# Latent — English > Latent encrypts your photos, videos and files on your iPhone. No account, no tracking, no lock-in. Everything goes in freely — and comes back out just as freely. Source: https://latentapp.site/en/ · 11 languages · https://latentapp.site/llms.txt ## Nobody sees your photos but you. URL: https://latentapp.site/en/ Encrypted on your iPhone. No account, no tracking — and everything comes back out whenever you want it. ### What Latent actually does - **Encryption, not a hidden folder** — AES-256-GCM, one key per file, each wrapped by your vault key and bound to the Secure Enclave. Not a folder marked private — files that cannot be read without your pattern, not even by us. - **Free to leave** — Select everything and send it straight back to your photo library, originals and dates intact, in one action. Most vaults let you export one photo at a time, if at all. Leaving is not a feature we charge for. - **Nothing leaves your phone** — No account to create, no email to hand over, no analytics, no advertising, no third-party code. There is no server for your files to sit on, because there is no server. - **Your originals, untouched** — No recompression, no resizing, no stripped metadata. The file that comes out is the file that went in, byte for byte. - **Everything, not just photos** — Photos, videos, PDFs, documents, any file at all — in one grid, with folders, tags, sorting and search. Videos play straight from the encrypted store without ever being written out in the clear. - **Several vaults, one at a time** — Independent vaults with their own keys, and no visible list of them. What is not open is not announced. ### What Latent will never do - Ask for an account or an email address - Send a single byte of your files anywhere - Lock content you already stored behind a paywall - Recompress or resize what you give it - Carry advertising or third-party tracking If the subscription lapses, reading and exporting keep working. Your files are not collateral. ### Questions worth asking **What happens if I forget my pattern?** You use the nine-word recovery phrase shown when you create the vault. Without the pattern and without that phrase, the files cannot be recovered — not by you, and not by us. That is what end-to-end encryption means, and it is the honest answer. **Can I get my files back out?** Yes, all of them, at any time, with no limit and no subscription required. Select and export: photos and videos return to your photo library as ordinary files, with their original dates. **Do the photos stay in the Photos app after I import them?** You choose. Latent can delete the original on import, and it will remind you that iOS keeps deleted items in Recently Deleted for thirty days — a step most vault apps stay quiet about. **Is the code open to inspection?** The encryption design is documented in full and the app is built to be audited by an independent reviewer before release. We would rather be checked than believed. ## About Latent URL: https://latentapp.site/en/about/ Latent is an encrypted vault for photos, videos and files on iPhone, built independently, with no account, no advertising and no tracking. ### What Latent is Latent is an iPhone app that stores photos, videos, documents and any other file in encrypted vaults, opened with a pattern that is not your iPhone passcode. ### Who makes it Latent is designed and built by an independent developer in France. There is no investor to answer to and no advertising business behind it, which is what makes it possible to promise that your files are never the product. ### How it is funded Latent is free to start. An optional paid plan funds its development. That is the whole business model: no data is sold, because no data is collected. ### Why the name In photography, the latent image is the one already on the film before it is developed: present, and not yet visible. That is what a vault is for. ## The Latent manifesto URL: https://latentapp.site/en/manifesto/ Six commitments Latent makes about your files: encryption by default, no account, no tracking, no lock-in, no hostage content, no false promises. ### 1. Your files are encrypted before anything else happens Encryption is not a premium option or a setting to find. Every file is encrypted on your iPhone from the moment it enters a vault. ### 2. You do not need to tell us who you are No account, no email, no phone number. A vault should not begin by collecting the one thing it exists to protect: information about you. ### 3. Nothing is measured without your say No analytics by default, no advertising, no third-party tracking code. What you do in your vault is not data. ### 4. Leaving is always possible You can take your files out at any time. A vault that makes leaving difficult has turned your privacy into its retention strategy. ### 5. Your files are never held hostage If a subscription ends, reading and exporting keep working. What you stored is never locked behind a payment. ### 6. We only promise what the app does Every feature described on this site exists in the app. When something is not possible — recovering a vault without its phrase, for instance — we say so plainly. ## Support URL: https://latentapp.site/en/support/ Get help with Latent: answers to common questions, how to recover a vault, and how to contact us. We never ask for your pattern or your recovery phrase. > We will never ask for your pattern, your password or your recovery phrase. Anyone who does is not us. ### I forgot my pattern Use the nine-word recovery phrase of that vault. Without the pattern and without the phrase, the vault cannot be opened by anyone, including us. ### I have a new iPhone Install Latent on the new iPhone with the same iCloud account, choose to restore a vault and enter its recovery phrase. ### Something does not work Write to us with your iPhone model, your iOS version, the version of Latent and what happened. Please do not attach files from your vault. # What Latent does Every feature of Latent, explained plainly: what it does, how it works, and what it deliberately does not do. ## Encryption: one key per file URL: https://latentapp.site/en/features/encryption/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 How Latent encrypts every photo, video and file with AES-256-GCM, one key per file, bound to the Secure Enclave of your iPhone. **In short:** Latent encrypts each file with its own AES-256-GCM key. That key is wrapped by your vault key, which is itself bound to the Secure Enclave of your iPhone and unlocked by your pattern or password. Nothing is ever written to storage unencrypted. **Key takeaways:** - AES-256-GCM, one key per file. - Keys and caches are wiped from memory as soon as the vault locks. - The app preview in the app switcher is hidden. ### What “one key per file” means Most vault apps encrypt everything with one key, or simply put files in a folder the app refuses to show. Latent gives every file its own random key. Each of those keys is then encrypted — “wrapped” — by the key of the vault the file belongs to. The practical consequence is containment. A key exposed in memory while one photo is open gives access to that photo, not to the rest of the vault. ### Where the vault key lives The vault key never exists on disk in a usable form. It is protected by a key held in the Secure Enclave, the isolated security chip of your iPhone, and it can only be unlocked with your pattern or password. Copying the app’s files off the phone yields encrypted data and nothing else. > [Figure] Every file has its own key. The vault key wraps them all, and it can only be unwrapped inside the Secure Enclave, with your pattern. (Each file · its own AES-256-GCM key · Vault key · wraps every file key · Secure Enclave · opened by your pattern) ### What happens when the vault locks - Decryption keys are erased from memory. - Temporary decrypted previews and thumbnails are erased. - The search index, which only ever lives in memory, is discarded. You choose when this happens: immediately, after 30 seconds, after one minute, or when you leave the app. ### What encryption does not protect against Encryption protects files at rest. It cannot protect what is on screen while the vault is open, and it cannot protect a pattern someone watched you draw. Latent narrows that window with automatic locking and a hidden app-switcher preview, but the vault is only as private as the moment you open it. ## The nine-word recovery phrase URL: https://latentapp.site/en/features/recovery-phrase/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Latent gives you nine words when you create a vault. They are the only way back in if you forget your pattern. Nobody else holds them, including us. **In short:** When you create a vault, Latent shows you nine words and asks you to retype two of them. Those words can unlock the vault if you forget your pattern, and they restore it on a new iPhone. Latent never stores them, so nobody — including us — can recover a vault without them. **Key takeaways:** - Shown once, at vault creation, then verified. - Needed to restore a vault on a new device. - There is no recovery without it. That is by design. ### Why nine words and not an email reset An email reset means someone, somewhere, can open your vault without your pattern. That someone is the company running the server, and anyone who gains access to it. Latent has no account and no server, so it has nothing to reset — and nobody to be compromised. The phrase is the trade-off made visible: you hold the only spare key. > [Figure] On a new iPhone, the nine words are what bring the vault back. Nobody else holds a copy. (New iPhone · Nine-word phrase · known only to you · Vault restored) ### How it is checked A phrase you never wrote down is worse than no phrase, because it gives false confidence. So after showing the nine words, Latent asks you to type two of them back before the vault is created. ### Where to keep it - On paper, somewhere you would look for important documents. - In a password manager you already trust. - Not in a screenshot inside the Photos app — that is precisely the place a vault exists to protect. > If you lose both your pattern and your phrase, the vault cannot be opened. This is not a limitation we could lift for you: it is what makes the encryption real. ## Several vaults, one open at a time URL: https://latentapp.site/en/features/multiple-vaults/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Create independent vaults in Latent, each with its own pattern and keys. Only one is open at a time, and there is no visible list of the others. **In short:** Latent can hold several vaults, each with its own pattern and its own keys. Drawing a pattern opens the vault it belongs to and only that one. There is no list of vaults anywhere in the app, so opening one reveals nothing about whether others exist. **Key takeaways:** - Independent keys: one vault cannot open another. - No visible list of vaults. - A wrong pattern produces a neutral message that reveals nothing. ### Why separate vaults instead of folders A folder is a way to sort things. A vault is a way to separate who can see them. Holiday photos you are happy to show and documents you are not should not open with the same gesture. ### Why there is no list A list of vaults is information in itself. Showing “3 vaults” to someone looking over your shoulder tells them there are two they have not seen. Latent shows only the vault that matches the pattern drawn. > [Figure] Each pattern opens one vault. Nothing on screen shows how many vaults exist. (Pattern · Vault · No list of vaults, anywhere) ### What a wrong pattern shows Nothing useful. The message is the same whether the pattern belongs to no vault or to a vault that exists, so trying patterns teaches an onlooker nothing. ### What this is not Latent 1.0 does not offer decoy vaults or a duress code that opens a fake vault under pressure. Separate vaults with no visible list are a different, simpler guarantee: each one is private to whoever knows its pattern. ## Pattern or password unlock, with automatic locking URL: https://latentapp.site/en/features/pattern-unlock/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Open Latent with a 5×5 pattern or a password, separate from your iPhone passcode, and choose how quickly it locks itself again. **In short:** Each Latent vault opens with its own 5×5 pattern or password, independent from your iPhone passcode. The vault locks itself again immediately, after 30 seconds, after a minute, or when you leave the app — your choice. **Key takeaways:** - Independent from the iPhone passcode. - 5×5 grid: far more combinations than the usual 3×3. - Guided creation with a strength indicator. ### Why not just Face ID or the iPhone passcode Anyone who knows your iPhone passcode — a partner, a family member, someone who watched you type it — can open everything that relies on it, including the Hidden album of the Photos app. A vault that opens with the same secret protects nothing from those people. ### Why a 5×5 grid A 3×3 pattern has few enough combinations, and leaves visible enough smudges, to be guessed. A 5×5 grid multiplies the possibilities and makes a pattern much harder to read from a glance or from the screen. ### Choosing a good pattern When you create a vault, Latent shows a live strength indicator as you draw. Long patterns that change direction and do not start in a corner are the hardest to guess. ### Automatic locking - Immediately, as soon as the app leaves the screen. - After 30 seconds or one minute, for quick back-and-forth. - When you close the app. ## Encrypted iCloud backup URL: https://latentapp.site/en/features/encrypted-icloud-backup/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Latent backs up your vaults to your own iCloud, end-to-end encrypted and on by default, and lets you test a restore before you ever need one. **In short:** Latent backs up each vault to your own iCloud account, encrypted on your iPhone before it leaves. Neither Apple nor Latent can read it. Backup is on by default, its status is always visible, and a built-in test lets you check that a restore actually works. **Key takeaways:** - Encrypted before upload: iCloud only ever stores ciphertext. - On by default, status always visible. - Restore on a new iPhone with your recovery phrase. ### Why backup is on by default The most common way people lose private photos is not a hacker. It is a lost, broken or replaced phone with a vault that was never backed up. A vault app that leaves backup off by default protects your files from everyone, including you. ### Who can read the backup Nobody but you. Files are encrypted on your iPhone with keys that never leave it unprotected, then stored in your iCloud. Apple stores data it cannot read; Latent has no server and never sees it at all. > [Figure] The backup is encrypted before it leaves the iPhone. iCloud stores data that Apple cannot read. (Encrypted on your iPhone · Stored in your iCloud · unreadable to Apple · Restored with your phrase) ### Restoring on a new iPhone 1. Install Latent on the new iPhone, signed in to the same iCloud account. 2. Choose to restore a vault. 3. Enter the nine-word recovery phrase of that vault. ### The restore test Latent includes a restore test that checks your backup can actually be decrypted with your phrase — before the day you need it, rather than on it. > The backup is only as recoverable as your recovery phrase. Without the phrase, an encrypted backup stays encrypted. ## Photos, videos, PDFs and any file, in one place URL: https://latentapp.site/en/features/all-your-files/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Latent keeps photos, videos, PDFs and any other file in one encrypted gallery, with folders, filters, sorting and encrypted video playback. **In short:** Latent is not only a photo vault. It stores photos, videos, PDFs and any other file in a single encrypted gallery, with nested folders, quick filters and sorting by date, name, type or size. Videos play straight from encrypted storage, and documents open in Quick Look, decrypted only in memory. **Key takeaways:** - One grid for every file type, or filter by kind. - Nested folders, grid or list, four sort orders. - Videos stream from encrypted storage, never written out in the clear. ### Why one vault for everything The documents people most want to keep private are often not photos: a passport scan, a medical letter, a contract, a payslip. A vault that only accepts images pushes those files back into the Files app, unprotected. ### Finding things - Quick filters — All, Photos, Videos, Documents, Others — that remember your last choice. - Nested folders. - Grid or list view, sorted by date, name, type or size. - Pinch to change thumbnail size, drag to select many items at once. ### Viewing without leaking Photos open full screen with the gestures you already know: swipe between items, double-tap to zoom, pull down to close. Videos are decrypted as they play and resume where you stopped. PDFs and documents open in Quick Look, decrypted temporarily in memory and never written to disk in the clear. ### Thumbnails are encrypted too Thumbnails are generated at import and stored encrypted, like the files themselves. A gallery that encrypts originals but leaves readable thumbnails behind has leaked the photos already. ## Tags and search, encrypted URL: https://latentapp.site/en/features/tags-and-search/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Tag files with colours, filter by several tags and search by name, type, date, size or folder — with an index that only ever exists in memory. **In short:** Latent lets you tag files, filter by one or several tags and search by name, type, date range, size, tag or folder. Tags are stored encrypted inside the vault, and the search index is built in memory when you unlock and discarded when you lock. **Key takeaways:** - Coloured tags, several per file, applied in bulk. - Combinable search filters. - Nothing readable is left on disk: not the tags, not the index, not the history. ### Tags - Create, rename and delete tags, each with a colour. - Several tags per file, added at import or applied to a whole selection. - Filter the gallery by one or several tags from the chips at the top. - A star tag for favourites, and a screen showing how many files each tag holds. ### Search Search by file name or tag, and narrow results with filters you can combine: type, date range, size, tag and folder. Suggestions appear as you type, and results show in the same grid as the gallery. ### Why it matters that the index is in memory Tag names and file names are information. A tag called “medical” or a file called “contract-final.pdf” says a great deal even when the file itself is encrypted. Latent never writes tags, file names or the search index to disk in the clear. The index is rebuilt when you unlock and discarded when you lock, and search history can be turned off or erased. ## Import from Photos, Files or any app URL: https://latentapp.site/en/features/import-from-anywhere/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Bring photos and files into Latent from your library, the Files app or any app’s share sheet — with an honest reminder about Recently Deleted. **In short:** Latent imports from your photo library, from the Files app and from the share sheet of any app. When importing from Photos you can delete the originals, and Latent reminds you that iOS keeps deleted photos in Recently Deleted for up to 30 days — so you can empty it too. **Key takeaways:** - One “+” button: library, camera, files. - Share Extension: send to Latent from any app. - An explicit reminder about the Recently Deleted album. ### Three ways in - From your photo library, with the option to delete the originals afterwards. - From the Files app, for documents and any other file. - From any app, through the share sheet. ### The step most vault apps leave out Deleting a photo on iPhone does not delete it. It moves to the Recently Deleted album, where it stays for up to 30 days. A vault that imports your photos and quietly “deletes” the originals has left a full copy in plain view. Latent tells you this at the moment it matters, right after import, so the private copy is the only copy. ### Large imports Imports show their progress and can be cancelled at any time. Thumbnails are generated and encrypted as each file comes in. ## Secure camera URL: https://latentapp.site/en/features/secure-camera/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Take photos straight into an encrypted Latent vault. They never pass through the camera roll, iCloud Photos or Recently Deleted. **In short:** Latent’s camera captures photos directly into the open vault. They are encrypted as they are saved and never appear in the Photos app, iCloud Photos or Recently Deleted — there is no original to delete afterwards. **Key takeaways:** - Captured straight into the vault. - Never in the camera roll, so never synced by iCloud Photos. - Nothing to clean up afterwards. ### Why not take the photo and import it A photo taken with the Camera app lands in your library, starts syncing to iCloud Photos within seconds, and may appear in Memories, widgets or search before you have had time to move it. Importing it afterwards leaves a copy in Recently Deleted for up to 30 days. Capturing inside Latent