# Obscura: Encrypted Photo Vault — Hide Private Pictures & Videos > Encrypted photo, video, and document vault with zero data collection. (iPhone/iPad app by Orlio Inc.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/obscura-encrypted-photo-vault/id6759755376 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Orlio Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/1877703848) - Category: Photo & Video, Utilities - Price: Free with in-app purchases - Rating: 4.40/5 from 28 App Store ratings · 8 written reviews indexed - Age rating: 4+ - Requires: iOS 18.2 · 18 MB - Languages: American English, Dutch, Canadian French, German (Germany), Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, European Spanish and 3 more - Released: 2026-03-08 - Data updated: 2026-11-09 - Monetization: freemium - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/obscura-encrypted-photo-vault/id6759755376/reviews.md ## What is Obscura? Hide your photos, videos and documents behind AES-256-GCM encryption. No accounts, no cloud, no data collection. The code that encrypts your files is open source, so you can check it yourself. There is no password reset, by design: we keep no copy of your password or keys, so we can't open your vault or reset it for you. Your backups stay in your hands instead. You can export your whole vault as one encrypted file to keep wherever you like, and it opens with your vault password. If a subscription ends, you can still view and export everything already in your vault. ZERO DATA COLLECTION No analytics. No telemetry. No internet connection required. Everything runs entirely on your device. We cannot see your photos and we cannot see how you use the app. YOUR DOCUMENTS, ENCRYPTED Scan passports, IDs, bank cards, receipts and other papers, or add PDFs. Their text is read on your iPhone, so search finds a document by anything written on it, and expiry dates are picked out for reminders that say only that a document needs attention. Show a document full screen, or share a Safe Copy with parts blacked out and a watermark saying what it is for. IDs and bank cards stay blurred until tapped. Each vault can hold photos, documents or both. YOUR BACKUPS, YOUR CONTROL Export your entire vault, documents included, as an encrypted .obscura file, protected with the same AES-256 encryption and 600,000 rounds of key derivation as the vault itself. Keep it on a computer, a drive or in cloud storage. Restore it on any iPhone, or move between iPhones through Files or AirDrop. Export is free, with or without Pro. SEPARATE VAULTS Obscura keeps 10 encrypted vault slots in place at all times, each opening only with its own password, so work, family and private photos stay apart. There is no vault list or count, and unused slots look the same as active ones in your phone's storage, so a second vault can serve as a decoy. OPEN-SOURCE ENCRYPTION The code that encrypts your files is published on GitHub. Anyone can read it, run its tests, and check that the files on their own iPhone match it. https://github.com/orlio-inc/ObscuraCrypto ENCRYPTION THAT DOES NOT CUT CORNERS Every photo, video, document and database is encrypted with AES-256, and passwords go through 600,000 rounds of key derivation to resist brute-force attacks. Videos are decrypted in memory during playback, not stored unencrypted. Face ID and Touch ID are secured through the iOS Keychain and biometric access controls. Full specification and threat model: https://obscura-vault.com/security MORE THAN A VAULT Folders with optional second-layer password protection keep sensitive content separated even inside your vault. Crop, rotate, and flip your photos without leaving the app. Make collages of up to 10 photos. Find and clean up duplicate photos in batches. Extract frames from Live Photos. Reorder by hand or sort by date taken. FEATURES AT A GLANCE • AES-256 encryption on all photos, videos, documents and databases • Documents: scan, search, expiry reminders, Safe Copy • Quick camera in Control Center • Slideshows with shuffle and resume • Share to and from Obscura, up to 1,000 items at once • Face ID and Touch ID unlock • Auto-lock with configurable timeout • Automatic snapshots of your albums, tags and organization • Recently Deleted • Sort by date taken or reorder by hand • Favorites / Tags • iOS system iCloud backup • Unlimited photos, videos and documents (Pro) FREE TO START Store up to 50 photos and documents in one vault. Folder passwords are included free. Obscura Pro lifts the two limits: unlimited photos, videos and documents, and unlimited vaults. Subscribe monthly or yearly, with a one-week free trial on the yearly plan, or pay once with Lifetime and never see a renewal. If a subscription ends, only adding beyond the free limit stops. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ ## Key features - AES-256 encryption - Zero data collection - No internet connection required - Document scanning and OCR - Multiple encrypted vaults - Open-source encryption code - Face ID/Touch ID support ## Pricing and in-app purchases Base price: Free. **Subscriptions** | Subscription | Price | Period | | --- | --- | --- | | Obscura Pro Yearly | $29.99 | per year | | Obscura Pro Monthly | $6.99 | per month | **One-time purchases** | Purchase | Price | Type | | --- | --- | --- | | Obscura Pro | $39.99 | one-time | ## Is Obscura safe? Not enough ratings yet to assess Obscura. ## Is Obscura legit? Obscura: Encrypted Photo Vault has limited verification signals. The AppsHunter Legitimacy Score for Obscura is 58 out of 100 points across 7 verification signals from App Store and developer data. ## Recent user reviews (8 of 8) All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/obscura-encrypted-photo-vault/id6759755376/reviews.md ### 5/5 — has awesome potential! *2026-11-03* edit: gave me most of the features i wanted, tysm!!! i've been wanting to find a privacy alternative to apple photos for awhile now and i think i've finally found the one after so much searching. it literally has everything you could need like editing, sharing, metadata extraction, and password protection! with a built-in camera for photo capturing!! I LOVE IT!!! i only have some requests that i hope the dev will implement or take consideration for, such as: - making vault passwords optional - have the app open a folder (that is not password protected) on launch as a custom default option - group/sort images by date - photo grid layout adjustments - remove the green plus button when viewing photos (its distracting to look at 😭) **Developer response:** Thank you for your feedback! Reading how much you like the app, camera included, put a big smile on my face. You have great suggestions, and I'm already working on them, so expect some updates soon. UPDATE: Version 1.18.0 is out with your suggestions: Open on Unlock (start in a folder you choose), Sort By > Date Taken, pinch to zoom the grid, and the add button moved to the top bar. Instead of an optional vault password, you can turn on Face ID or Touch ID in Settings to open your vault quickly. If you need any help, email support@orlio.io. Thank you! ### 5/5 — Best hidden vault app *2026-11-01* Ive tried six other similar apps and this one has the best combination of features and frequent updates / improvements from the developer **Developer response:** UPDATE: Thank you so much for updating your review! I’m glad Obscura is working well for you, and I’ll keep improving it. ### 2/5 — Can't sort photos by date *2026-10-27* Can't sort photos by date **Developer response:** Thanks for the feedback, and sorry about this. The "Date Created" sort currently uses the date a photo was added to Obscura, not the date it was taken, so photos added together stay in the order they were imported. An upcoming update adds sorting by the date each photo was taken, including photos already in your vault. Thank you for your patience. ### 5/5 — has awesome potential! *2026-10-26* i've been wanting to find a privacy alternative to apple photos for awhile now and i think i've finally found the one after so much searching. it literally has everything you could need like editing, sharing, metadata extraction, and password protection! with a built-in camera for photo capturing!! I LOVE IT!!! i only have some requests that i hope the dev will implement or take consideration for, such as: - making vault passwords optional like folder passwords - have the app open a folder (that is not password protected) on launch as a custom default option - group/sort images by date - photo grid layout adjustments - remove the green plus button when viewing photos (its distracting to look at 😭) **Developer response:** Thank you for your feedback! Reading how much you like the app, camera included, put a big smile on my face. You have great suggestions, and I'm already working on them, so expect some updates soon. ### 5/5 — Best of Class *2026-10-20* This app has it all. You can send pictures from the app using Apple’s share sheet. You can also send pictures from about anywhere to the app. It has edit functionality and can strip metadata when sending out. It’s fantastic. **Developer response:** Thank you for such a kind review! Glad it’s working well for you. ### 5/5 — Fantastic app *2026-10-05* The developer knows what he is talking about unlike the plethora of losers and imposters that populate this category of apps. No telemetry and analytics bundled is highly appreciated. However... apps in such category have to be open source in order to be auditable. I understand that might be in conflict with the commercial interests of the developer (or maybe not - open source doesn't automatically mean people will rush to build clones), but it is what it is. I will buy the app to support the effort. Don't pay attention to the misguided reviews complaining the app costs money - duh. UPDATE: Seems like the developer has open-sourced the app! I couldn't ask for more - pure perfection, very responsive and dedicated developer! Thanks! **Developer response:** Thank you so much for the kind words and for supporting the app! Reviews like this keep me motivated to make Obscura even better. You're right that trust matters most in this category. An independent security audit is on my radar. As a solo developer, the cost is the only reason it hasn't happened yet. In the meantime, I've published