Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Private Vault is a privacy-focused mobile application designed to securely store and protect your personal photos, videos, files, notes, diary entries, voice notes and contacts. It also includes a private browser that keeps its history only inside the vault, behind your passcode, where you can view and clear it. All content is saved locally in a secure environment, giving you full control over your sensitive data.

The app supports multiple profiles — including a REAL and a FAKE mode — allowing you to separate and conceal content as needed. You can organize your media into customizable albums and optionally back up individual items to Private Cloud, our paid encrypted backup service.

Access to Private Vault is protected by a personal PIN. Without it, no one can access your content. Since all data is stored directly on your device and not automatically synced to the cloud, we strongly recommend performing regular backups to prevent data loss in case of device failure or technical issues.

All your files are stored locally on your device, inside the app’s secure sandbox. By default, nothing is uploaded to the cloud — giving you full privacy and control over your data. If you subscribe to Private Cloud, encrypted copies of the items you choose are stored on Cloudflare servers through our backend; nothing is uploaded unless you tap Back up. Since storage is device-based, we strongly recommend that you perform regular backups. Private Vault is not liable for any data loss resulting from device malfunction, user actions, software bugs, or technical issues.

If you set up a Recovery Key in Security Center, you can use it to reset a forgotten passcode. If you did not, your passcode cannot be recovered or reset, and you may lose access to your REAL profile and everything in it. We strongly advise memorizing your PIN or storing it securely, and setting up a Recovery Key, as it is the only way to access your private content.

No. Only users with the correct PIN can access your content. The app does not upload, share, or transmit your files without your explicit permission. Private Cloud backups are encrypted on your phone before upload; we cannot read them, and your recovery code can unlock them.

Your vault lives on one device and there is no live sync between devices. With Private Cloud you can restore backed-up items on a new phone by signing in with the same account and entering your recovery code.

You can manually delete files from within the app at any time. Additionally, uninstalling the app will erase all locally stored data. Please note that once a file is deleted—either manually or by removing the app—it cannot be recovered by you or by us. There is no recycle bin or restore option, so please delete with caution. Items you backed up to Private Cloud are removed separately, from the Cloud tab; removed items are kept in an archive for 30 days (still counting toward your storage) and then permanently deleted. To remove everything from the cloud, delete your Private Cloud account in Profile.

We never see your files, passcodes, recovery code or browsing history. The App does use Firebase Analytics and Crashlytics to understand usage and fix crashes, and the free version shows Google AdMob ads, which may use your device’s advertising identifier only with your permission. Details are in our Privacy Policy.

Private Vault allows you to set up two separate profiles: a REAL profile for your actual private content and a FAKE profile with decoy data. Entering the fake password opens a separate vault, helping you avoid suspicion if someone asks to see your content.

No. Once a file is deleted from the app or the app is uninstalled, it is permanently removed and cannot be recovered unless you had backed it up to Private Cloud, in which case you can restore it from the Cloud tab, provided the backup is intact. Always back up important content to avoid accidental loss. Private Vault is not responsible for lost data under any circumstance.

Yes. Premium users can choose a different app icon from Settings so that the App looks like something else on the Home Screen. If your subscription ends, the icon returns to the default.

Yes. You can import photos and videos from your device’s gallery and manually add contacts within the app. Automatic syncing with other apps is not supported to protect your privacy.

Yes. Private Vault works entirely offline. All features are available without an internet connection, except for Private Cloud, signing in, and advertisements in the free version.

Yes. You can change your PIN at any time from the app’s settings, as long as you know the current one.

The free version lets you store a limited number of files and photos and shows ads. Premium removes ads and unlocks unlimited files and photos, the Private Browser, Custom App Icons, Auto-Lock on inactivity and the Duplicate Finder, and includes 50 MB of Private Cloud storage. Premium + Cloud adds 100 GB of Private Cloud storage. Lifetime owners can add Private Cloud as a separate subscription.

Private Cloud is an optional, paid subscription that stores encrypted copies of the items you choose so you can restore them on a new phone. Each item is encrypted on your device before upload; we never see its contents or its name. Nothing is uploaded automatically: you pick each item with Back up, and you can remove it at any time. Items up to 2 GB are supported and are stored exactly as they are, without compression.

No. Private Cloud is an extra, encrypted copy of the items you choose — not a guarantee that every item can always be restored. Like any software, the App and our servers can have bugs; an upload can be interrupted; a file can be corrupted in transit or in storage; a restore can fail; and a lost recovery code makes a backup permanently unreadable. Because your backups are encrypted with a key we never have, we cannot check, repair or recover them for you. Please use “Verify backup” after uploading anything important, keep your own separate copy of anything you cannot afford to lose, and do not delete the original or erase your phone on the strength of a “Backed up” label alone. Full details are in Section 6 of the Terms & Conditions.

When you set up Private Cloud, the App creates a 26-character recovery code and shows it inside the app. It protects the key that encrypts your backups, and it never leaves your device. Save it somewhere safe: restoring on a new phone requires it together with your sign-in. If you lose it, nobody — including us — can decrypt your backups. You can request a reset from a signed-in device; any device that still holds the code has 24 hours to deny the reset, after which your old backups are archived for 30 days and then deleted, and you start again with a new code. A reset does not bring back any data.

New backups stop, but from a phone where Private Cloud is already set up you can keep downloading, restoring and deleting what you already uploaded. Your backups stay available for at least 60 days after your subscription ends and may be permanently deleted after 120 days. The files on your phone are never affected. If you resubscribe, you continue where you left off.

If you turn it on in Security Center, the App takes a photo with the front camera whenever a wrong passcode is entered and keeps it in a report you can review after you unlock. Photos stay on your device and are never uploaded.

This FAQ is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For full legal terms, data handling policies, and user responsibilities, please refer to our official Terms & Conditions, which prevail over this FAQ. By using the app, you acknowledge that Private Vault and Private Cloud are provided “as is”, and that its developers are not responsible for any data loss, corrupted or unrestorable backups, misuse, or unauthorized access resulting from user error, device failure, software defects, or technical issues.