skips all of that. The photo only ever exists encrypted. ### Good uses - Identity documents, before you hand them over or after you receive them. - Medical documents and prescriptions. - Anything you would not want to scroll past in front of someone. ## No account, no ads, no tracking URL: https://latentapp.site/en/features/no-tracking/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Latent has no account, no advertising and no telemetry by default. Crash reports, if you enable them, never contain file names. **In short:** Latent works without an account or an email address, shows no advertising and collects no analytics by default. If you choose to send crash reports, they never contain file names or content. **Key takeaways:** - No account, no email, no sign-in. - No advertising and no third-party advertising code. - No telemetry by default. ### Why a vault should not have an account An account is a list of people who use a privacy app, held on someone’s server. It can be breached, subpoenaed or sold. Latent has nothing of the kind to lose, because it never had it. ### Why no analytics by default Usage analytics in a vault app reveal patterns — how often you open it, how many files you add, when. Latent sends none of this unless you decide otherwise. ### Crash reports Crash reports help fix bugs. If you turn them on, they describe what went wrong in the code, never which files you had or what they were called. # Privacy guides for iPhone Clear answers to the questions people actually ask about hiding, locking and protecting photos and files on iPhone. ## iPhone Hidden album vs a photo vault app URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/hidden-album-vs-photo-vault-iphone/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 What the iPhone Hidden album actually protects, who can still open it, and when a separate encrypted vault app makes a real difference. **In short:** The Hidden album removes photos from your library and, since iOS 16, locks behind Face ID, Touch ID or your iPhone passcode. Anyone who knows that passcode can open it, and it syncs to every device on your Apple ID. A vault app with its own secret and its own encryption protects photos from people who know your passcode; the Hidden album does not. **Key takeaways:** - The Hidden album unlocks with the same passcode as the phone. - It syncs through iCloud Photos to your other devices. - iCloud Photos is end-to-end encrypted only with Advanced Data Protection turned on. ### What the Hidden album does well - Hidden photos disappear from the Library view, from albums, from Memories and from widgets. - Since iOS 16, opening the album requires Face ID, Touch ID or the iPhone passcode. - It is free, built in and requires nothing to install. Against a casual glance — someone scrolling through your photos while you show them one — that is often enough. ### Where it stops #### It opens with your iPhone passcode The lock is the same secret that unlocks the phone. A partner, a family member, a colleague who watched you type it, or anyone you hand your unlocked phone to with the passcode can open the Hidden album in seconds. #### It follows your Apple ID With iCloud Photos turned on, hidden photos sync to your iPad and Mac, and are visible to anyone who can open the Hidden album there — on a shared family Mac, for instance. #### Apple holds the keys by default Under standard data protection, iCloud Photos is encrypted in transit and on Apple’s servers, but Apple holds the keys. Photos become end-to-end encrypted only if you turn on Advanced Data Protection, available since iOS 16.2. Apple no longer offers it to new users in the United Kingdom since February 2025. > [Figure] The Hidden album opens with the iPhone passcode. A vault opens with a secret of its own. (Hidden album · Opens with the iPhone passcode or Face ID · Syncs to your other devices with iCloud Photos · Latent vault · Opens with its own pattern · Each file encrypted with its own key) ### When a vault app makes the difference A separate vault matters when the people you want to keep photos from are people who could know your passcode, or when you want photos that never sync to other devices. A vault like Latent uses its own pattern or password and encrypts files itself, so the iPhone passcode alone opens nothing. ### If you stay with the Hidden album - Turn on Face ID for the Hidden album in Settings › Photos (Settings › Apps › Photos on iOS 18 and later). - Turn on Advanced Data Protection if you use iCloud Photos. - Remember that Recently Deleted keeps deleted photos for 30 days. **Sources:** - [Apple — iCloud data security overview](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102651) - [Apple — How to turn on Advanced Data Protection for iCloud](https://support.apple.com/en-us/108756) - [Engadget — Apple disables iCloud’s Advanced Data Protection feature in the UK (Feb. 2025)](https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/apple-disables-iclouds-advanced-data-protection-feature-in-the-uk-173016447.html) ## End-to-end encryption for photos, explained URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/end-to-end-encryption-photos/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 What end-to-end encryption means for your photos, whether iCloud Photos uses it, and how to tell if an app really encrypts your files. **In short:** End-to-end encryption means your photos are encrypted on your device with keys only your devices hold, so the company storing them cannot read them. iCloud Photos is end-to-end encrypted only when Advanced Data Protection is on; by default Apple holds the keys. **Key takeaways:** - “Encrypted” alone usually means the provider can still decrypt. - End-to-end: only your devices hold the keys. - The trade-off: nobody can reset access for you. ### Three kinds of “encrypted” - In transit: protected on the way to the server, readable once it arrives. - At rest, provider-held keys: stored encrypted, but the provider can decrypt — for support, for a legal request, or after a breach of its own systems. - End-to-end: encrypted on your device with keys the provider never has. > [Figure] Three meanings of “encrypted”, and whether the provider can read your photos in each case. (In transit · protected on the way, readable on arrival · At rest · stored encrypted, provider holds the keys · End-to-end · only your devices hold the keys · Provider can read them · Yes · No) Most services that say “your photos are encrypted” mean the first two. ### Where iCloud Photos stands Under standard data protection, Apple encrypts iCloud Photos in transit and on its servers, and holds the keys. Turning on Advanced Data Protection, available since iOS 16.2, makes iCloud Photos end-to-end encrypted, with keys held only by your trusted devices. Apple no longer offers it to new users in the United Kingdom since February 2025. ### The cost of end-to-end encryption If only you hold the key, only you can recover access. Advanced Data Protection asks you to set up a recovery contact or a recovery key for this reason. Every honest end-to-end system has the same rule: no back door for the provider means no back door for you either. ### How to check an app’s claim - Does it require an account? A password reset by email means someone other than you can open the data. - Does it give you a recovery phrase or key? That usually means the keys really are yours. - Does it name the algorithm and explain where keys are kept? **Sources:** - [Apple — iCloud data security overview](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102651) - [Apple — How to turn on Advanced Data Protection for iCloud](https://support.apple.com/en-us/108756) - [Engadget — Apple disables iCloud’s Advanced Data Protection feature in the UK (Feb. 2025)](https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/apple-disables-iclouds-advanced-data-protection-feature-in-the-uk-173016447.html) ## Are photo vault apps safe? What to check before you trust one URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/are-photo-vault-apps-safe/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Many photo vault apps only hide files. Six checks to tell a real encrypted vault from an app that just puts your photos in a folder. **In short:** Some are, many are not. A safe vault encrypts files on your device, does not require an account, does not carry advertising trackers, lets you export everything, backs up in encrypted form and gives you a way to recover access that does not involve its own server. **Key takeaways:** - Hiding is not encrypting. - Check the App Store privacy label before installing. - Make sure you can get everything back out. ### 1. Does it encrypt, or only hide? Many vault apps store photos in a folder inside the app and simply refuse to show them without a code. Anyone who extracts the app’s data — from a backup, for instance — gets the photos as they are. Look for a clear statement of the encryption used and where the keys are stored. ### 2. Does it require an account? An account means a server that knows you use a vault, and often a password reset by email — which means the company can let someone in without your code. ### 3. What does the privacy label say? Every App Store page has an “App Privacy” section. A vault listing “Data Used to Track You” or many categories of “Data Linked to You” is collecting more than a vault should. ### 4. Can you get everything back out? Before importing hundreds of photos, check how you would get them out: all at once, with original quality, without a subscription. A vault that makes leaving hard has made you its hostage. ### 5. Is the backup encrypted? A vault with no backup loses everything with the phone. A vault with an unencrypted cloud backup has moved the problem to someone else’s server. ### 6. What happens if you forget the code? If the answer is “we reset it for you”, the app can open your vault without you. If the answer is a recovery phrase you keep yourself, it cannot. > Beware of vaults disguised as calculators that ask for broad permissions or show heavy advertising. The disguise protects nothing if the app itself is the risk. ## Forgot your photo vault password? What you can and cannot do URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/forgot-photo-vault-password/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 What to try when you are locked out of a photo vault app, why deleting the app is the worst move, and why a real encrypted vault cannot be reset. **In short:** First, do not delete the app — on iPhone, deleting an app deletes its data. Then look for the recovery option the app gave you at setup: a recovery phrase, a recovery key or an email reset. A vault that is truly end-to-end encrypted cannot be opened without either the code or the recovery phrase; nobody can bypass that, including its developer. **Key takeaways:** - Deleting the app usually deletes the vault with it. - Look for a recovery phrase or key from setup. - An email reset means the vault was never only yours. ### What not to do - Do not delete and reinstall the app. Its data is deleted with it. - Do not restore the iPhone from an old backup before you know whether the vault was in it. - Do not pay a “recovery service” that claims it can open any vault. ### What to try, in order 1. Patterns and codes you used elsewhere, including older ones. 2. The recovery option offered at setup: phrase, key or email. 3. The app’s own support page, to learn which recovery the app actually offers. ### Why some vaults truly cannot be reset If a vault encrypts files with a key derived from your code, and stores that key nowhere else, then without the code the files are mathematically unreadable. That is the whole point of encryption. The recovery phrase exists for exactly this moment. ### In Latent Each vault has a nine-word recovery phrase, shown and checked when you create it. With it, you can open the vault again or restore it on a new iPhone. Without both the pattern and the phrase, nobody can open it. ## Recently Deleted on iPhone: why deleted photos are not gone URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/recently-deleted-photos-privacy-iphone/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Deleted iPhone photos stay in Recently Deleted for 30 days and sync to your other devices. How to empty it properly, and why it matters after moving photos to a vault. **In short:** When you delete a photo on iPhone it moves to the Recently Deleted album and stays there for 30 days, on every device that uses the same iCloud Photos library. To remove it for good, open Recently Deleted in the Utilities section of the Photos app and delete it there. **Key takeaways:** - Recently Deleted keeps photos for 30 days. - It syncs with iCloud Photos to your other devices. - After moving photos to a vault, empty it too. ### How Recently Deleted works Recently Deleted is a safety net. Photos and videos you delete wait there for 30 days before they are removed permanently, so that a mistake can be undone. Since iOS 16, the album is locked with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. > [Figure] A deleted photo waits 30 days in Recently Deleted, behind the same passcode as the phone. (You delete a photo · Recently Deleted · kept for 30 days · Removed for good) ### Why it matters for privacy Moving private photos into a vault and deleting the originals leaves a full copy in Recently Deleted for a month — unlocked by the same passcode as the phone, and synced to your iPad and Mac if you use iCloud Photos. ### How to empty it 1. Open the Photos app and go to the Utilities section. 2. Open Recently Deleted and unlock it. 3. Tap Select, then delete the photos you want gone, or all of them. Photos deleted from Recently Deleted are removed from every device using the same iCloud Photos library. ### A way to skip it entirely Photos taken with Latent’s secure camera never enter the photo library, so there is nothing to delete and nothing waiting 30 days. ## What your iPhone photos reveal: EXIF metadata and location URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/exif-metadata-iphone-photos/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Every iPhone photo carries hidden metadata: date, device and often the exact location. How to see it, and how to share photos without it. **In short:** iPhone photos contain EXIF metadata: when the photo was taken, which iPhone and lens took it, the camera settings and — if location is enabled for the Camera — the exact GPS position. You can see it by swiping up on a photo, remove the location when sharing through Options in the share sheet, or stop recording it in Location Services. **Key takeaways:** - Location is stored in the photo itself, not only in the Photos app. - Turn off Location in the share sheet’s Options before sending. - Or stop the Camera from recording location at all. ### What is inside a photo file - Date and time the photo was taken. - Device model, lens and camera settings. - GPS coordinates, often precise to a few metres, if the Camera has location access. - Sometimes the software used to edit it. > [Figure] What a photo file can carry besides the picture itself. (Date and time · Device and lens · Camera settings · GPS location) ### How to see it on iPhone Open a photo in the Photos app and swipe up, or tap the info button. You will see the date, the device, the camera settings and, if present, a map of where it was taken. ### Share a photo without its location 1. Select the photo and tap Share. 2. Tap Options at the top of the share sheet. 3. Turn off Location, then share. ### Stop recording location In Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services › Camera, choose Never. New photos will no longer contain GPS coordinates. Photos already taken keep theirs. > You can also inspect and remove metadata with the free photo metadata tool on this site. It runs entirely in your browser: the photo is never uploaded. ## How to move photos to a vault app on iPhone — completely URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/move-photos-to-vault-app-iphone/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Moving photos into a vault app leaves copies behind: Recently Deleted, iCloud Photos, shared albums, other backups. A checklist so the vault copy is the only one. **In short:** Import the photos into the vault, check they open, delete the originals from the photo library, then empty Recently Deleted. After that, check the places copies tend to survive: shared albums, messaging apps, other cloud backups and other devices signed in to the same Apple ID. **Key takeaways:** - Check the import worked before deleting anything. - Empty Recently Deleted afterwards. - Look for copies outside the Photos app. ### The steps 1. Import the photos into the vault. 2. Open a few of them in the vault to check they are complete. 3. Delete the originals from the photo library. 4. Empty Recently Deleted. In Latent, importing from the library offers to delete the originals and reminds you about Recently Deleted right away. ### Where copies survive - Shared albums: photos you shared stay in the album for everyone in it. - Messaging apps: photos sent or received in chat apps are often stored separately in that app. - Other photo backups: Google Photos, Dropbox or similar apps may have uploaded the photos already. - Other devices: a Mac or iPad with iCloud Photos switched off keeps its own local library. ### Next time Photos taken with a vault’s own camera never reach the library, so none of this cleanup is needed. ## How to get your photos out of a vault app on iPhone URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/export-photos-from-vault-app-iphone/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Leaving a photo vault app without losing anything: how to export, what to check before deleting the app, and how to keep original quality and dates. **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 1. Compare the number of exported files with the number in the vault. 2. Open a few exported photos at full size to check quality. 3. 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. ## How to hide photos on iPhone (and what each method misses) URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/how-to-hide-photos-on-iphone/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Every built-in way to hide photos on iPhone — the Hidden album, hiding the album itself, Featured Photos, locking Photos — and what each still leaves open. **In short:** To hide a photo on iPhone, open it in the Photos app, tap the More button, then tap Hide. It moves to the Hidden album, which is locked with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode, and you can remove that album from view in Settings › Apps › Photos by turning off Show Hidden Album. Hidden photos still sync through iCloud Photos and open with your iPhone passcode. **Key takeaways:** - Hide moves a photo to the Hidden album, locked by Face ID or passcode. - Show Hidden Album off removes the album from view, not from iCloud. - Every built-in method opens with your iPhone passcode. ### Four built-in ways to hide photos #### Method 1: the Hidden album 1. Open the Photos app and open the photo or video. 2. Tap the More button, then tap Hide. To hide several at once, tap Select in your library, choose the items, then tap More › Hide. 3. Confirm. The photo leaves your library and moves to the Hidden album, under Utilities in Collections. Apple says hidden items no longer appear in your library, in other albums or in the Photos widget on the Home Screen. Since iOS 16 the Hidden album is locked by default and opens only with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. #### Method 2: hide the Hidden album itself A locked album called “Hidden” still announces that something is in it. To remove it from the Photos app entirely, go to Settings › Apps › Photos (Settings › Photos before iOS 18) and turn off Show Hidden Album. The photos are still in your library; they are just not visible anywhere in Photos until you turn the setting back on. In the same screen, keep Use Face ID (or Use Touch ID, or Use Passcode) turned on. It is what locks the Hidden and Recently Deleted albums. #### Method 3: keep photos out of Memories and Featured Photos Photos you have not hidden can resurface on their own in Memories, featured photos and the Photos widget. In the Photos app, tap Collections, tap your account in the top-right corner, and turn off Show Featured Content. You can also tell Photos to feature a specific person less, or never. #### Method 4: lock the Photos app Touch and hold the Photos icon on the Home Screen and tap Require Face ID (or Touch ID, or Passcode). The whole app then asks for authentication each time it opens. Photos comes with the iPhone, so it can be locked but not hidden: its icon stays where it is. ### What none of these methods do - They all open with your iPhone passcode. Anyone who knows it can unhide everything in a few taps. - With iCloud Photos, a photo hidden on your iPhone is hidden — not removed — on your iPad and Mac too, and stays in iCloud. - Hiding a photo that sits in an iCloud Shared Photo Library moves it to the Hidden album for every participant, who can view or unhide it. - A locked app is locked only on that iPhone. The lock does not sync to your other devices. > Hiding is about what shows on screen, not about who can open it. If the person you are worried about could know your passcode, none of the built-in options will stop them. ### When a separate vault makes sense A vault app such as Latent keeps photos outside the photo library, encrypted, behind a pattern or password that is not your iPhone passcode. After moving photos into it, delete the originals and empty Recently Deleted, which otherwise keeps them for 30 days. **Sources:** - [Apple — Hide photos on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Vision Pro with the Hidden album](https://support.apple.com/en-us/104987) - [Apple — Delete or hide photos and videos on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/delete-or-hide-photos-and-videos-iphb4defbde9/ios) - [Apple — Lock or hide an app on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/lock-or-hide-an-app-iph00f208d05/ios) ## How to lock the Photos app with Face ID on iPhone URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/lock-photos-app-face-id-iphone/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Lock the Photos app behind Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode: the steps, what the lock covers, and what it leaves open — including your other devices. **In short:** On the Home Screen, touch and hold the Photos app, tap Require Face ID (or Touch ID, or Passcode), then confirm. Photos then asks for authentication each time it opens and locks again when you quit it. The lock accepts your iPhone passcode, applies to that iPhone only, and Photos — a built-in app — cannot be hidden. **Key takeaways:** - Locked apps relock every time you quit them. - The lock opens with your iPhone passcode, not a separate secret. - It applies only to that iPhone, not to your iPad or Mac. ### How to lock the Photos app 1. Go to the Home Screen and find the Photos app. 2. Touch and hold its icon until the Quick Actions menu opens. 