a security paper (linked in the App Store description) that explains exactly how Obscura protects your photos, along with its known limitations. I will also consider open sourcing parts of the app so the core security can be verified by anyone. Thanks again for the thoughtful feedback! UPDATE: The encryption core, which handles all encrypting and decrypting, has now been released as an open source package. Starting with version 1.14.0, Obscura Photo Vault uses this package for all vault and file encryption and decryption. You can find the GitHub link on the app listing page. ### 5/5 — Bingo! *2026-09-27* Let me start by saying - this one is a genuine, well-thought-out concept from a knowledgeable developer. This is how a secure, local only vault should work. Countless other apps (really almost all of them) in this category are not only brazenly promoting unsubstantiated lies about being private, but actively harvesting your data! And making you pay for the abuse! The few that actually do work, have nasty stuff incorporated in them (Revenue Cat, other telemetry nonsense, etc). All fail at importing really large libraries (5,000+ pictures). So Obscura really is off to a very promising start. A few remarks - it is not open source, so claims about its security are difficult to verify. Also, (and this is a personal pet peeve of mine) like all other third-party galleries Obscura fails to generate really sharp thumbnails (not as sharp as Apple's Photos). Having said that, I will buy the app, because it is literally the first one on the market that actually is competently made. **Developer response:** Thank you, this review made my day! I built Obscura because I was frustrated by the same things you describe, so it means a lot that you noticed. You are right about open source, and I am already working on publishing parts of the code so the security claims can be checked. I also have good news about your pet peeve: sharper thumbnails were just released. Please update to the latest version, and I hope they pass your test now. If you have other ideas, write to me at support@orlio.io. I read every email. Thank you for using Obscura Photo Vault! UPDATE: The encryption core, which handles all encrypting and decrypting, has now been released as an open source package. Starting with version 1.14.0, Obscura Photo Vault uses this package for all vault and file encryption and decryption. You can find the GitHub link on the app listing page. ### 1/5 — Not free *2026-09-11* I didn’t try the app long enough to see if it was worth it. It only allows 50 photos, which is basically nothing. No reason to even offer a free tier at that point, and it feels slimy to have it listed free. I’m just going to go pay a competitor who at least had the decency to make me pay to download the app instead. This is not how you do a freemium service. **Developer response:** Thank you for the feedback, we read every review carefully. It may be worth knowing that the free version is not a feature-limited demo. Calculator Mode, Face ID unlock, folder passwords with second-layer encryption, photo editing, collages, duplicate cleanup, tags and the full AES-256-GCM encryption are all included at no cost. That is deliberate. We want you to be able to test everything the app does before deciding whether it is worth paying for. A vault app asks you to trust it with your most private files, and having to pay before you can check whether it earns that trust seems like the worse deal to us. Your photos are never trapped in the app either. Any photo or video can be saved back to your iOS Photos library at any time, individually or in bulk, at no cost. If a subscription ends, everything already in your vault stays accessible to view, organize and save out. What Pro lifts is the 50 photo cap and the single vault limit. A second vault is what enables the decoy setup, where you unlock a vault holding content you are comfortable showing. Obscura runs with no ads, no analytics and no data collection of any kind, so those two limits are the only thing funding the work. Both limits are stated on our App Store page rather than hidden. If you would like to judge the full app first, the yearly plan includes a one-week free trial that you can cancel at any time from your Apple account settings. Thank you again, and you are welcome to give Obscura another try. ## Frequently asked questions about Obscura ### Does Obscura have ads? No, Obscura is ad-free. It does not contain advertisements, allowing for an uninterrupted user experience. ### How secure is Obscura's encryption? Obscura uses AES-256-GCM encryption for all photos, videos, and documents. Passwords undergo 600,000 rounds of key derivation to resist brute-force attacks, and the encryption code is open-source for transparency. ### Can I recover my password if I forget it for Obscura? No, there is no password reset functionality by design. The app does not store your password or encryption keys, meaning it cannot access or recover your vault for you. ### What devices does Obscura support? Obscura is available for iPhone and iPad devices, ensuring your private media is protected across your Apple ecosystem. ### Can