How to get your photos out of a vault app on iPhone
The day you leave a vault is the day you find out what it was really like.
In short
Look for an export or share option in the vault, export everything to the Photos app or the Files app, then check the count, the quality and the dates before you delete the vault app. Deleting the app first usually deletes everything still inside it.
Key takeaways
- Never delete the vault app before checking the export.
- Compare the number of files on both sides.
- Check that original quality and dates survived.
Before you start
- Make sure there is enough free space on the iPhone for everything you export.
- Note how many photos and videos the vault holds.
- If the vault has several albums or vaults, list them so none is forgotten.
Exporting
Most vault apps let you select files and send them through the share sheet: “Save Image” puts photos back in the photo library, “Save to Files” keeps documents and originals as files. Some apps export one file at a time or only in reduced quality — check before you commit to a long session.
Checking
- Compare the number of exported files with the number in the vault.
- Open a few exported photos at full size to check quality.
- Swipe up on a few to check the original date was kept.
Only then
Once everything is confirmed, delete the vault app. Remember that exported photos are now ordinary photos again: visible in the library, synced by iCloud Photos, and kept 30 days in Recently Deleted if you delete them.
Leaving Latent
Latent lets you share files to other apps and export a complete encrypted archive of a vault. If a subscription lapses, reading and exporting keep working: files you stored are never locked behind a payment.