3. Tap Require Face ID (or Require Touch ID, or Require Passcode). 4. Tap it again to confirm, then authenticate. To remove the lock, touch and hold the icon again, tap Don’t Require Face ID and authenticate. ### What the lock does - Photos asks for Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode every time it opens. - Opening it does not unlock it for good: it locks again as soon as you quit the app. - According to Apple, information inside a locked app does not appear in places such as notification previews, search, Siri suggestions and call history. That makes it useful when you hand your phone to someone to make a call or look at a map: they cannot wander into your camera roll without your face or your code. ### What it does not do #### It accepts your iPhone passcode If Face ID fails, the passcode works. A partner, a relative or anyone who has watched you type it can open Photos as easily as you can. #### It stays on this iPhone Apple notes that the locked status of an app does not sync with iCloud. If you use iCloud Photos, the same library opens freely on your iPad, your Mac or a shared family computer unless you protect those separately. #### Photos cannot be hidden Only apps downloaded from the App Store can be hidden. Photos comes with the iPhone, so its icon stays on the Home Screen, locked but visible. #### It does not touch other apps’ permissions Apps you have allowed to access your photos are listed in Settings › Privacy & Security › Photos. That access is a separate setting; review it there. ### Locked app or Hidden album? The two stack. The Hidden album, locked by default since iOS 16, protects selected photos even when Photos itself is open. Locking the app protects the whole library at the door. Both open with the same passcode, so together they slow down a curious glance rather than a determined person. ### If you need a separate secret A vault such as Latent opens with its own 5×5 pattern or password, independent from the iPhone passcode, and encrypts each file itself. Knowing your passcode is then not enough to see what is inside. **Sources:** - [Apple — Lock or hide an app on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/lock-or-hide-an-app-iph00f208d05/ios) - [Apple — Lock or hide apps on your iPhone (Personal Safety User Guide)](https://support.apple.com/guide/personal-safety/lock-or-hide-apps-on-your-iphone-ipsd0be4c185/web) - [Apple — Delete or hide photos and videos on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/delete-or-hide-photos-and-videos-iphb4defbde9/ios) ## How to hide apps on iPhone: the Hidden folder explained URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/hide-apps-iphone/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 How to hide an app on iPhone with the Hidden folder, which apps can be hidden, and the places where a hidden app’s name still shows up. **In short:** Touch and hold an app on the Home Screen, tap Require Face ID, then Hide and Require Face ID, authenticate and tap Hide App. The app disappears from the Home Screen, App Library and search, and moves to a locked Hidden folder at the bottom of App Library. Only apps downloaded from the App Store can be hidden, and their names still appear in Screen Time, battery settings and your App Store purchases. **Key takeaways:** - Hidden apps live in a locked Hidden folder at the bottom of App Library. - Only App Store apps can be hidden, not built-in ones. - Names still appear in Screen Time, Battery and purchase history. ### How to hide an app 1. Touch and hold the app on the Home Screen until the Quick Actions menu opens. 2. Tap Require Face ID (or Touch ID, or Passcode). 3. Tap Hide and Require Face ID, authenticate, then tap Hide App. A hidden app is also locked. It leaves the Home Screen, App Library and search results, and its content does not appear in notification previews, search or Siri suggestions. ### How to open a hidden app 1. Swipe left past all your Home Screen pages to reach App Library. 2. Tap the Hidden folder at the bottom and authenticate. 3. Tap the app and authenticate again. To stop hiding it, touch and hold the app inside the Hidden folder, tap Don’t Require Face ID and authenticate. It returns near the top of App Library. ### Which apps can be hidden - Only apps you downloaded from the App Store. Apps that come with the iPhone cannot be hidden. - Not the app you set as your default web browser, nor an alternative app marketplace (EU only). - Some built-in apps cannot even be locked, including Calculator, Camera, Clock, Contacts, Find My, Maps, Shortcuts and Settings. ### Where a hidden app still shows Apple lists the places where the names of hidden apps can still be seen: - Settings › Apps › Hidden Apps, after authentication. - Settings › Screen Time. - Settings › Battery › Battery Health & Charging. - Your App Store purchase history. Hiding and locking apply only to the iPhone where you set them; they do not sync with iCloud. In a Family Sharing group, children under 13 cannot hide apps, and a parent can still see that a 13–17-year-old downloaded an app and how much it is used (ages vary by country or region). > Hiding an app keeps it off the Home Screen. Anyone who knows your passcode can open the Hidden folder, so it is not a way to keep the app’s contents private. ### Hiding a vault app If you hide a vault app such as Latent, the icon disappears but your files are still protected by the vault itself: opening Latent from the Hidden folder only gets someone to a pattern screen that your iPhone passcode does not unlock. **Sources:** - [Apple — Lock or hide an app on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/lock-or-hide-an-app-iph00f208d05/ios) - [Apple — Lock or hide apps on your iPhone (Personal Safety User Guide)](https://support.apple.com/guide/personal-safety/lock-or-hide-apps-on-your-iphone-ipsd0be4c185/web) ## How to lock notes on iPhone: passcode or separate password URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/lock-notes-iphone/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Lock notes on iPhone with your device passcode or a custom password: the steps, what can’t be locked, what stays visible, and what happens if you forget. **In short:** Go to Settings › Apps › Notes › Password and choose Use Device Passcode or Use Custom Password, then open a note, tap the More button and tap Lock. With the device passcode, anyone who knows your iPhone passcode can open locked notes; with a custom password, nobody can — including you if you forget it, as Apple cannot recover it. Notes with PDFs, video, audio, file attachments or tags cannot be locked. **Key takeaways:** - Device passcode is easy to recover; a custom password is more private. - A forgotten custom password cannot be reset for old notes. - The title of a locked note stays visible in the list. ### Two ways to lock notes Since iOS 16, Notes offers two locking methods, chosen per account (your iCloud account, “On My iPhone”, and so on). - Device passcode: locked notes open with your iPhone passcode, or Face ID or Touch ID. On your other devices, each device’s own passcode or Mac login password opens them. Nothing new to remember. - Custom password: a password used only for Notes, the same on all devices signed in to your Apple Account. Face ID or Touch ID can be turned on as a shortcut. Apple says both options protect locked notes in iCloud accounts with end-to-end encryption. ### Set it up and lock a note 1. Go to Settings › Apps › Notes (Settings › Notes before iOS 18) and tap Password. 2. If you have several accounts, choose one. 3. Tap Use Device Passcode or Use Custom Password, and optionally turn on Face ID or Touch ID. To lock a note, open it, tap the More button, then tap Lock. To remove the lock, tap More, then Remove. ### What you can’t lock, and what stays visible #### Not lockable - Notes with video, audio, PDF or file attachments. - Notes with tags, and Quick Notes. - Notes shared in iCloud, or synced with other accounts such as Gmail or Yahoo. - Notes that use features from a newer version of Notes. #### What stays visible The title of a locked note remains visible in the notes list, so choose titles that say nothing. Once you open one locked note, all locked notes in that account stay open for several minutes. They lock again when you close Notes, when the iPhone sleeps, or when you tap Lock Now at the top of the list. ### If you forget the password With a custom password, Apple cannot help you get back into notes if you forget it and cannot use Face ID or Touch ID. Resetting it in Settings › Apps › Notes › Password › Reset Password only applies the new password to notes you lock from then on. Apple advises against relying on Face ID alone: changing your Face ID settings asks for the Notes password again. With the device passcode, forgetting is less of a risk — but anyone who knows your iPhone passcode can open your locked notes. > Choose based on who you are protecting notes from. Against strangers, the device passcode is enough. Against someone who knows your passcode, only a custom password helps — and then it must be written down somewhere safe. ### For documents rather than text Notes cannot lock PDFs or attachments, which are often the most sensitive part: a scanned passport, a contract, a medical letter. Latent does not store text notes, but it does keep PDFs, scans and any other file encrypted behind a pattern that is separate from your passcode. **Sources:** - [Apple — Lock your notes on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/lock-notes-iphf177bb154/ios) - [Apple — How to lock or unlock notes on your iPhone or iPad](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102537) ## Stop iPhone photos appearing in Memories and Featured Photos URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/hide-photos-from-memories-featured-iphone/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 How to stop Photos resurfacing people, days or private pictures in Memories, Featured Photos and the Photos widget on iPhone — or turn it off entirely. **In short:** To stop Photos featuring someone, open a photo of them, tap the More button, tap Don’t Feature a Person and choose Feature This Person Less or Never Feature This Person. To turn off Memories and Featured Photos entirely, open Photos, tap Collections, tap your account in the top-right corner and turn off Show Featured Content. Hidden photos do not appear anywhere in Photos outside the Hidden album. **Key takeaways:** - Show Featured Content off stops Memories and featured photos. - You can feature a person, day or place less without turning it all off. - Hidden photos appear only in the Hidden album. ### Where photos resurface The Photos app builds Memories and picks featured photos from your library, and the Photos widget shows them on the Home Screen. A photo you forgot about — an ex, a medical picture, a screenshot — can appear there in front of whoever is looking at your screen. ### Feature someone or something less #### A person 1. Open a photo of the person in the Photos app. 2. Tap the More button, then Don’t Feature a Person (Don’t Feature This Person on some versions). 3. If several people are in the photo, tap the one you mean, then Next. 4. Choose Feature This Person Less or Never Feature This Person, then Confirm. Apple says this changes how Memories, featured photos and the Photos widget are curated. #### A day, a place or a memory 1. In Photos, tap Collections and find Memories. 2. Touch and hold a memory, then tap Feature Less. 3. Choose Feature This Day Less, Feature This Place Less or Feature This Person Less, depending on the memory. ### Turn featured content off 1. Open Photos and tap Collections. 2. Tap your account in the top-right corner. 3. Turn off Show Featured Content to stop Photos generating featured photos and memories. Turn off Show Holiday Events to keep holidays out of them. Apple notes this also turns off memories and featured photos in the Photos widget on the Home Screen. #### Undo it To bring someone back, open Photos, tap Collections, tap your account and tap Reset People & Pets Suggestions. Apple’s Personal Safety guide also lists Settings › Apps › Photos › Featured Content, where Reset Suggested Memories undoes your Feature Less choices. On a Mac, both buttons are in Photos › Settings › General. ### Keep specific photos out For individual pictures rather than people, hide them: open the photo, tap More, then Hide. Hidden photos do not appear in the library, in other albums or in the Photos widget. You can also turn off Show Hidden Album in Settings › Apps › Photos so the album itself is not visible. > These settings change what Photos chooses to show you, not what is in your library. The photos are still there, and in iCloud Photos. Anyone who opens Photos with your passcode can still scroll to them. ### Photos that are never candidates Pictures stored in a vault such as Latent are not part of the photo library at all, so they cannot be picked for a memory, a widget or a featured photo. Photos taken with Latent’s secure camera never enter the library in the first place. **Sources:** - [Apple — Hide people, memories, and holidays in Photos on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/hide-people-memories-and-holidays-iph10a9dd2a1/ios) - [Apple — Feature a person, a place, or a memory less often in Photos](https://support.apple.com/guide/personal-safety/feature-a-person-place-memory-ipsa4c9edc62/web) - [Apple — Hide photos on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Vision Pro with the Hidden album](https://support.apple.com/en-us/104987) ## How to turn off location on iPhone photos URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/turn-off-photo-location-iphone/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Stop your iPhone saving GPS location in photos and videos, understand each Camera location option, and remove location from photos you already took. **In short:** Go to Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services › Camera and choose Never. New photos and videos taken with the Camera app will no longer contain your location. Photos you already took keep it: remove it from each one in Photos with More › Adjust Info › Adjust Location › No Location. **Key takeaways:** - Camera › Never stops location being saved in new photos. - Existing photos keep their location until you remove it. - Third-party camera apps have their own location setting. ### Why photos contain your location When the Camera app has access to Location Services, the iPhone uses GPS, Wi-Fi, cellular and Bluetooth information to work out where you are and embeds the coordinates in each photo and video. That is what powers the Map collection in Photos. It is also what someone receiving the original file may be able to read. ### Turn it off 1. Open Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services. 2. Scroll down and tap Camera. 3. Tap Never. Location Services stays on for everything else — Maps, Find My, weather — only the Camera loses access. #### The other options - While Using the App: the Camera can read your location whenever it is open, so every photo is tagged. - Ask Next Time Or When I Share: the iPhone asks again, so you can allow it once, allow it while using the app, or refuse. - Precise Location: when off, an app gets only your approximate location. That is less revealing than an exact position, but Never is the only choice that keeps location out entirely. ### Photos you already took Changing the setting does nothing to existing photos. To see which ones carry a location, open Photos, tap Collections and look at the Map collection: only photos with embedded GPS data appear there. 1. Open a photo and tap the More button. 2. Tap Adjust Info, then Adjust Location. 3. Tap No Location. To change several at once, tap Select in your library, choose the photos, then follow the same steps. Revert restores the original location. ### Other cameras Each app that takes photos — messaging apps, social apps, third-party cameras — has its own entry in the Location Services list. Check those too: turning off the Camera app’s access does not affect them. > If you only want to keep location out of what you send, you can leave the Camera on and remove the location when sharing instead. Both approaches have their place. ### Check a file before sending it The free photo metadata tool on this site shows and removes location and other metadata from a photo in your browser, without uploading it anywhere. **Sources:** - [Apple — Manage location metadata in Photos](https://support.apple.com/guide/personal-safety/manage-location-metadata-in-photos-ips0d7a5df82/web) - [Apple — Turn Location Services and GPS on or off on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102647) - [Apple — See photo and video information on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/see-photo-and-video-information-iph0edb9c18f/ios) ## How to share a photo without location on iPhone URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/share-photo-without-location-iphone/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Send a photo by AirDrop, Messages or Mail without its location: the Options switch in the share sheet, what other data still goes along, and a fallback. **In short:** In the Photos app, select the photo, tap Share, tap Options at the top of the share sheet and turn off Location; “Location Not Included” then appears above the Options button. Send it by Messages, Mail, AirDrop or any other app from that sheet. The date, the device and any caption are still shared, and the photo in your library keeps its location. **Key takeaways:** - Share › Options › Location off strips the location from that share. - Date, time, device and captions are still sent. - Leave All Photos Data off unless you mean to send the original. ### Share without location 1. Open the photo in Photos (or select several), or open it from the Camera app’s camera roll. 2. Tap the Share button. 3. Tap Options at the top of the share sheet. 4. Turn off Location. “Location Not Included” appears above the Options button. 