I use Obscura without an internet connection? Yes, Obscura requires no internet connection to function. All data processing and encryption happen entirely on your device, ensuring maximum privacy. ### What are the subscription options for Obscura Pro? Obscura Pro offers a monthly subscription for $6.99/P1M and a yearly subscription for $29.99/P1Y. The yearly plan includes a 7-day free trial. ### What happens to my data if my Obscura Pro subscription ends? If your subscription ends, you can still view and export all content that was already in your vault. The app's functionality for accessing existing data remains available. ### Can Obscura store documents as well as photos and videos? Yes, Obscura supports storing documents, including scanned passports, IDs, bank cards, receipts, and PDFs. It can even extract text from documents for searching and set reminders for expiry dates. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 1.19.1 — 2026-11-08 - Improvements to Export Vault. - Deleting a folder now moves its photos to Recently Deleted. Restoring any of them brings the folder back. - The folder list now shows when the vault was last backed up, with Back Up Now. Photos and documents share one backup date. - Shared items can go into a new folder: New Folder is in the Add To menu. - Export and import now say that documents are included. - Fixed: in a long folder list, the last folders sat under the buttons at the bottom. ### 1.19.0 — 2026-11-05 - New: Documents. Scan passports, IDs, bank cards, receipts and other papers, or add PDFs, and keep them encrypted beside your photos. Their text is read on your iPhone, so search finds a document by anything written on it. - Expiry reminders for passports, IDs and cards. The notification says only that a document needs attention. - Share a Safe Copy: black out what isn't needed and add a watermark saying what the copy is for. - Shared items now open in a window where you pick the folder, and an inbox keeps the ones you leave for later. Share up to 1,000 items at once, with progress as they're added. - In the camera, the volume buttons and Bluetooth selfie sticks take photos again. - Fixed: with Open on Unlock set to Last Opened Folder, shared items could not be added. ### 1.18.0 — 2026-10-31 - Sort any folder by Date Taken. Photos already in your vault have their dates read once after this update. - New Low Quality and High Quality filters help you find small or heavily compressed photos. Choose what each means in Settings > This Vault > Photo Quality. - Pinch the grid to zoom, or use Zoom In and Zoom Out in the folder menu. - Open on Unlock: start in the folder list, the last folder you opened, or a folder you choose. - The add button now sits in the top bar instead of over your photos. - Improved reliability: saving, deleting and restoring from a backup are safer for your photos. ### 1.17.2 — 2026-10-28 - Sharing or dropping files into Obscura now only takes photos and videos it can open, and tells you when something can't be added. Your photos are also safer when a save fails or when you clean up duplicates. ### 1.17.1 — 2026-10-24 - Small improvements. ## Apps similar to Obscura | App | Rating | Price | Category | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Inner Gallery - Photo Vault](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/inner-gallery-photo-vault/id6759598232) | 4.7 (7) | Free | Photo & Video | | [Photo Vault: Private Lock](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/photo-vault-private-lock/id6761002230) | 4.3 (7) | Free | Photo & Video | | [Photo Vault - Vaultaire](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/photo-vault-vaultaire/id6758529311) | 4.7 (61) | Free | Photo & Video | | [PureVault: Private Photo Vault](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/purevault-private-photo-vault/id6760844803) | 4.2 (5) | Free | Photo & Video | | [ArkWarden Hidden Photo Vault](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/arkwarden-hidden-photo-vault/id6777033926) | 5.0 (6) | Free | Photo & Video | | [Secret Photo Vault: Paranoid](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/secret-photo-vault-paranoid/id6746383628) | 5.0 (4) | Free | Photo & Video | ## More apps by Orlio Inc - [StayReady: Prepper & Go Bag](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/stayready-prepper-and-go-bag/id6759260973) All apps by Orlio Inc: https://appshunter.io/developer/1877703848 ## Related topics [encryption photo](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/encryption-photo) · [obscura vault](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/obscura-vault) · [obscura photo vault](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/obscura-photo-vault) · [photo storage encrypted](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/photo-storage-encrypted) · [obscura](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/obscura) · [gallery lock crypto encrypted](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/gallery-lock-crypto-encrypted) · [obscura 3](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/obscura-3) --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-11-09.*