Comparison

Privately vs Mo Layer

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Privately

Securely hide and encrypt your photos on your iPhone with on-device protection. Lock albums with biometrics, search text within images, and create encrypted backups. Your memories stay private and inaccessible to others.

Highlights
  • On-device encryption
  • Face ID/Touch ID/PIN protection
  • Hidden albums
  • Text search inside photos
  • Encrypted backups
  • No servers or tracking
Features
Read full description

Privately keeps your photos truly private — hidden, locked, and encrypted on your iPhone. No cloud, no photo uploads, no ads, no tracking. FREE TO START Import, view, and organize your photos for free — up to 3 albums and 3 tags, plus basic search and the Recently Deleted safety net. Upgrade to Pro whenever you want more. YOUR LIBRARY, YOUR RULES Hide photos from your default library with a tap. Lock specific albums behind Face ID, Touch ID, or a PIN — perfect for personal moments, IDs, receipts, and screenshots you'd rather keep out of sight. ENCRYPTED ON YOUR DEVICE Every photo you import is encrypted on your iPhone using AES-256-GCM, with keys protected by Face ID/Touch ID. Nothing leaves your device. Privately has no photo servers, so even we cannot see your photos. UNLOCK INSTANTLY WITH FACE ID Open hidden albums with biometrics in a glance. Set a PIN as a fallback. Albums re-lock automatically when you switch apps or close Privately, even if your phone is still unlocked. SEARCH TEXT INSIDE ANY PHOTO On-device OCR runs across your entire encrypted vault. Find receipts, documents, screenshots, and notes by their contents — without sending anything to the cloud. ENCRYPTED BACKUPS YOU CONTROL Export a password-protected archive (Argon2id + AES-256-GCM). Store it in iCloud Drive, Files, or another cloud — even if the file leaks, your photos stay encrypted. WHY PRIVATELY • On-device encryption (AES-256-GCM) • Face ID / Touch ID / PIN protection • True hidden albums — invisible from the iOS Photos app • Text search inside photos (OCR) • Encrypted, password-protected backups • No accounts, no photo uploads — anonymous product analytics only, never your photos • Designed for iOS — fast, private, beautiful PRIVACY YOU CAN VERIFY We don't track you. We don't ask for an account. We never upload your photos to any server. Your photos and metadata never leave your iPhone unless you choose to export them. For everyone who wants their personal photos to stay personal — family, friends, work, finance, health — all under your control, all on your phone. SUBSCRIPTION TERMS Privately PRO unlocks advanced features — including encrypted backups, Album Lock, and unlimited albums — with one of two auto-renewing subscriptions: • Yearly: $39.99 USD / year. • Weekly: $5.99 USD / week. Payment will be charged to your Apple ID at confirmation of purchase. Your subscription renews automatically at the same price unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period; the account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. Local prices may vary by region; the exact price for your region is shown in the in-app subscription tile. You can manage and cancel your subscription anytime in your Apple ID Account Settings. Privacy Policy: https://getprivately.app/privacy Terms of Use: https://getprivately.app/terms

About

Mo Layer

Securely organize and protect your private photos, videos, and important documents. Keep sensitive content separate from your public camera roll and easily find what you need with custom albums and a discreet interface. Offers optional encrypted iCloud sync for backup and recovery.

Highlights
  • Secure photo and file protection
  • Import from Photos, Camera, Files
  • Organize with albums and favorites
  • Encrypted iCloud sync
  • Discreet interface and decoy space
  • Unlimited storage (Pro)
  • Batch organization (Pro)
Features
Read full description

Mo Layer is a private photo vault for iPhone. Keep personal photos, videos, and screenshots in a separate encrypted album, protected from casual browsing. Import from Photos, Camera, Files, or the share sheet, and organize private memories with albums and favorites. You can also protect IDs, contracts, and important documents. Use it to separate personal records from your public camera roll, keep sensitive screenshots away from shared albums, store copies of documents for quick reference, or build a calm archive for memories and files you do not want mixed with everyday media. Key features: • Protect photos, videos, and files on this device • Import from Photos, Camera, Files, and share extensions • Organize content with albums, recent imports, favorites, and trash recovery • Quickly find saved items by keeping related memories and documents together • Optional iCloud encrypted sync for device changes and recovery • Discreet file-cabinet entry and realistic decoy space for everyday situations • Unlimited storage, batch organization, advanced disguise, decoy passcodes, intrusion records, and advanced recovery require Pro, available as a separate purchase Privacy is central to Mo Layer. Your personal content stays protected on your device by default. When iCloud sync is enabled, synced content is encrypted before upload, and the developer does not hold your decryption key. Terms of Use: https://molayer.tech/en-US/content/terms-of-service/ Privacy Policy: https://molayer.tech/en-US/content/privacy-policy/ Official website: https://molayer.tech

Screenshots

Privately4 screens
Mo Layer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Privately at every 10 days against Mo Layer's monthly. Privately also leads on ratings volume (6 vs 1). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Privately sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per 7 days and Mo Layer sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Privately against 5.0 for Mo Layer. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Privately has 6 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Privately ships an update every 10 days, Mo Layer monthly. Both last shipped on October 25, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Privately versus Mo Layer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPrivatelyMo Layer
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (6 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Number of ratings6 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS18.018.0
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB21 MB
Age rating9+17+
DeveloperCloudBeat Inc.晓枫 胡

Customer experience

Privately

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Mo Layer

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Privately

Subscriptions3
  • Weekly Pro3 Days trial$5.997 Days
  • Yearly Pro1 Year trial$39.991 Year
  • Yearly Pro$39.991 Year
3 purchases

Mo Layer

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Pro3 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Yearly Pro3 Days trial$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pro Lifetime$29.99

Questions

Is Privately free?
Privately is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Mo Layer free?
Mo Layer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Privately or Mo Layer?
Privately and Mo Layer are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 6 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Privately or Mo Layer have ads?
Neither Privately nor Mo Layer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Privately or Mo Layer?
Privately ships an update every 10 days, and Mo Layer monthly. Most recently, Privately was updated on October 25, 2026 and Mo Layer on October 25, 2026.

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