5. Choose how to send it: Messages, Mail, AirDrop or another app. The setting applies to that share. The photo in your library is not changed, and still shows on the map in Photos. ### What still goes with the photo Apple notes that sharing a photo or video includes its metadata, such as date and time, location, device and captions. Turning off Location removes one item from that list, not all of them. - Date and time: when it was taken, which can be as revealing as where. - Device: which iPhone took it. - Captions you added in Photos, and keywords (recent versions of iOS add a Keywords switch to the same Options screen). - All Photos Data, if turned on: the original file with its edit history and metadata, which the recipient can view and change. Leave it off for anything private. ### AirDrop, Messages and links - AirDrop: the Options choices apply, including All Photos Data, which works with AirDrop. - Messages and Mail: the photo arrives as a file with whatever metadata you left in. On the other side, photos received in Messages can be saved to the recipient’s library automatically. - iCloud Link (on iOS 18 and iOS 26): shares a web link to view or download the photo instead of the file. Links are available for 30 days. ### If there is no Location switch If your version of iOS doesn’t show a Location switch under Options, remove the location from the photo itself before sharing: open it, tap the More button, then Adjust Info › Adjust Location › No Location. You can restore it later with Revert. Or check the file with the photo metadata tool on this site, which runs in your browser. ### Stop it at the source If you rarely want location in your photos, set Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services › Camera to Never. New photos will carry no location, so there is nothing to remember when you share. > Removing metadata does not remove what is visible in the picture. A street sign, a window view or a document on a desk can say more than GPS coordinates. **Sources:** - [Apple — Share photos and videos on iPhone (iOS 26)](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/share-photos-and-videos-iphf28f17237/26.0/ios/26.0) - [Apple — Manage location metadata in Photos](https://support.apple.com/guide/personal-safety/manage-location-metadata-in-photos-ips0d7a5df82/web) - [Apple — See photo and video information on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/see-photo-and-video-information-iph0edb9c18f/ios) ## How to hide videos on iPhone URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/how-to-hide-videos-iphone/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Hide videos on iPhone with the Hidden album, keep them out of view, and what to know about their size, iCloud Photos and moving them to a vault. **In short:** Open the video in the Photos app, tap the More button, then tap Hide. It moves to the Hidden album under Utilities, locked with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode, and you can hide the album itself in Settings › Apps › Photos with Show Hidden Album. A hidden video still syncs with iCloud Photos, still uses storage, and opens with your iPhone passcode. **Key takeaways:** - More › Hide moves a video to the locked Hidden album. - Hidden videos still sync and count against iCloud storage. - Deleted videos wait 30 days in Recently Deleted. ### Hide a video 1. Open the Photos app and open the video. 2. Tap the More button, then tap Hide, and confirm. 3. To hide several, tap Select in your library or an album, choose the videos, then tap More › Hide. Hidden videos leave the library, other albums and the Photos widget, and appear only in the Hidden album under Utilities. To remove that album from view, go to Settings › Apps › Photos (Settings › Photos before iOS 18) and turn off Show Hidden Album. ### What hiding doesn’t change - The video is still in your library and, with iCloud Photos, hidden — not removed — on your other devices. - The Hidden album opens with your iPhone passcode, so anyone who knows it can play the video. - On iCloud.com, Apple’s steps to view hidden items are simply to select Hidden, then Show Hidden Photos, once signed in. - In an iCloud Shared Photo Library, hiding a video moves it to the Hidden album for every participant. ### Videos and storage iCloud Photos stores videos at full resolution, including 4K, slo-mo and time-lapse, and they use both your iCloud storage and your iPhone’s storage. With Optimize Storage turned on, the iPhone keeps space-saving versions and downloads originals when you need them, while iCloud keeps the full-size file. Deleting a video does not free anything at once: it moves to Recently Deleted, where it stays for 30 days on every device using the same iCloud Photos library. Delete it there to remove it for good. ### Two more things to check #### Videos you receive Apple’s current guide notes that photos and videos shared with you in Messages are saved to your photo library automatically. To stop that, go to Settings › Apps › Messages › Shared with You and turn off Photos. Otherwise a video you never chose to keep can end up synced everywhere. #### Location in videos Videos recorded with the Camera app carry location just like photos. Set Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services › Camera to Never if you don’t want it recorded. ### Moving videos to a vault In Latent, videos are stored encrypted and play straight from encrypted storage, resuming where you stopped. Plan for their size: a video in a vault takes room on your iPhone and, once backed up, in your own iCloud. After importing, delete the originals from Photos and empty Recently Deleted so the vault holds the only copy. **Sources:** - [Apple — Delete or hide photos and videos on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/delete-or-hide-photos-and-videos-iphb4defbde9/ios) - [Apple — Set up and use iCloud Photos](https://support.apple.com/en-us/108782) - [Apple — Hide your photos and videos on iCloud.com](https://support.apple.com/guide/icloud/hide-your-photos-and-videos-mmea67686c65/icloud) ## Where are hidden photos on iPhone? Finding the Hidden album URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/find-hidden-photos-iphone/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Where the Hidden album is on iPhone, why it may be missing (the Show Hidden Album setting), how to unhide photos, and where to look on Mac, iPad and iCloud.com. **In short:** On iPhone, open Photos, tap Collections, scroll to Utilities and tap Hidden, then View Album and unlock with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. If there is no Hidden album, go to Settings › Apps › Photos (Settings › Photos before iOS 18) and turn on Show Hidden Album. On a Mac, choose View › Show Hidden Photo Album in Photos. **Key takeaways:** - The Hidden album is under Utilities in Collections. - If it is missing, turn on Show Hidden Album in Settings. - On a Mac, the Hidden album is off by default. ### Open the Hidden album on iPhone 1. Open the Photos app and tap Collections. 2. Scroll down to Utilities and tap Hidden. 3. Tap View Album, then unlock with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode. #### Unhide a photo 1. Open the Hidden album and unlock it. 2. Open the photo, or touch and hold its thumbnail. 3. Tap the More button if needed, then tap Unhide. The photo returns to your library. ### If there is no Hidden album The album can be removed from view. When Show Hidden Album is off, hidden photos are not visible anywhere in Photos — which can look as if they were deleted. 1. Open Settings › Apps › Photos (Settings › Photos before iOS 18). 2. Turn on Show Hidden Album. 3. Go back to Photos › Collections › Utilities. In the same screen, Use Face ID (or Use Touch ID, or Use Passcode) controls whether the Hidden and Recently Deleted albums are locked. ### On iPad, Mac and iCloud.com - iPad: the same steps as iPhone. You may need to open the sidebar first. - Mac: in Photos, choose View › Show Hidden Photo Album, then select Hidden under Utilities in the sidebar and unlock it with Touch ID or your login password. Apple says the Hidden album is off by default on Mac. - iCloud.com: open Photos, select Hidden in the sidebar, then Show Hidden Photos. With iCloud Photos, a photo hidden on one device is hidden on all of them, so it can be found — and unhidden — from any of them. ### Still can’t find it? - Recently Deleted, under Utilities, keeps deleted photos for 30 days. Some items may appear in a Recovered collection instead. - If you use an iCloud Shared Photo Library, switch the library view to Both Libraries from your account button in Collections. - Make sure iCloud Photos is on and every device is signed in to the same Apple Account. > Everything above works for anyone who has your iPhone and its passcode. Finding the Hidden album takes seconds, which is worth keeping in mind before relying on it for anything private. ### A place that isn’t in Photos Files kept in a vault such as Latent do not show up in any of these places. They are not in the photo library, and opening them needs the vault’s own pattern or password. **Sources:** - [Apple — Hide photos on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Vision Pro with the Hidden album](https://support.apple.com/en-us/104987) - [Apple — If you’re missing photos or videos in the Photos app](https://support.apple.com/en-us/118558) - [Apple — Hide your photos and videos on iCloud.com](https://support.apple.com/guide/icloud/hide-your-photos-and-videos-mmea67686c65/icloud) ## iPhone screenshots and privacy: where they go and how to clean up URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/screenshots-privacy-iphone/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 What iPhone screenshots capture, where they are saved and synced, and how to find and delete old screenshots that hold private information. **In short:** iPhone screenshots are saved to your photo library in the Photos app; you find them under Collections › Media Types › Screenshots. With iCloud Photos they sync to your other devices like any photo, and deleting one moves it to Recently Deleted for 30 days. To clean up, open the Screenshots collection, select what you no longer need, delete it, then empty Recently Deleted. **Key takeaways:** - Screenshots go to your photo library and sync with iCloud Photos. - Find them all in Collections › Media Types › Screenshots. - Delete, then empty Recently Deleted, to remove them for good. ### What a screenshot captures Everything visible at that moment: the message you meant to save, but also a notification banner that slid in, the name of the person you were chatting with, a balance, a one-time code, an address. People screenshot tickets, bank details, ID documents and confirmation codes — and then forget they exist. ### Where screenshots go - To your photo library in the Photos app, by default. - Grouped automatically under Collections › Media Types › Screenshots. - With iCloud Photos, to iCloud and to every device that uses the same library. - A full-page screenshot (of a whole webpage, for instance) can instead be saved as a PDF to the Files app, with Save PDF to Files. ### Save fewer of them When a screenshot opens with its editing tools, you can crop it to the part you need, share it, or cancel and delete it without keeping it. Apple’s guide notes that screenshots shown as small thumbnails in the corner save automatically; when the screenshot opens full screen, you choose whether to save it. The screen capture settings let you choose which of these behaviours you get. - Crop before saving, so the notification bar and unrelated content are gone. - Share directly from the editing view, then delete, if you only needed to send it. - Never screenshot a password, a recovery phrase or a recovery key. A screenshot is exactly the kind of copy that syncs everywhere. ### Clean up old screenshots 1. Open Photos, tap Collections, scroll to Media Types and tap Screenshots. 2. Tap Select, then choose the screenshots you don’t need. 3. Tap the Delete button. 4. Go to Collections › Utilities › Recently Deleted, unlock it, and delete them there too. Deleted screenshots otherwise stay in Recently Deleted for 30 days, on every device using the same iCloud Photos library. > Screen recordings are saved to your photo library too, under Media Types › Screen Recordings, with sound if you turned the microphone on. Check that collection as well. ### Screenshots you need to keep Some screenshots are worth keeping but not worth leaving in the camera roll: a booking reference, a document, proof of a payment. Latent can import them from your photo library into an encrypted vault and remind you to empty Recently Deleted afterwards. For paper documents, its secure camera captures straight into the vault, so no copy ever lands in Photos. **Sources:** - [Apple — Take a screenshot on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/take-a-screenshot-iphc872c0115/ios) - [Apple — Take a screen recording on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/take-a-screen-recording-iph52f6e1987/ios) - [Apple — Delete or hide photos and videos on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/delete-or-hide-photos-and-videos-iphb4defbde9/ios) ## Advanced Data Protection for iCloud, explained URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/advanced-data-protection-icloud-explained/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 What Advanced Data Protection changes in iCloud, what it requires, how recovery works, and what stays under standard protection even when it is on. **In short:** Advanced Data Protection is an optional iCloud setting that extends end-to-end encryption to most of your iCloud data, including iCloud Backup, Photos and Notes. Once it is on, Apple no longer holds the keys for that data, so you must keep a recovery method: your device passcode, a recovery contact or a recovery key. iCloud Mail, Contacts, Calendars and Shared Albums stay under standard protection. **Key takeaways:** - It adds end-to-end encryption to Photos, iCloud Backup, iCloud Drive and Notes. - Apple can no longer help you recover that data. - Mail, Contacts, Calendars and Shared Albums are not covered. ### Standard protection vs Advanced Data Protection Under standard data protection, Apple already end-to-end encrypts 15 categories of iCloud data, such as Passwords and Keychain, Health and Messages in iCloud. The rest — including iCloud Photos and iCloud Backup — is encrypted on Apple’s servers with keys Apple holds, which is what lets Apple help you recover it. Advanced Data Protection adds ten categories to the end-to-end list: iCloud Backup, iCloud Drive, Photos, Notes, Reminders, Safari Bookmarks, Shortcuts, Voice Memos, Wallet passes and Freeform. For those, the keys exist only on your trusted devices. Apple can’t read the data, and neither can anyone who breaches its servers. > [Figure] Three meanings of “encrypted”, and whether the provider can read your photos in each case. (In transit · protected on the way, readable on arrival · At rest · stored encrypted, provider holds the keys · End-to-end · only your devices hold the keys · Provider can read them · Yes · No) ### Turning it on #### What you need first - An Apple Account with two-factor authentication. - A passcode or password on your device. - Every device signed in to your Apple Account up to date: iOS 16.2 or later on iPhone, macOS 13.1 or later on Mac, iCloud for Windows 14.1 or later on a PC. - At least one recovery method besides your device passcode: a recovery contact or a recovery key. Managed Apple Accounts and child accounts aren’t eligible. Apple can no longer offer Advanced Data Protection to new users in the United Kingdom. #### The steps 1. Update the iPhone you are using to the latest iOS. 2. Open Settings › [your name] › iCloud. 3. Scroll down, tap Advanced Data Protection, then tap Turn on Advanced Data Protection. 4. Follow the steps to review your recovery methods. Turning it on from one device enables it for your whole account. You can turn it off at any time from the same screen: your device then uploads the keys to Apple again and the account returns to standard protection. ### Recovery: the part to get right With Advanced Data Protection on, Apple doesn’t have the keys needed to recover your end-to-end encrypted data. If you lose access to your account, only your recovery methods can bring it back: - Your device passcode or Mac login password, on a device you still have. - A recovery contact: someone you trust, with their own Apple device, who can give you a code but has no access to your account or data. You can add up to five. - A recovery key: a 28-character code. If you set one up and lose it, Apple can’t provide it again. > Apple advises against keeping a recovery key in iCloud Photos, Notes, iCloud Drive or the Passwords app: if you are locked out of your account, you won’t be able to open them to find it. Paper, in more than one safe place, works. ### What it doesn’t change - iCloud Mail, Contacts and Calendars stay under standard protection, because email, CalDAV and CardDAV don’t support end-to-end encryption. - Shared Albums, iWork collaboration and anything shared with “anyone with the link” are not end-to-end encrypted, even with Advanced Data Protection on. - Shared content such as an iCloud Shared Photo Library keeps end-to-end encryption only as long as every participant has Advanced Data Protection on. - Some metadata — file types, timestamps, device names, photo checksums — stays encrypted with keys Apple holds. - Web access at iCloud.com is turned off; if you turn it back on, a trusted device approves each temporary session. ### Where a vault app fits Advanced Data Protection protects your iCloud data from Apple and from a breach of Apple’s servers. It does nothing against someone who knows your iPhone passcode and opens Photos on the phone itself. A vault like Latent encrypts files on the iPhone with its own pattern or password before anything is backed up to your iCloud, so its backups stay unreadable to Apple whether or not Advanced Data Protection is on. **Sources:** - [Apple — How to turn on Advanced Data Protection for iCloud](https://support.apple.com/en-us/108756) - [Apple — iCloud data security overview](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102651) - [Apple — Apple can no longer offer Advanced Data Protection in the United Kingdom to new users](https://support.apple.com/en-us/122234) ## iCloud Photos vs iCloud Backup: what’s the difference? URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/icloud-photos-vs-icloud-backup/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 iCloud Photos syncs your library; iCloud Backup copies what doesn’t sync. What each one stores, how deletions behave, and how each is encrypted. **In short:** iCloud Photos syncs your photo library across your devices: what you add or delete on one appears or disappears on all of them. iCloud Backup is a periodic copy of the data on your iPhone that doesn’t already sync to iCloud. When iCloud Photos is on, your photos are not part of iCloud Backup — so a photo you delete is not waiting in a backup. **Key takeaways:** - iCloud Photos is sync: deletions reach every device. - With iCloud Photos on, photos are left out of iCloud Backup. - Both are end-to-end encrypted only with Advanced Data Protection. ### iCloud Photos: one library, everywhere With iCloud Photos on, every photo and video you take is uploaded in its original format at full resolution, and a change made on one device appears on the others. That includes deletions: a photo deleted on your iPhone is deleted everywhere you use iCloud Photos, and can be recovered from Recently Deleted for 30 days. You turn it on in Settings › [your name] › iCloud › Photos, with Sync this iPhone. The library counts against your iCloud storage. ### iCloud Backup: a snapshot of what doesn’t sync iCloud Backup copies the information on your iPhone that isn’t already kept in iCloud: device settings, Home Screen layout, app data, messages if Messages in iCloud is off — and photos and videos only if iCloud Photos is off. It runs daily when the iPhone is locked, charging and on Wi-Fi. You can start one yourself in Settings › [your name] › iCloud › iCloud Backup › Back Up Now. If you turn off iCloud Backup for a device, its existing backups are kept for 180 days, then deleted. ### Side by side - What it holds — iCloud Photos: your photo library. iCloud Backup: settings, app data and anything else that doesn’t sync. - Your photos — in iCloud Photos when it’s on; in iCloud Backup only when iCloud Photos is off. - Deleting — a deletion in iCloud Photos reaches every device after 30 days in Recently Deleted; an iCloud Backup is a point-in-time copy used to set up or restore an iPhone. - Storage — both count against the same iCloud storage plan. #### Why “I use both” can still mean a single copy Apple says it plainly: photos in iCloud Photos aren’t duplicated in your iCloud Backup, so keep backup copies of your library. If you delete a photo by mistake and miss the 30-day window, iCloud Backup won’t have it. A real second copy means importing your library to a computer or a drive from time to time. ### How each is encrypted Apple encrypts iCloud backups in every case, and iCloud Photos in transit and on its servers. Under standard data protection, Apple holds the keys to both. With Advanced Data Protection turned on, iCloud Backup and Photos both become end-to-end encrypted, with keys only on your trusted devices. ### Where app data goes Data from the apps you install, including vault apps, is part of iCloud Backup unless the app keeps it in iCloud Drive itself. Whatever the route, what matters is who holds the key. Latent backs up each vault to your own iCloud, encrypted on the iPhone before it leaves, so neither Apple nor Latent can read it — with or without Advanced Data Protection. **Sources:** - [Apple — What does iCloud back up?](https://support.apple.com/en-us/108770) - [Apple — Set up and use iCloud Photos](https://support.apple.com/en-us/108782) - [Apple — Backup methods for iPhone or iPad](https://support.apple.com/en-us/108771) ## How to back up iPhone photos without iCloud URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/back-up-iphone-photos-without-icloud/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Ways to keep a copy of your iPhone photos without iCloud: import to a Mac, import to a Windows PC, copy to an external drive, or back up the whole iPhone. **In short:** Connect the iPhone to a computer with a cable and import: on a Mac, use the Photos app or Image Capture; on Windows, install Apple Devices and import with the Microsoft Photos app. You can also copy files to a USB drive or SD card through the Files app. A full computer backup of the iPhone includes your photos too, but only while iCloud Photos is off. **Key takeaways:** - A Mac imports with Photos or Image Capture. - Windows imports with the Apple Devices and Microsoft Photos apps. - Image Capture skips the Hidden album while it is locked. ### On a Mac #### With the Photos app 1. Connect the iPhone with a USB cable, and click Allow if the Mac asks. 2. Open Photos on the Mac. The Import screen appears; if not, click the iPhone in the sidebar. 