Privately review
A security-focused iPhone vault with OCR search, but a costly weekly Pro plan.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Privately is an iPhone app for hiding, locking, and encrypting personal photos and videos. It suits users who want searchable private albums with local protection rather than a cloud-based photo service. The Free plan provides basic photo vault use and does not require sign-up. PIN, Face ID, and Touch ID protection cover access, while locked albums stay hidden from the timeline, search, and favorites.
The main security feature is AES-256-GCM on-device encryption. On-device OCR search lets users find text within photos without sending vault content to a server. A decoy PIN opens a separate vault, and break-in alerts can capture a photo after an incorrect PIN. Encrypted, password-protected backups are also available, with backup control remaining with the user. Privately does not operate cloud storage for vault content and has no server-side accounts.
Pricing is straightforward but expensive at the weekly level. Pro costs $6.99 per week or $39.99 per year with annual billing, and adds locked albums, encrypted backups, and additional Pro features. A 7-day free trial is available. The trade-off is platform coverage: Privately is limited to iPhone users, so people who need Android support should choose another vault app. It also is not a fit for anyone seeking provider-operated cloud storage for the vault. Choose Privately for local encryption, OCR search, and layered privacy controls on iOS; choose an alternative when broader platform access or cloud-based vault storage matters more.
Privately pros and cons
- Where it wins
- AES-256-GCM encryption runs on the device
- OCR search finds text inside photos on-device
- Decoy PIN and intruder photo capture add privacy controls
- Where it doesn't
- Available only on iOS
- Pro costs $6.99 per week
- Vault content is not stored in cloud storage
Privately fact sheet, pricing and score →
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