iCloud sets the size limit. If you do not have enough iCloud space, Pro offers York Cloud. See York Cloud below.

On Android, the free backup goes to your own Google Drive instead, in the app data folder that only York Vault can read. It counts toward your Google storage. The status, the background backup, the restore check and the backup history work the same way as on iPhone. The rest of this page uses iCloud as the example.

During setup York Vault asks if you want the backup on, and checks your iCloud space first. Every library has its own backup, including a cover library.

What iCloud can and cannot see

York Vault encrypts each item on your iPhone before it uploads anything. It splits items into pieces and pads the pieces to set sizes. The record names are random, and York Vault also encrypts the list of what is in the backup.

• iCloud cannot see: file names, file types, dates, places, album names or how your albums are arranged.
• iCloud can see: that your account holds York Vault data, roughly how much space it takes, and when pieces change.

Read the backup status

Open Settings in York Vault. The backup row shows the count and the time of the last good backup, for example:

Backed up · 1,204 of 1,204 items · Today, 9:41 AM

If the numbers do not match, York Vault gives the reason, such as no internet, iCloud full or Low Power Mode. Each item that is not backed up yet carries a small badge, and a filter lists them all.

York Vault marks an item as backed up only after iCloud confirms that it has every piece. It never shows “backed up” before that.

When the backup runs

The backup runs when York Vault is open and continues in the background. You can lock York Vault or your iPhone, and the backup continues. Large backups do the most work while your iPhone charges. The phone’s system decides when background work runs. A first backup of many items can take a night on the charger.

If an upload stops, it continues from the last finished piece. To start it at once, tap Back up now.

By default, the backup uses Wi-Fi only. In Settings you can allow mobile data all the time or for one session, and York Vault shows an estimate of the size first. Low Data Mode and Low Power Mode pause uploads, and the backup row says why.

If iCloud is full

York Vault tells you how much space is missing and which items wait. For example: “212 new items are only on this iPhone. Items backed up before Oct 1 are still in iCloud.” York Vault changes nothing on your iPhone. You can tap Manage iCloud storage to buy more space or free some.

Apple gives 5 GB of iCloud storage for free, and photos and videos fill it fast. Check the size before you add a large library.

Check that a restore works

York Vault can compare your library with the backup and tell you that every item is in it. If items are missing, it lists them with a button to fix it. Once a month it also tests itself: it downloads a few random pieces, decrypts them and checks them. You do not need to do anything for this.

Deleted and changed items

The backup keeps deleted and changed items for 30 days by default. You can pick any time from 0 to 90 days in Settings. This history uses your iCloud space, and the storage screen shows how much.

York Cloud (Pro)

York Cloud is a Pro option for people who do not have enough iCloud or Google Drive space. York Vault encrypts each item on your phone, then uploads it to storage that we run. We hold only encrypted data and no key, so we cannot open your items. The free backup to your own iCloud or Google Drive stays the default. See pricing for what Pro includes.

Sync across your devices (Plus and Pro)

With Plus or Pro, your devices on the same platform share one library. iPhone, iPad and Mac sync through iCloud. Android phones and tablets sync through Google Drive. Pro adds sync between iPhone and Android, through York Cloud. On Free, each device keeps its own library. If another device deletes a large part of a library at once, York Vault asks before it removes those items.

Turning the backup off

If you turn the backup off, York Vault asks whether to keep or delete the copy in iCloud. Items that are only on your phone are then lost if the phone is lost.

What the backup does not cover

• Items in York Vault are not part of your iCloud or computer backup of the iPhone. York Vault’s own backup is the copy.
• If you lose your code and your recovery key, nobody can open the backup. The one exception is the 72-hour reset through your Apple Account or Google account, if you turned it on before. See Forgot your code.