3. Unlock the iPhone, and tap Trust if asked. 4. Choose an album, then click Import All New Items, or select photos and click Import Selected. 5. Wait for the import to finish before disconnecting. #### With Image Capture, straight to a folder Image Capture imports photos as ordinary files into any folder you pick in the Import To menu — useful if you want copies outside a Photos library, on an external drive for example. Click Download All, or select items and click Download. A Live Photo arrives as two files: a still image and a video. Two details matter. By default, imported items stay on the iPhone; you decide whether to delete them afterwards. And since macOS 15.4, photos in the Hidden album aren’t imported while the album is locked. To include them, turn off Use Face ID (or Use Touch ID, or Use Passcode) in Settings › Apps › Photos for the import, then turn it back on. ### On a Windows PC 1. Install the Apple Devices app from the Microsoft Store. 2. Connect the iPhone with a USB cable, unlock it, and tap Trust or Allow. 3. Import the photos with the Microsoft Photos app. If you use iCloud Photos, Apple says to download the full-resolution originals to the iPhone before importing to a PC. For the best compatibility with Windows, you can set Settings › Camera › Formats to Most Compatible: new photos and videos are then saved as JPEG and H.264. ### To a USB drive or SD card With the right adapter — or directly, for a USB-C drive on a USB-C iPhone — an external drive appears in the Files app under Browse › Locations, and you can copy files onto it from Files and other supported apps. The drive needs a single partition formatted as APFS, macOS Extended, exFAT or FAT32, and hard drives often need their own power source. ### A full backup to the computer A backup in Finder (Mac) or Apple Devices (Windows) copies almost all of the iPhone’s data and settings — but not data already synced to iCloud. If iCloud Photos is off, your photos are in that backup; if it is on, they aren’t. A backup restores a whole iPhone at once, so it complements an import rather than replacing it: an import gives you photos you can open one by one. > Whatever the method, a backup is only as recent as the last time you made it. Put a reminder in your calendar. ### Photos in a vault app Photos you’ve moved into a vault app no longer live in the photo library, so none of these imports will see them. Check how the vault itself is backed up. Latent keeps an encrypted backup of each vault in your own iCloud, and can export a complete encrypted archive of a vault that you can store wherever you like. **Sources:** - [Apple — Transfer photos from your iPhone or iPad](https://support.apple.com/en-us/120267) - [Apple — Image Capture User Guide for Mac](https://support.apple.com/guide/image-capture/import-images-imgcp1001/mac) - [Apple — Connect external storage devices to iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/external-storage-devices-iph95baac91f/ios) ## How to transfer photos to a new iPhone URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/transfer-photos-to-new-iphone/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Moving your photos to a new iPhone with Quick Start, iCloud Photos or a backup — and why a photo vault app may need its own restore step. **In short:** If you use iCloud Photos, sign in with the same Apple Account on the new iPhone and the library downloads by itself. Otherwise, use Quick Start to transfer from the old iPhone, or restore an iCloud or computer backup during setup. Vault apps that encrypt photos with their own keys may need their own restore — check it before you erase the old phone. **Key takeaways:** - With iCloud Photos, the library follows your Apple Account. - Quick Start can transfer directly from the old iPhone. - Check each vault app’s restore before wiping the old phone. ### Before you start - Make sure you have a recent backup of the old iPhone. - Have your Apple Account password ready. - Update the old iPhone to the latest iOS if you plan to use Quick Start. - Open each vault app you use and find out how it restores on a new device. ### Option 1: Quick Start Quick Start sets up the new iPhone from your current one, which needs iOS 11 or later. It occupies both devices for a while, so pick a moment when you don’t need your phone. 1. Connect the old iPhone to Wi-Fi, turn on Bluetooth, and unlock it. 2. Turn on the new iPhone, place it next to the old one, and follow the prompts. 3. Set up Face ID or Touch ID. 4. Choose how to transfer: download from iCloud, or transfer directly from your previous iPhone. 5. Keep both iPhones close together and plugged in until the transfer is complete. Downloading from iCloud lets you use the new iPhone right away while data arrives in the background. A direct transfer must finish on both devices before you can use them. ### Option 2: restore a backup During setup, on the Apps & Data screen, choose Restore from iCloud Backup or Restore from Mac or PC, then pick the right backup by its date and size. If the new iPhone is already set up, you have to erase it first in Settings › General › Transfer or Reset iPhone › Erase All Content and Settings. A computer backup that isn’t encrypted won’t bring over Health and Activity data. After the restore, keep the new iPhone on Wi-Fi and power for a while: content stored in iCloud, photos included, downloads back in the background. ### If you use iCloud Photos With iCloud Photos on, your library isn’t inside the backup — it is in iCloud. Sign in with the same Apple Account, check that Sync this iPhone is on in Settings › [your name] › iCloud › Photos, and let the library download. Leave the old iPhone untouched until the photo count matches. ### Vault apps need their own check A vault app that encrypts files with its own keys can’t always be moved like ordinary app data. Whichever app you use, find its restore method before you erase or trade in the old iPhone, and confirm that the vault opens on the new one. In Latent, the vault key is protected by a key held in the Secure Enclave of the iPhone, which stays on that iPhone. On a new iPhone, you install Latent with the same iCloud account, choose to restore a vault and enter its nine-word recovery phrase. The built-in restore test lets you check that this works before the day you need it. **Sources:** - [Apple — Use Quick Start to transfer data to a new iPhone or iPad](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102659) - [Apple — Use iCloud to transfer data from your previous iOS or iPadOS device to your new iPhone or iPad](https://support.apple.com/en-us/108344) - [Apple — Use the Finder, Apple Devices, or iTunes to transfer data from your previous iOS device to your new iPhone or iPad](https://support.apple.com/en-us/120001) ## How to encrypt your iPhone backup on a Mac or PC URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/encrypted-iphone-backup-mac-pc/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Turning on encrypted iPhone backups in Finder or Apple Devices, what they include that normal backups don’t, and what to do if you forget the password. **In short:** Connect the iPhone to your computer, open Finder on a Mac or the Apple Devices app on Windows, and select “Encrypt local backup” in the General tab, then set a password. Encrypted backups include saved passwords, Wi-Fi settings, website history, call history and Health data, which unencrypted ones leave out. Without the password, the backup can’t be restored. **Key takeaways:** - Computer backups aren’t encrypted by default. - Encryption adds passwords, Health data and call history. - A forgotten password makes old encrypted backups unusable. ### Why encrypt a computer backup A backup on your Mac or PC contains almost all of your iPhone’s data and settings, and it isn’t encrypted by default. Turning on encryption locks the backup with a password you choose, and lets it include information that unencrypted backups leave out: - Saved passwords and Keychain data - Wi-Fi settings - Website history - Call history - Health and Activity data Even encrypted, a backup never contains Face ID, Touch ID or your device passcode. Backups made to iCloud are always encrypted; this setting is only about backups on your computer. ### How to turn it on 1. On a Mac, open Finder. On a Windows PC, open the Apple Devices app, or iTunes if you don’t have it. 2. Connect the iPhone with a USB cable, unlock it, and tap Trust if asked. 3. Select the iPhone, then open the General tab (Summary in iTunes). 4. Under Backups, select “Encrypt local backup”. 5. Create a password. The backup starts and replaces your previous backups with encrypted ones. From then on, every backup of that iPhone on this computer is encrypted. To check, look for the “Encrypt local backup” box ticked, or a lock next to the backup in Manage Backups. When it’s done, make sure the backup finished successfully. ### Choosing and keeping the password You can’t restore an encrypted backup without its password. Choose one you don’t use anywhere else, and keep it where you will find it on the day your iPhone breaks: a password manager you can reach from another device, or paper filed with important documents. A password stored only on the iPhone being backed up doesn’t help when that iPhone is gone. ### If you forget the password An old encrypted backup can’t be opened without its password. You can, however, start a new one: 1. On the iPhone, go to Settings › General › Transfer or Reset iPhone › Reset. 2. Tap Reset All Settings, enter your passcode and confirm. 3. Connect the iPhone to the computer again and make a new encrypted backup with a new password. Reset All Settings doesn’t erase your data or passwords. It resets settings like display brightness, Home Screen layout and wallpaper, and removes the backup password. Previous encrypted backups remain locked for good. > If you still have an iCloud Backup, you can restore from it instead — it doesn’t use your computer backup password. ### Backups and vault apps Your backup password protects the backup as a whole. A vault app adds a layer of its own. Latent stores every file already encrypted, and restores a vault on a new iPhone from its own encrypted iCloud backup with the vault’s nine-word recovery phrase — keep that phrase as carefully as your backup password. **Sources:** - [Apple — About encrypted backups on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch](https://support.apple.com/en-us/108353) - [Apple — If you can’t remember the password for your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch encrypted backup](https://support.apple.com/en-us/108313) - [Apple — Backup methods for iPhone or iPad](https://support.apple.com/en-us/108771) ## The 3-2-1 backup rule for iPhone photos URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/photo-backup-3-2-1-rule/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Three copies, two kinds of storage, one off-site: how to apply the classic 3-2-1 backup rule to the photos on your iPhone, without overdoing it. **In short:** The 3-2-1 rule means keeping three copies of your photos, on two different kinds of storage, with one copy away from home. For an iPhone owner, that can be the library on the iPhone, the same library in iCloud Photos, and a regular import to a computer or external drive. Because iCloud Photos syncs deletions, it is a good off-site copy but not a backup on its own. **Key takeaways:** - Three copies, two kinds of storage, one away from home. - iCloud Photos syncs deletions, so it isn’t a backup by itself. - A copy you have never opened is a hope, not a backup. ### The rule in three lines - 3 copies of every photo you care about — the original counts as one. - 2 different kinds of storage, so a single failure can’t take everything: a phone and an external drive, for example. - 1 copy off-site, so a fire, a theft or a flood at home leaves something behind. ### Why iCloud Photos alone doesn’t meet it iCloud Photos is very good at keeping your library on every device and safe when you lose your iPhone. But it is sync: delete a photo on the iPhone and it is deleted everywhere you use iCloud Photos, recoverable for 30 days in Recently Deleted. Photos in iCloud Photos aren’t duplicated in your iCloud Backup either — Apple itself recommends keeping backup copies of your library. So the iPhone and iCloud Photos together protect you from a lost or broken phone, but not from a mistaken deletion, a compromised account or a sync gone wrong. That is what the third copy is for. ### A practical 3-2-1 for an iPhone 1. Copy 1 — the iPhone itself, with your library on it. 2. Copy 2, off-site — iCloud Photos, or another cloud service if you don’t use iCloud. 3. Copy 3, a different medium at home — import the library to a Mac or PC, or onto an external drive, once a month or after any trip or event you care about. With Optimize iPhone Storage on, the iPhone keeps smaller versions and the full-resolution originals live only in iCloud. Make your third copy from originals: on a Mac with iCloud Photos, choose Download Originals to this Mac in the iCloud tab of Photos settings, then copy the library to an external drive. ### Keep the third copy independent - Store it on a drive that stays disconnected most of the time, so a deletion or a sync can’t reach it. - Don’t delete photos from the iPhone just because they are on the drive: that turns three copies back into two. - Write down the date of the last copy somewhere you will see it. #### Test that it works Once or twice a year, open a handful of photos from each copy at full size, including a few videos. A backup you have never opened is a guess. ### Private photos count too Photos kept in a vault app sit outside the photo library, so none of the copies above includes them. Latent backs up every vault to your own iCloud, encrypted on the iPhone, and can export a complete encrypted archive you can keep on another medium. Its built-in restore test checks that the backup can actually be decrypted with your recovery phrase. **Sources:** - [Apple — Set up and use iCloud Photos](https://support.apple.com/en-us/108782) - [Apple — Backup methods for iPhone or iPad](https://support.apple.com/en-us/108771) - [Apple — Transfer photos from your iPhone or iPad](https://support.apple.com/en-us/120267) ## Delete photos from iPhone but keep them in iCloud URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/delete-photos-from-iphone-keep-in-icloud/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 With iCloud Photos on, deleting a photo on iPhone deletes it everywhere. The real options: Optimize Storage, turning off sync on the iPhone, or exporting first. **In short:** Not while iCloud Photos is syncing: a photo deleted on your iPhone is deleted from iCloud and from every other device, after 30 days in Recently Deleted. To free space, keep Optimize iPhone Storage on. To keep photos in iCloud but off this iPhone, first turn off Sync this iPhone and choose Remove from iPhone — the iPhone then stops syncing photos altogether. **Key takeaways:** - With iCloud Photos on, a deletion reaches every device. - Optimize iPhone Storage frees space without deleting anything. - Turning off sync keeps iCloud intact but stops new uploads. ### Why deletions sync iCloud Photos keeps one library across all your devices, and a change on one is reflected on the others — deletions included. A photo you delete on the iPhone goes to Recently Deleted for 30 days, then disappears from iCloud and from every device using the same library. > Don’t delete photos on the iPhone while sync is on, hoping to find them in iCloud later. Once Recently Deleted is emptied, or after 30 days, they are gone from iCloud too. ### If what you need is space: Optimize Storage Most people asking this want room on their iPhone. Optimize iPhone Storage keeps the full-resolution originals in iCloud and space-saving versions on the iPhone. It is on by default; check it in Settings › [your name] › iCloud › Photos, under iPhone Storage on the latest iOS. Nothing is deleted: the original downloads when you need it. ### If you want photos off this iPhone only Stop syncing first, then remove. Once iCloud Photos is off on a device, uploads, edits and deletions no longer sync between it and your other devices. 1. Go to Settings › [your name] › iCloud › Photos. 2. Turn off Sync this iPhone. 3. Choose Remove from iPhone to remove the iCloud photos without keeping a copy on the device — or Download Photos & Videos if you want to keep one. The library stays in iCloud and on your other devices. The cost is real: new photos taken on this iPhone are no longer uploaded to iCloud, so they exist only on the phone unless you back them up another way. ### If you want a copy you control: export first Another route is to make a separate copy before deleting: import the photos to a Mac or PC, or copy them to an external drive. Then delete them from the library, knowing that the deletion still reaches iCloud and every device, and that the copy on your computer is now the only one. #### What about iCloud.com? iCloud.com shows the same library as your devices, so deleting a photo there deletes it everywhere too. If Advanced Data Protection is on, web access to your iCloud data is turned off unless you turn it back on. ### When the reason is privacy Removing photos from the iPhone while they stay in iCloud doesn’t make them private: they remain on every device signed in to your Apple Account. Moving them into a vault and then emptying Recently Deleted takes them out of the library everywhere. Latent can delete the originals when it imports from Photos, and reminds you to empty Recently Deleted afterwards. **Sources:** - [Apple — Set up and use iCloud Photos](https://support.apple.com/en-us/108782) - [Apple — How to turn off iCloud Photos](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102179) - [Apple — Manage your photo and video storage](https://support.apple.com/en-us/105061) ## iCloud Shared Photo Library: privacy and who sees what URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/shared-photo-library-privacy-iphone/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 What an iCloud Shared Photo Library shares, who can edit or delete, how sharing from the Camera works, and what you keep when you leave. **In short:** Photos you add to an iCloud Shared Photo Library move out of your Personal Library, and every participant — up to six people including the creator — can view, edit and delete them. The Camera can add new photos automatically when you’re near participants or at home. When you leave, you choose to keep a copy of everything or only what you contributed. **Key takeaways:** - Up to six people, all with equal rights to view, edit and delete. - Sharing from Camera can add photos without you picking each one. - It stays end-to-end encrypted only if every participant uses Advanced Data Protection. ### How it works A Shared Library is a second library alongside your Personal Library, shared by up to six people including the person who set it up. You can belong to only one at a time. Photos you contribute move out of your Personal Library into the Shared Library, and the creator provides the iCloud storage for all of it. It requires iCloud Photos and iOS 16.1, iPadOS 16.1 or macOS Ventura or later. Devices on older software can’t see the content moved to it. #### Who can do what - Every participant can view, add, edit and delete anything in the Shared Library — not only their own photos. - A photo deleted by a participant goes to Recently Deleted, and only the person who contributed it can delete it from there. - Only the creator can remove participants or delete the library. ### Sharing from Camera: check this setting The Camera can send photos straight to the Shared Library. Look in Settings › Apps › Photos › Shared Library › Sharing from Camera (Settings › Photos on iOS 17 or earlier): - Share Automatically adds photos when you’re near other participants. - Share When At Home adds photos taken at home. - Share Manually leaves the choice to you, photo by photo. Whatever the setting, the Shared Library button in the Camera app tells you where the next shot goes: turned on, it goes to the Shared Library; turned off, it stays in your Personal Library. Glance at it before taking anything you don’t want shared. #### Seeing only your own photos In Photos, the Library view options let you show your Personal Library, the Shared Library or both. This only changes what your screen shows — the other participants still see everything in the Shared Library. ### Leaving, or being removed 1. Go to Settings › Apps › Photos › Shared Library (Settings › Photos on iOS 17 or earlier). 2. Tap Leave Shared Library. 3. Choose to keep everything from the Shared Library, or only what you contributed. 4. Confirm, and stay signed in to iCloud with iCloud Photos on until the process is complete. If the creator removes you or deletes the library, you get a copy of everything if you were a member for more than seven days — and only what you contributed if it was less. ### Encryption Advanced Data Protection keeps a Shared Library end-to-end encrypted as long as every participant has it turned on. One participant without it is enough to change that, so ask before assuming. ### Photos that should never be shared The surest way to keep a photo out of a Shared Library is to keep it out of the photo library entirely. Latent’s secure camera captures straight into an encrypted vault, so the photo never appears in Photos, iCloud Photos or Recently Deleted — and can’t be picked up by Sharing from Camera. **Sources:** - [Apple — How to use iCloud Shared Photo Library on iPhone or iPad](https://support.apple.com/en-us/118229) - [Apple — Leave iCloud Shared Photo Library](https://support.apple.com/en-us/111758) - [Apple — Manage Photos sharing settings on Apple devices](https://support.apple.com/guide/personal-safety/manage-photos-sharing-settings-ips129f51353/web) ## Shared Albums on iPhone: privacy and who can see them URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/shared-albums-privacy-iphone/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Who can see an iPhone Shared Album, what sharing by link and Public Website mean, photo quality, and how to remove people or delete an album. **In short:** A Shared Album is visible to the people you invite — or, if you share it by link or turn on Public Website, to anyone who has the link. Participants can save photos to their own libraries, and those copies stay even if you delete the album. Shared Albums are not end-to-end encrypted, even with Advanced Data Protection turned on. **Key takeaways:** - A link can open an album to people you never invited. - Copies people saved survive when you delete the album. - Shared Albums are never end-to-end encrypted. ### Shared Albums vs Shared Library A Shared Album is a single album you share with chosen people — up to 100 — who can view it, react, comment and, if you allow it, add their own photos. It is not the same as an iCloud Shared Photo Library, which shares a whole second library with up to five other people. Shared Albums are turned on in Settings › [your name] › iCloud › Photos › Shared Albums. ### Who can see it On iOS 27, Sharing Options let you choose between People You Choose and Anyone with the Link. Even with People You Choose, someone who gets hold of the link can request access, which you approve or decline. On albums created with iOS 26 or earlier, the Public Website option publishes the album to a web address. - Anyone who can open the album can save its photos and videos to their own library. - Photos saved from a shared album stay in that person’s library even if the album is deleted. - Anyone with a Public Website address can view and download the album’s contents. #### Quality and storage Albums created with iOS 26 or earlier share reduced copies: photos up to 2048 pixels on the long edge, videos up to 15 minutes at up to 720p. Albums created with iOS 27 or later store originals at full resolution, and they count against the owner’s iCloud storage. ### Removing people and deleting an album 1. Open a shared album you created. 2. Tap the Manage Shared Album button (on iOS 26, tap the More button, then the album name). 3. Tap the participant, then Remove Participant (Remove Subscriber on iOS 26). To end the album entirely, open it, tap the More button and choose Delete Shared Album. It disappears from your devices and those of every participant, and from the web if it had a Public Website. Deleting a shared album permanently deletes its photos, so save any you want to keep first. On iOS 27, you can instead make the album temporary, and it is deleted after 30 days. If you are a participant rather than the owner, you can delete the photos you added and leave the album. ### Encryption Shared Albums don’t support Advanced Data Protection. Their keys are uploaded to Apple’s data centers so that web sharing works, which means the content is protected with standard data protection. Treat anything you post as handed over: you can delete it later, but not the copies people saved. ### Before you post - Check the album’s audience in Sharing Options or Manage Shared Album. - Send personal photos one-to-one rather than to a large family album. - Keep photos you never want circulating out of shared albums altogether. Latent has no shared albums or public links: a file leaves the vault only when you share it yourself to another app. **Sources:** - [Apple — How to use Shared Albums in Photos on your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro](https://support.apple.com/en-us/108314) - [Apple — Shared Albums limits](https://support.apple.com/en-us/148868) - [Apple — How to turn on Advanced Data Protection for iCloud](https://support.apple.com/en-us/108756) ## Live Photos and privacy: what extra you share URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/live-photos-privacy-iphone/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 A Live Photo records 1.5 seconds before and after the shot, with sound. What that can reveal, how to share only the still, and how to turn Live Photos off. **In short:** A Live Photo records what happens 1.5 seconds before and after you take the picture, including audio. Sharing one can reveal more than the frame you chose — a voice, a screen, a person behind you. To send only the still, tap LIVE in the upper-left corner of the photo before sharing; to stop recording them, turn Live off in the Camera and keep it off with Settings › Camera › Preserve Settings. **Key takeaways:** - A Live Photo includes 1.5 seconds before and after, with sound. - Tap LIVE before sharing to send only the still image. - Preserve Settings stops the Camera turning Live back on. ### What a Live Photo contains Live Photo is on by default. Each time you take a picture, your iPhone records what happens 1.5 seconds before and after, sound included. Your library shows a still; press and hold it and it plays. Whoever you send it to can do the same. #### What that can reveal - Voices and conversations around you, including your own. - The moments before you framed the shot: a room, a screen, a document, someone you meant to leave out. - Everything in the clip, whichever frame you chose as the key photo — changing the key photo doesn’t remove the rest. ### Share only the still 1. Open the photo and tap the Share button. 2. Tap LIVE in the upper-left corner of the photo so that it is turned off. 3. Choose how you want to share it. Sent by Mail, a Live Photo goes as a still image anyway. Imported to a Mac with Image Capture, it arrives as two files — a still image and a video — so check both before passing them on. Turning Live off doesn’t remove location information; that is a separate choice when sharing. ### Remove the motion from a photo you keep Open the Live Photo in Photos, tap Edit, then tap LIVE at the top of the screen to turn the Live effect off. The edit can be turned back on later, so assume the motion is still stored with the photo. ### Turn Live Photos off for good 1. In the Camera app, in Photo mode, tap the Live Photo button — or swipe up from Photo mode and tap Live — and choose Off. 2. Go to Settings › Camera › Preserve Settings and make sure the switch next to Live Photo is turned on. Without the second step, the Camera turns Live Photo back on automatically. Live Photos also aren’t available when ProRAW or HEIF Max is turned on. ### When the photo is private For a photo that shouldn’t be in your library at all — a document, a prescription, an ID — the motion is one more thing to worry about. Latent’s secure camera captures straight into an encrypted vault, so the photo never passes through Photos, iCloud Photos or Recently Deleted. **Sources:** - [Apple — Bring your photos to life](https://support.apple.com/en-us/104966) - [Apple — Take Live Photos with your iPhone camera](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/take-live-photos-iph17471d6de/ios) - [Apple — Image Capture User Guide for Mac](https://support.apple.com/guide/image-capture/import-images-imgcp1001/mac) ## Limited photo access on iPhone: what apps can really see URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/limited-photo-library-access-iphone/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Full access, limited access or Apple’s photo picker: what each lets an iPhone app see, and how to change an app’s photo access in Settings. **In short:** An app with full access can read every photo and video in your library. With limited access, it sees only the items you selected. Apps that use Apple’s system photo picker need no library permission at all: they receive only the photos you pick. You can change any app’s access in Settings › Privacy & Security › Photos. **Key takeaways:** - Full access covers the whole library, including photos you take later. - Limited access is a selection of photos you choose and can change. - The system picker shares only what you tap, with no permission needed. ### Three ways an app can get your photos - Full access: the app can read your entire photo library, whenever it runs, including everything you add afterwards. - Limited access: available since iOS 14, it lets you pick specific photos and videos. The app can read those items and nothing else. - The system photo picker: Apple’s own picker runs in a separate process, outside the app. The app receives only the photos you tap, and it doesn’t need any permission to your library. The third option is the least visible and the most private. Since iOS 17, apps can even embed the picker so it looks like part of their own screen, but the photos are still shown by the system and shared only when you select them. ### What full access really means Full access is a standing permission, not a one-time choice. The app doesn’t have to wait for you to pick a picture: it can read the library whenever it is running, and every new photo joins what it can see. Photos also carry metadata such as the date and, if location was on when you took them, where they were taken. Apple has made this harder to grant by accident. Since iOS 17, the request for full access shows how many photos would be shared and a sample of them, and iOS periodically reminds you which apps still have full access. ### Change an app’s photo access 1. Open Settings › Privacy & Security › Photos. 2. Tap the app. Only apps that have asked for access appear in this list. 3. Choose the level you want. With limited access, you can change which photos are included. Most apps keep working with less. An app that only needs to save pictures can ask for add-only access, which lets it add photos to your library without reading the ones already there. ### A simple rule of thumb - Give full access only to apps whose job really is the whole library, such as a backup service you trust. - Use limited access for apps that need a few photos from time to time. - Prefer apps that use the system picker: they never need to ask. - Review the list now and then, and check App Privacy Report to see when each app actually used its access. ### Where a vault fits Photo permissions decide which apps can read your library. They do nothing about who can open the Photos app itself on your unlocked iPhone. Photos you move into a vault such as Latent are encrypted with their own keys and, once you delete the originals and empty Recently Deleted, they are no longer in the library for any app — full access or not — to read. **Sources:** - [Apple — Control access to information in apps on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/control-access-to-information-in-apps-iph251e92810/ios) - [Apple — Delivering an Enhanced Privacy Experience in Your Photos App](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/photokit/delivering-an-enhanced-privacy-experience-in-your-photos-app) - [Apple — What’s new in privacy (WWDC23)](https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2023/10053/) ## How to see which apps can access your photos on iPhone URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/check-which-apps-access-photos-iphone/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Find every app with access to your iPhone photos in Settings › Privacy & Security › Photos, and use App Privacy Report to see when each app used it. **In short:** Go to Settings › Privacy & Security › Photos to see every app that has asked for your photos and the access each one has. To see when apps actually used that access, turn on App Privacy Report in Settings › Privacy & Security: it shows the past 7 days of access to Photos, Camera, Location and more, and is stored only on your iPhone. **Key takeaways:** - The Photos list only shows apps that have asked for access. - App Privacy Report records only from the moment you turn it on. - Using the camera is a separate permission, listed under Camera. ### Check which apps have photo access 1. Open Settings › Privacy & Security. 2. Tap Photos. 3. Review the list. Tap an app to see its current level and change it, or remove its access. An app appears here only after it has asked. Apps that use Apple’s system photo picker never need to ask, so they don’t appear at all: they only receive the photos you choose, each time you choose them. ### Check the camera too Taking photos and reading your library are two different permissions. Settings › Privacy & Security › Camera lists the apps allowed to use the camera, and a green indicator appears on screen whenever an app is using it. While you are there, Microphone and Location Services are worth the same quick look. ### See what apps actually did with App Privacy Report 1. Go to Settings › Privacy & Security. 2. Scroll down and tap App Privacy Report. 3. Tap Turn On App Privacy Report. The report starts empty, because it only records from the moment you turn it on. After a few days of normal use, Data & Sensor Access shows how many times, and when, each app accessed Photos, Camera, Location, Contacts and other sensitive data over the past 7 days. Network Activity lists the web domains each app contacted over the same period. The report’s data is encrypted and stored only on your iPhone. Turning the report off clears it. ### What to look for - Apps you don’t remember installing, or no longer use. - Apps with full access that only ever needed a photo or two. - Photo access at times when you weren’t using the app. If someone else set up your iPhone, or had access to it and knows your passcode, Apple’s Personal Safety User Guide suggests reviewing these settings to make sure nothing was changed without you. Safety Check can also reset the privacy permissions of every app in one go. > If an app seems to access your photos in a way you didn’t expect, you don’t need to work out why first. Change its access to limited, or remove it, and see whether anything you rely on stops working. ### What these settings can’t tell you Permissions are about apps. They don’t show who opened the Photos app on your unlocked iPhone, and they don’t limit what someone who knows your passcode can browse. For photos that need protecting from people rather than apps, keep them behind a separate lock: Latent, for instance, encrypts them in a vault that opens with its own pattern or password, not your iPhone passcode. **Sources:** - [Apple — About App Privacy Report](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102188) - [Apple — Control access to information in apps on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/control-access-to-information-in-apps-iph251e92810/ios) - [Apple — App privacy features in Apple products](https://support.apple.com/guide/personal-safety/app-privacy-features-in-apple-products-ipsd4dac4a2c/web) ## Safety Check on iPhone: what it does and how to use it URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/safety-check-iphone/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Safety Check reviews who and what can access your iPhone data. How Emergency Reset and Manage Sharing & Access work, and what they don’t cover. **In short:** Safety Check, in Settings › Privacy & Security › Safety Check, lets you review and stop what your iPhone shares with people and apps. Emergency Reset stops all sharing at once and walks you through securing your Apple Account; Manage Sharing & Access lets you review people and apps one by one. It needs iOS 16 or later and an Apple Account with two-factor authentication. **Key takeaways:** - Emergency Reset stops sharing with all people and apps at once. - Manage Sharing & Access reviews people and apps one at a time. - It can’t review non-Apple accounts or social media sharing. > If you are worried about someone close to you, think about how they might react to changes before you make them. Apple’s Personal Safety User Guide covers this in detail, and every Safety Check screen has a Quick Exit button that closes Settings immediately. ### What Safety Check can change - Stop sharing your location with people in Find My. - Remove other people’s access to shared content such as Photos — including a Shared Library and Shared Albums — Notes and Calendar. - Reset system privacy permissions for apps, including Photos, Camera, Microphone and Location Services. - Review devices signed in to your Apple Account and the phone numbers used to verify your identity. - Change your Apple Account password, your iPhone passcode, and your Face ID or Touch ID. - Restrict Messages and FaceTime to the iPhone in your hand. ### Emergency Reset Emergency Reset is for when everything needs to stop now. It immediately stops sharing with all people and apps, then guides you through your emergency contacts, the devices connected to your Apple Account, the phone numbers used to verify your identity, and your Apple Account password. 1. Go to Settings › Privacy & Security › Safety Check. 2. Tap Emergency Reset. 3. Tap Start Emergency Reset, then follow the onscreen instructions. Your progress is saved as you go. ### Manage Sharing & Access This is the calmer option, useful as a periodic review. You go through what you share, either person by person or by type of information, then through what apps can access, and finally through account security: connected devices, trusted phone numbers, password, passcode and Face ID or Touch ID. 1. Go to Settings › Privacy & Security › Safety Check. 2. Tap Manage Sharing & Access, tap Continue, then follow the steps for people, apps and account security. 3. When you have finished, go back through the screens to check that each change took effect. Changes are saved as you go, including any you made before pressing Quick Exit. If you later want to share something again, open the app concerned and share it as you normally would. ### What it can’t reach - Accounts and passwords for services other than Apple. - Social media sharing. - Devices signed in to a different Apple Account. - An iPad or Mac with sharing turned on for other apps. For these, the Personal Safety User Guide has manual checklists. Some options may be unavailable if your iPhone has Screen Time restrictions or a device management profile, and Safety Check may work a little differently when Stolen Device Protection is on. ### Apps with their own lock Safety Check works on what your iPhone and Apple Account share. An app that keeps its own secret sits outside that: a Latent vault, for example, opens with its own pattern or password, so someone who knows your iPhone passcode still can’t open it, before or after a reset. **Sources:** - [Apple — Safety Check for an iPhone with iOS 16 or later](https://support.apple.com/guide/personal-safety/safety-check-iphone-ios-16-ips2aad835e1/web) - [Apple — Manage information sharing with Safety Check on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/manage-information-sharing-with-safety-check-iph42f0b2d53/ios) - [Apple — Safety Check FAQ](https://support.apple.com/guide/personal-safety/safety-check-faq-ips5f85e089f/web) ## Stolen Device Protection on iPhone, explained URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/stolen-device-protection-iphone/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 What Stolen Device Protection does if someone has your iPhone and passcode: Face ID requirements, the one-hour security delay and familiar locations. **In short:** Stolen Device Protection, available since iOS 17.3, protects you when a thief has both your iPhone and your passcode. Away from familiar locations, sensitive actions such as using saved passwords require Face ID or Touch ID with no passcode fallback, and critical changes like your Apple Account password require a one-hour security delay. Turn it on in Settings › Face ID & Passcode. **Key takeaways:** - Away from familiar places, some actions need Face ID or Touch ID — no passcode fallback. - Critical changes need Face ID or Touch ID, a one-hour wait, then Face ID or Touch ID again. - It only helps if it is on before the iPhone is stolen. ### The problem it solves Someone watches you type your passcode, then takes the phone. Without extra protection, that passcode alone can be enough to change your Apple Account password, use your saved passwords and erase the iPhone. Stolen Device Protection makes the passcode insufficient for those steps when the iPhone is away from places you usually are. ### What needs Face ID or Touch ID Away from familiar locations, these actions require Face ID or Touch ID, with no passcode alternative: - Using passwords or passkeys saved in Keychain, and payment methods saved in Safari AutoFill. - Turning off Lost Mode. - Opening a locked app. - Erasing all content and settings. - Using your iPhone to set up a new device, or setting up or transferring an eSIM. - Some Apple Card, Apple Cash and Savings actions in Wallet. Apple Pay purchases can still be made with your passcode. ### What needs a security delay For the most critical changes, iPhone asks for Face ID or Touch ID, waits one hour, then asks again. That hour is designed to give you time to mark the device as lost and secure your Apple Account. - Changing your Apple Account password or signing out of your Apple Account. - Changing Apple Account security settings, such as trusted devices, a recovery key or a recovery contact. - Adding or removing Face ID or Touch ID, and changing your passcode. - Resetting all settings, enrolling in device management, and turning off Stolen Device Protection itself. The delay may end early if your iPhone detects that you have reached a familiar location. #### Familiar locations Familiar locations are typically your home, your work and other places where you regularly use your iPhone, learned through Significant Locations in Location Services. If you prefer the extra checks everywhere, go to Settings › Face ID & Passcode › Stolen Device Protection, tap Require Security Delay and choose Always. ### Turn it on You need two-factor authentication on your Apple Account, a passcode, Face ID or Touch ID, Significant Locations and Find My turned on. 1. Go to Settings › Face ID & Passcode (Touch ID & Passcode on models with Touch ID). 2. Enter your passcode. 3. Tap Stolen Device Protection and turn it on. It may already be on. Before selling or giving away your iPhone, turn it off — ideally at home, since doing it elsewhere starts a security delay. ### What it doesn’t protect It doesn’t stop someone who has your passcode from opening apps that aren’t locked and browsing what is there: Photos, Messages, Mail. Apps you have locked to require Face ID do need Face ID away from familiar locations. Photos kept in a vault with its own secret, such as Latent, stay encrypted whatever a thief knows about your passcode. **Sources:** - [Apple — About Stolen Device Protection for iPhone](https://support.apple.com/en-us/120340) ## How to set a strong iPhone passcode URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/strong-iphone-passcode/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Why a 4- or 6-digit iPhone passcode is easy to read over your shoulder, how to switch to a custom alphanumeric code, and how to change it safely. **In short:** Go to Settings › Face ID & Passcode (or Touch ID & Passcode), tap Change Passcode, then tap Passcode Options and choose Custom Alphanumeric Code or Custom Numeric Code — the two options Apple describes as the most secure. A longer code with letters is harder to guess, and much harder to read over your shoulder, than four or six digits. **Key takeaways:** - Apple’s most secure options: Custom Alphanumeric Code and Custom Numeric Code. - With Face ID or Touch ID, you rarely have to type a long code. - For 72 hours after a change, the old code can still be used once to reset it. ### Why four or six digits is weak A short numeric code is quick to type, and that is exactly what makes it easy to steal. A few taps on a large keypad can be read from across a table, caught by a camera, or remembered after watching you unlock your phone a couple of times. Many codes are also easy to guess: a birth year, a repeated digit, a straight line on the keypad. Whoever knows your passcode can unlock your iPhone and everything that relies on it, including the Hidden album in Photos. ### Choose a stronger code - Custom Alphanumeric Code: letters, numbers and symbols, typed on a full keyboard. Far more combinations, and much harder to follow from a distance. - Custom Numeric Code: digits only, but as many as you like. Every extra digit helps. - Avoid dates, repeated or sequential digits, and anything someone close to you could guess. Face ID or Touch ID makes a long code painless, because you only type it when iPhone insists — for example after turning it on or restarting it, when it hasn’t been unlocked for more than 48 hours, or after five failed Face ID or Touch ID attempts. ### Change your passcode 1. Go to Settings › Face ID & Passcode (Touch ID & Passcode on models with Touch ID), and enter your current passcode. 2. Tap Change Passcode. 3. When asked for a new code, tap Passcode Options and choose Custom Alphanumeric Code or Custom Numeric Code. 4. Enter the new code, then enter it again to confirm. Do it where nobody can see your screen. If Stolen Device Protection is on and you are away from a familiar location, changing the passcode requires a one-hour security delay. ### After changing it - For 72 hours, your previous passcode can be used once to reset the new one if you forget it. If someone else knew the old code, tap Expire Previous Passcode Now in the same settings screen. - Set a short Auto-Lock time in Settings › Display & Brightness › Auto-Lock, so the phone locks itself when you put it down. - Consider Erase Data, at the bottom of the passcode settings: it erases the iPhone after 10 failed attempts. Turn it on only if you keep a recent backup. > If you forget your passcode, the way back is to erase the iPhone with a computer or recovery mode and restore from a backup. A strong code you can’t remember is worse than a good one you can. ### A passcode protects the phone, not everything on it Once someone has your passcode, the phone is open to them. For photos and documents that must stay private even from people who might know it, add a second, separate secret. Latent vaults open with their own 5×5 pattern or password, unrelated to your iPhone passcode. **Sources:** - [Apple — Set a passcode on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/set-a-passcode-iph14a867ae/ios) - [Apple — Use a passcode with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch](https://support.apple.com/en-us/119586) - [Apple — About Stolen Device Protection for iPhone](https://support.apple.com/en-us/120340) ## iPhone Lock Screen privacy: what others can see URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/iphone-lock-screen-privacy/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Notification previews, widgets, Control Center and USB accessories: what a locked iPhone still shows or allows, and the settings that hide it. **In short:** A locked iPhone can still show notification previews, widgets and the features listed under Allow Access When Locked. To hide message contents, go to Settings › Notifications › Show Previews and choose When Unlocked or Never. To limit the rest, go to Settings › Face ID & Passcode and turn off features under Allow Access When Locked. **Key takeaways:** - Show Previews set to When Unlocked keeps message text off the Lock Screen. - Allow Access When Locked covers Control Center, Siri, Wallet and more. - By default, accessories and computers can’t connect until you unlock. ### Notification previews A notification preview can show the first lines of a message or an email, or the details of a calendar invitation. On a Lock Screen, that is readable by anyone who picks up your phone or glances at it on a table. 1. Go to Settings › Notifications. 2. Tap Show Previews. 3. Choose When Unlocked, or Never. You can override this app by app: tap the app under Notification Style, then Show Previews. If you share your screen with SharePlay or Screen Mirroring, notifications are allowed by default; turn them off in Settings › Notifications › Screen Sharing. ### Allow Access When Locked In Settings › Face ID & Passcode (Touch ID & Passcode on models with Touch ID), the Allow Access When Locked section lists what works without unlocking. Depending on your iPhone, it includes: - Today View and Notification Center - Control Center - Siri - Reply with Message - Home Control and Wallet - Return Missed Calls Turning a feature off stops someone holding your iPhone from viewing what it might contain — an upcoming event in a Calendar widget, for example. The trade-off is that you lose that quick access too. ### USB and other accessories By default, your iPhone has to be unlocked before it will talk to an accessory or a computer. If you don’t unlock it, it won’t communicate with the accessory, although the phone still charges from a USB power adapter. To adjust this, go to Settings › Privacy & Security, scroll to Security and tap Wired Accessories. On iPhone models with USB-C, the choices run from Always Ask to Always Allow; the default is Automatically Allow When Unlocked. Storage accessories always require unlocking. Always Allow removes a protection, so keep the default or something stricter. ### Other quick wins - Set a short Auto-Lock time in Settings › Display & Brightness › Auto-Lock. - Keep Require Passcode at Immediately. If you use Face ID, Touch ID or Apple Pay, it can’t be changed anyway. - Remember that a Medical ID is designed to be read from the Lock Screen by first responders: include what helps them, nothing more. ### What the Lock Screen can’t protect All of this protects a phone that stays locked. Once it is unlocked — handed over to show someone a photo, for instance — the rest of the phone is a swipe away. Latent hides its preview in the app switcher and can lock itself the moment you leave it, so a vault you opened earlier isn’t still open when the phone changes hands. **Sources:** - [Apple — Change notification settings on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/change-notification-settings-iph7c3d96bab/ios) - [Apple — Use a passcode with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch](https://support.apple.com/en-us/119586) - [Apple — Allow USB and other accessories to connect to your iPhone or iPad](https://support.apple.com/en-us/111806) ## AirDrop privacy on iPhone: who can send you files URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/airdrop-privacy-iphone/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Receiving Off, Contacts Only or Everyone for 10 Minutes: how AirDrop settings work, what NameDrop shares, and how to refuse unwanted images. **In short:** In Settings › General › AirDrop, choose Receiving Off, Contacts Only or Everyone for 10 Minutes. Everyone for 10 Minutes switches back on its own — to Contacts Only if you are signed in to your Apple Account. You accept or decline every transfer from someone else, and Sensitive Content Warning can blur nude images before you see them. **Key takeaways:** - Contacts Only is the sensible everyday setting. - Everyone for 10 Minutes reverts automatically after 10 minutes. - NameDrop shares only the contact fields you choose, and can be turned off. ### The three receiving settings - Receiving Off: nobody can send you anything by AirDrop. - Contacts Only: only people in your contacts can send you items. For this to work, the contact card you have for them must include the email address or phone number of their Apple Account. - Everyone for 10 Minutes: any nearby Apple device can send you a request. Since iOS 16.2, the setting changes back after 10 minutes, to Contacts Only if you are signed in to your Apple Account, or Receiving Off if you aren’t. Change it in Settings › General › AirDrop, or open Control Center, touch and hold the top-left group of controls, then tap the AirDrop button. ### Senders who aren’t in your contacts With iOS 26.2 or later, someone who isn’t in your contacts must use an AirDrop code. If you choose to receive the item, your iPhone shows a code that you give to the sender, and they enter it on their device. They are then added to an Other Known list in Contacts for 30 days. To stop before then, open Contacts, find them in that list and choose Forget This Person. ### Unwanted images Nothing from another person arrives without your choice: each transfer waits for you to accept or decline it. Only items sent between devices signed in to the same Apple Account are accepted automatically. For extra protection, turn on Sensitive Content Warning in Settings › Privacy & Security. Photos and videos received by AirDrop that appear to contain nudity are then blurred before you view them, with the analysis done on your iPhone. On a child’s device, Communication Safety does the same. - In a crowded place, keep AirDrop on Contacts Only or Receiving Off. - Use Everyone for 10 Minutes only when you are about to receive something, and let it expire. ### NameDrop NameDrop, part of AirDrop, exchanges contact details when you hold your iPhone close to another iPhone or an Apple Watch. It shares only your name, the phone number or email address you choose, and your Contact Poster — not your home address or birthday. You can share and receive, or only receive, and moving the devices apart or locking your iPhone before it finishes cancels the transfer. NameDrop is on by default. To turn it off, go to Settings › General › AirDrop and turn off Bring Devices Together. ### After you accept A photo received by AirDrop from someone’s Photos app is saved straight into your Photos library, where it syncs and appears like any other picture. If it is private, move it into a vault such as Latent, then empty Recently Deleted so no copy remains in the library. **Sources:** - [Apple — Use AirDrop to send items to nearby Apple devices](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/use-airdrop-to-send-items-to-nearby-devices-iphcd8b9f0af/ios) - [Apple — How to use AirDrop on your iPhone or iPad](https://support.apple.com/en-us/119857) - [Apple — Secure NameDrop](https://support.apple.com/guide/personal-safety/secure-namedrop-ips97e16d3b1/web) ## Sensitive Content Warning on iPhone: how it works URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/sensitive-content-warning-iphone/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 How iPhone blurs nude or violent images before you see them, why the analysis stays on your device, and how it differs from Communication Safety. **In short:** Sensitive Content Warning blurs photos and videos that appear to contain nudity — and, from iOS 27, gore and violence — before you view them, in Messages, AirDrop, FaceTime video messages, shared albums and more. The analysis runs on your iPhone, so Apple doesn’t learn that anything was detected. Turn it on in Settings › Privacy & Security › Sensitive Content Warning. **Key takeaways:** - Adults turn it on themselves; Communication Safety covers children. - Detection happens on device: Apple gets no signal and no copy. - You can still view the content, block the sender or find help. ### What it does When a photo or video appears to contain nudity, or gore and violence, it is shown blurred with a warning. From the warning you can: - Tap Show to view it anyway. - Use the alert button to find safety resources or block the person. - For nudity in an iMessage or a FaceTime video call, report the sender to Apple. Reporting is the one case where content leaves your device: the sensitive content is sent to Apple for review, and Apple may forward reports to the relevant authorities. ### Where it works - Messages and AirDrop. - FaceTime calls and video messages. Gore and violence detection applies only to video messages, not live calls. - Contact Posters in the Phone and Contacts apps. - Shared photo albums. - Some third-party apps, when you select a photo or video to share. #### Why it stays private Detection uses machine learning that runs on your iPhone. Because the analysis happens on the device, Apple doesn’t receive any indication that sensitive content was detected and doesn’t get access to the photos or videos. The feature requires iOS 17 or later; gore and violence detection requires iOS 27 or later. ### Turn it on 1. Go to Settings › Privacy & Security. 2. Scroll down and tap Sensitive Content Warning. 3. Turn on Sensitive Content Warning. It then applies to every supported app, and you can manage each app individually. Turning it on on your iPhone also turns it on for a paired Apple Watch. ### Communication Safety, for children Communication Safety applies the same on-device detection to a child’s device, managed through Screen Time in Family Sharing. It adds guidance and age-appropriate resources, including the option to message a trusted adult. When a Screen Time passcode is set, children under 13 need a parent or guardian to enter it before viewing flagged content; age thresholds vary by country or region. It is on by default for children under 18 with the latest software. To manage it, go to Settings › Screen Time, select your child, then tap Communication Safety. ### What it isn’t It is a warning on content you receive or are about to send in supported apps, not a way to protect what you keep. If you save a sensitive image, it lands in Photos like any other. To keep something private once saved, store it in a vault such as Latent, encrypted and outside the Photos library. **Sources:** - [Apple — About Sensitive Content Warning on Apple devices](https://support.apple.com/en-us/105071) - [Apple — About Communication Safety on your child’s Apple device](https://support.apple.com/en-us/105069) ## What is the Secure Enclave on iPhone? URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/what-is-the-secure-enclave/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 The Secure Enclave in plain words: the isolated part of your iPhone’s chip that guards passcode, Face ID and encryption keys, and what apps can use it for. **In short:** The Secure Enclave is a dedicated security subsystem built into the iPhone’s chip since iPhone 5s, isolated from the main processor. It protects Face ID and Touch ID data and the keys behind your iPhone’s encryption, and is designed to keep them safe even if the main operating system is compromised. Apps can ask it to create and use keys, but can never read those keys out. **Key takeaways:** - Its own processor, protected memory and secure boot. - It helps enforce the limit on passcode attempts. - Apps can use keys inside it but can’t extract them. ### A computer inside the computer Your iPhone’s main processor runs iOS and every app. The Secure Enclave is apart from all that: a dedicated processor running its own small operating system, with memory that is encrypted and authenticated so the rest of the chip can’t read or tamper with it. Apple describes it as designed to keep sensitive data secure even if the iOS kernel is compromised. It is present in every iPhone from iPhone 5s onwards, and in iPad, Macs with Apple silicon, Apple Watch and other Apple devices. ### What it protects - Face ID and Touch ID data, which is processed and protected inside the Secure Enclave and tied to your device. - The keys behind data protection. The key hierarchy behind your iPhone’s file encryption includes a unique key fused into the chip at manufacture, which Apple says isn’t available to Apple or its suppliers. - Your passcode. Unlock attempts go through the Secure Enclave; on recent devices, a dedicated secure storage component counts them and erases the protected data once the limit is exceeded — for example, 10 attempts on iPhone. #### Keys that can be used but not seen The core idea is simple. The Secure Enclave has its own encryption engine whose hardware keys stay inside it, out of reach even of the Secure Enclave’s own software. The rest of the system can ask it to encrypt or decrypt, and gets the result back — but it can never ask for the key itself. ### What apps can do with it Apps can ask the Secure Enclave to create a private key and keep it. The app never holds that key in plain text: it sends data in and receives the output, such as a signature or the result of a key exchange used for encryption. An app can also require Face ID, Touch ID or the passcode before the key can be used. Apple’s developer documentation lists the trade-offs: - One kind of key: 256-bit elliptic-curve keys (NIST P-256), used for signatures and key agreement — and, through that, for encryption. - No importing: keys must be created inside the Secure Enclave. There is no way to move a plain key in or out. - One device: only the Secure Enclave that created a key can use it. ### What it doesn’t do The Secure Enclave protects keys, not what is on screen. Once your iPhone is unlocked, apps read their data normally, and anyone holding the unlocked phone sees what those apps show. And because its keys never leave the device, data protected only by them can’t follow you to a new iPhone: an app that relies on the Secure Enclave needs a separate, safe way to restore. ### How Latent uses it Latent protects each vault key with a key held in the Secure Enclave, unlocked by your pattern or password. Copying the app’s files off the phone yields encrypted data and nothing else. Because that key can’t leave your iPhone, restoring a vault on a new one uses your nine-word recovery phrase instead. **Sources:** - [Apple — The Secure Enclave](https://support.apple.com/guide/security/the-secure-enclave-sec59b0b31ff/web) - [Apple — Protecting keys with the Secure Enclave](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/security/protecting-keys-with-the-secure-enclave) ## AES-256 encryption explained in plain words URL: https://latentapp.site/en/guides/aes-256-encryption-explained/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 What AES-256 and AES-GCM actually mean, why the algorithm is rarely the weak point, and why who holds the key matters more than its length. **In short:** AES is the encryption standard published by NIST, and AES-256 is the version with 256-bit keys — far too many possibilities to try them all. GCM is a way of using AES that also detects tampering. Because the algorithm is so strong, an app’s real security depends on key management: who holds the key, where it is stored and what unlocks it. **Key takeaways:** - AES-256: a NIST standard, 128-bit blocks, 256-bit keys. - GCM adds an integrity check: altered data fails to decrypt. - A strong cipher with a badly kept key protects nothing. ### What AES is AES, the Advanced Encryption Standard, is a block cipher selected by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in 2000 and specified in FIPS 197. It transforms data in blocks of 128 bits using a secret key. The standard defines three versions — AES-128, AES-192 and AES-256 — and the number is the length of the key in bits. It is everywhere, including in your iPhone: setting a passcode turns on data protection, which encrypts your iPhone’s data with 256-bit AES. ### Why 256 bits is plenty A 256-bit key can take 2²⁵⁶ different values. Trying them all is not a question of faster computers: it is far beyond anything that can actually be done. That is why real attacks on well-built systems go around the cipher rather than through it — after the key, the password that unlocks it, or the data while it is decrypted. ### What GCM adds A cipher alone hides data but can’t tell you whether someone changed it. GCM, Galois/Counter Mode, specified by NIST in SP 800-38D, is authenticated encryption: alongside the encrypted data it produces a tag, and if the data or the tag has been altered, decryption fails instead of returning corrupted or manipulated content. GCM has one strict rule: the value used to start each encryption, called a nonce or IV, must never repeat with the same key. Careful implementations generate a fresh one every time. ### Key management is the real question “AES-256” tells you the lock is strong. It says nothing about where the key is kept. These questions say much more about an app: - Who holds the key? If the company can reset your access by email, it — or anyone who breaches it — can reach your data. - Where is it stored? A key saved next to the data, or derived from a short PIN, becomes the weak point. - What unlocks it? A key protected by your device’s security hardware and a secret only you know is far harder to attack. - What if you forget the secret? An honest answer involves a recovery key you keep, not a support ticket. > [Figure] Every file has its own key. The vault key wraps them all, and it can only be unwrapped inside the Secure Enclave, with your pattern. (Each file · its own AES-256-GCM key · Vault key · wraps every file key · Secure Enclave · opened by your pattern) ### How Latent applies it Latent encrypts each file with its own AES-256-GCM key. Those keys are wrapped by a vault key, itself protected by a key in your iPhone’s Secure Enclave and unlocked by your pattern or password. Keys are erased from memory when the vault locks. Nobody else holds a copy: the nine-word recovery phrase is the only spare, and only you have it. **Sources:** - [NIST — FIPS 197, Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)](https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/fips/197/final) - [NIST — SP 800-38D, Galois/Counter Mode (GCM) and GMAC](https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/38/d/final) - [Apple — Set a passcode on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/set-a-passcode-iph14a867ae/ios) # Real situations, practical answers Specific situations where private photos or documents are at risk on an iPhone, and what to do about each one. ## You showed someone a photo and they kept swiping URL: https://latentapp.site/en/scenarios/handed-phone-swiped-private-photos-iphone/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Handing your iPhone over to show one photo gives access to the whole camera roll. How to show a single photo safely, and how to keep it from happening again. **In short:** The iPhone has no built-in “show only this photo” mode, so one swipe reaches the rest of the camera roll. Before handing the phone over, turn on Guided Access to lock it to the open app, or send the photo instead. In the long run, keep private photos outside the camera roll altogether. **Key takeaways:** - Guided Access locks the iPhone to one app until you end it. - Sending the photo is safer than handing over the phone. - Photos stored in a vault cannot be swiped to from the camera roll. ### Right now: show one photo safely #### Use Guided Access 1. Go to Settings › Accessibility › Guided Access and turn it on, with a passcode. 2. Open the photo, then triple-click the side button (or the Home button) to start Guided Access. 3. Circle the areas of the screen to disable, so swiping does nothing. To end it, triple-click again and enter the Guided Access passcode. #### Or do not hand the phone over AirDrop or message the photo. The other person gets one photo, on their own device, and your camera roll never leaves your hands. ### For next time The real fix is that private photos should not be one swipe away from holiday pictures. Photos in a vault such as Latent live outside the camera roll and need their own pattern to open, so handing over the phone exposes nothing. **Sources:** - [Apple — Lock iPhone to one app with Guided Access](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/use-guided-access-iph7fad0d10/ios) ## Someone else knows your iPhone passcode URL: https://latentapp.site/en/scenarios/partner-knows-iphone-passcode/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 A partner, relative or ex who knows your iPhone passcode can open far more than the lock screen. What the passcode unlocks, and what to change. **In short:** Your iPhone passcode also opens the Hidden and Recently Deleted albums, notes locked with the device passcode and, in many cases, saved passwords. If someone you no longer trust knows it, change it, review Face ID and the devices signed in to your Apple ID, and keep anything sensitive behind a secret that is not your passcode. **Key takeaways:** - The passcode unlocks the Hidden album and Recently Deleted. - Change the passcode, then review Face ID and signed-in devices. - Safety Check helps review who has access, in one place. ### What your passcode opens - The phone itself, whenever Face ID fails or is skipped. - The Hidden and Recently Deleted albums of the Photos app. - Notes locked with the device passcode. - Saved passwords, in many cases. ### What to change 1. Change the passcode in Settings › Face ID & Passcode. 2. In the same place, check whether an alternate appearance has been added to Face ID, and reset Face ID if you did not add it. 3. In Settings, tap your name and review the devices signed in to your Apple ID. ### Safety Check In Settings › Privacy & Security › Safety Check, iOS lets you review and reset what you share with other people and which devices have access, in one place. > If you are worried about your safety, changes to your phone can be noticed by the other person. Apple’s Personal Safety User Guide explains how to review access with that in mind. If you are in immediate danger, call your local emergency number. ### Keep sensitive files behind a different secret Even after changing the passcode, anything protected only by it is one glance away from being exposed again. A vault like Latent opens with its own pattern, independent from the passcode, and shows no list of its vaults. **Sources:** - [Apple — Personal Safety User Guide](https://support.apple.com/guide/personal-safety/welcome/web) ## Sending your iPhone for repair without exposing your photos URL: https://latentapp.site/en/scenarios/iphone-repair-passcode-privacy/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 A repair can mean handing over an unlocked iPhone. How to back up, what to protect and what to remove before your phone leaves your hands. **In short:** Before a repair, back up the iPhone, move anything private into an encrypted vault or off the phone, and ask whether the repair actually needs your passcode. If the phone may be erased or replaced, make sure your vault backup works first. **Key takeaways:** - Back up before anything else. - Ask whether the passcode is really needed. - Check your vault backup can be restored. ### Before you go 1. Make a full backup of the iPhone. 2. Move private photos and documents into an encrypted vault, or off the phone entirely. 3. Empty Recently Deleted, which keeps deleted photos for 30 days. 4. If you use a vault, run its restore test or check that its backup is up to date. ### At the counter Many repairs do not require your passcode. Ask what the technician needs to do and whether the phone has to be unlocked for it. If it does, a vault with its own pattern stays locked even when the phone is not. ### If the phone is replaced A replacement iPhone starts empty. A vault restores only from its backup and its recovery phrase — which is why the backup must be checked before the repair, not after. ## Where to keep a passport, medical or tax document on iPhone URL: https://latentapp.site/en/scenarios/store-sensitive-documents-iphone/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Scans of IDs, medical letters and tax papers often end up in the camera roll or an email. Where they are exposed, and where to keep them instead. **In short:** Avoid the camera roll, your email inbox and unlocked notes: they sync widely and open with your passcode. A locked note or the Files app is better than nothing, but only an encrypted vault with its own secret protects a document from someone who knows your passcode. **Key takeaways:** - The camera roll syncs to every device on your Apple ID. - Files app documents are not protected by a separate secret. - A vault keeps documents behind a code that is not your passcode. ### Where these documents usually end up - The camera roll, after a photo of the document — where it syncs, appears in search and sits next to holiday pictures. - An email sent to yourself — stored on a mail server, often for years. - A note — readable by anyone with the phone if it is not locked. ### Better, but limited Locked notes in the Notes app and documents in the Files app are a step up. Notes can be locked with the device passcode or a separate password; Files documents rely on the phone’s own lock. Neither hides that the documents exist. ### In a vault Latent stores PDFs and any other file alongside photos, encrypted, with tags such as “ID” or “Taxes” that are themselves encrypted. The secure camera scans a document straight into the vault, so it never touches the camera roll. ### Before sharing a scan A photo of a document also carries its metadata, including the place it was taken. Remove the location before sending it. ## Lost your iPhone? What happens to your private photos URL: https://latentapp.site/en/scenarios/lost-iphone-private-photos/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Lost iPhone with private photos on it: turn on Lost Mode in Find My, what a finder can and can’t see, and when to erase it remotely. **In short:** A locked iPhone with a passcode keeps its data encrypted, so a finder can’t browse your photos without the code. Mark it as lost in Find My right away: it locks the phone, stops alerts from showing and displays a message with a way to contact you. Erase it remotely only once you’ve given up on getting it back. **Key takeaways:** - Lost Mode locks the iPhone and silences notifications on its screen. - Without your passcode, a finder sees only what the Lock Screen allows. - A remote erase can’t be undone, but Activation Lock stays on. ### First: mark it as lost Do this from another Apple device, a family member’s device in Family Sharing, or Find Devices on iCloud.com. It only works if Find My was turned on before the phone went missing. 1. Open the Find My app and tap Devices. 2. Tap the lost iPhone, then turn on Lost Mode. 3. Add a phone number and a short message, then tap Activate. If the iPhone is offline, Find My shows Pending until it connects again. Lost Mode locks the phone with its passcode, stops it from displaying alerts or making noise for messages and notifications, and suspends Apple Pay. It also blocks Face ID from unlocking it. ### What a finder can see - Your Lost Mode message and phone number on the Lock Screen. - Anything you allowed on the Lock Screen in Settings › Face ID & Passcode › Allow Access When Locked — widgets, Control Center and similar. - Your Medical ID, if you set one up. ### What a finder can’t see With a passcode set, iPhone data is encrypted with 256-bit AES and stays that way until the phone is unlocked. Without the passcode, a finder can’t open Photos, the Hidden album or your files. Activation Lock also means the phone can’t be erased and reused without your Apple Account password. > The real risk is not the stranger who finds the phone. It is someone who also knows your passcode — see what to do if your iPhone was stolen. ### When to erase it remotely Erasing is the last step, not the first: it can’t be undone. Do it when you’re sure the phone is gone, or if it may be in the hands of someone who knows your passcode. In Find My, tap the device, then Erase, and confirm with your Apple Account password. An offline iPhone shows Erase Pending and is erased the next time it connects. Don’t remove the iPhone from Find My afterwards. Removing it also removes Activation Lock, which makes the phone easier to resell. Your Lost Mode message stays on screen even after the erase. ### Your photos after the loss With iCloud Photos on, your library is in iCloud and comes back when you sign in on a new iPhone. Photos that lived only on the lost phone, with no backup, are gone with it. A vault such as Latent stays locked behind its own pattern even if someone gets past the iPhone passcode. Its encrypted iCloud backup is on by default, and a vault restores on a new iPhone with its nine-word recovery phrase — which is why that phrase belongs on paper, not on the phone you just lost. **Sources:** - [Apple — How to find your lost iPhone or iPad](https://support.apple.com/en-us/101593) - [Apple — Mark a device as lost in Find My on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/mark-a-device-as-lost-iph7cc193cfc/ios) - [Apple — Erase a device in Find My on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/erase-a-device-iph21a030ae3/ios) ## iPhone stolen: how to protect your photos and accounts URL: https://latentapp.site/en/scenarios/iphone-stolen-protect-photos/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 If your iPhone was stolen — especially if the thief saw your passcode — what to do in the first hour to protect your Apple Account, photos and data. **In short:** Mark the iPhone as lost in Find My, then secure your Apple Account from another device: check its security settings and change the password if anything looks wrong. If the thief may know your passcode, act fast — the passcode can be used to change account settings unless Stolen Device Protection was on. Report the theft to the police and your carrier, and erase the phone remotely if you won’t get it back. **Key takeaways:** - Turn on Lost Mode first, from Find My or iCloud.com. - Secure your Apple Account before the thief can change it. - Stolen Device Protection only helps if it was on before the theft. ### Why a seen passcode changes everything A stolen iPhone that is locked protects its data. A stolen iPhone whose passcode the thief watched you type is a different problem: without Stolen Device Protection, that passcode is enough to use saved passwords, change the passcode itself or change your Apple Account settings. That is why speed matters more here than in an ordinary loss. ### In the first hour 1. From another device or Find Devices on iCloud.com, turn on Lost Mode for the stolen iPhone. 2. Review your Apple Account security: on another iPhone or iPad, Settings › [your name] › Sign-In & Security, or at account.apple.com. If you see changes you didn’t make, undo them and change your password. 3. Report the theft to the police. They may ask for the serial number, which you can find without the phone. 4. Contact your carrier to report the phone and ask them to disable your account. 5. If you won’t get the phone back, erase it in Find My. > Apple will never contact you to say your device was found. Messages that claim to — and ask for your passcode, Apple Account password or a verification code — are a common way thieves try to remove Activation Lock. ### Don’t remove the phone from your account Keep the stolen iPhone in Find My, even after erasing it. Removing it also removes Activation Lock, the feature that stops anyone from reactivating the phone without your Apple Account password. If you have AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss, keep it in Find My until your claim is approved. ### If Stolen Device Protection was on Away from familiar places such as home or work, Stolen Device Protection requires Face ID or Touch ID — not just the passcode — to use saved passwords, erase the phone or turn off Lost Mode. Changing your Apple Account password or your passcode adds a one-hour security delay. A thief with only your passcode gets much less, much more slowly. It has to be turned on before a theft. If you’re reading this with a phone still in your pocket, go to Settings › Face ID & Passcode › Stolen Device Protection. ### What happens to your photos If the thief can unlock the phone, they can open Photos — including the Hidden album, which opens with the same passcode. A photo vault with its own secret is a different lock: Latent opens with its own pattern, independent of the iPhone passcode, so knowing the passcode does not open it. Getting your vault back on a new iPhone depends on its encrypted iCloud backup and its nine-word recovery phrase. Neither is stored on the stolen phone in a usable form. **Sources:** - [Apple — About Stolen Device Protection for iPhone](https://support.apple.com/en-us/120340) - [Apple — How to find your lost iPhone or iPad](https://support.apple.com/en-us/101593) - [Apple — Activation Lock for iPhone and iPad](https://support.apple.com/en-us/108794) ## Selling your old iPhone: how to erase your photos for good URL: https://latentapp.site/en/scenarios/selling-old-iphone-erase-photos/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Before you sell or trade in an iPhone: back up, sign out, then Erase All Content and Settings. Why that erase is enough, and what to check first. **In short:** Back up the iPhone, sign out of your Apple Account, then go to Settings › General › Transfer or Reset iPhone › Erase All Content and Settings. Don’t delete photos one by one first: with iCloud Photos on, that deletes them from iCloud and your other devices too. The erase destroys the encryption keys, which makes everything left on the phone unreadable. **Key takeaways:** - Back up first — and check what the backup actually contains. - Never delete photos manually while signed in to iCloud. - Erase All Content and Settings makes the old data cryptographically inaccessible. ### Don’t start by deleting photos It is tempting to clear the camera roll before handing a phone over. With iCloud Photos turned on, a photo deleted on one device is deleted everywhere you use iCloud Photos. Clearing the old phone by hand clears your library. The erase step below is the safe way to empty it. ### The steps, in order 1. Back up the iPhone, or move your data to the new one with Quick Start. 2. If an Apple Watch is paired with it, unpair it. 3. Sign out: Settings › [your name] › Sign Out. On recent iOS versions you may be offered to erase the iPhone at the same time. 4. Erase it: Settings › General › Transfer or Reset iPhone › Erase All Content and Settings. 5. If the phone uses an eSIM, choose to erase the eSIM profile too when asked. 6. Remove the old iPhone from your list of trusted devices. #### Check what your backup holds An iCloud backup does not include your photos if iCloud Photos is on — those live in iCloud Photos instead, and come back when you sign in on the new phone. If iCloud Photos is off, make sure the backup or a copy on a computer actually contains them before you erase. ### Why the erase is enough Everything on an iPhone is encrypted with keys handled by its Secure Enclave. Erase All Content and Settings works by destroying the key that protects them all. Apple’s security documentation says this renders all files cryptographically inaccessible. There is nothing left for a buyer, or recovery software, to read. Signing out matters just as much. It turns off Find My and Activation Lock; skip it and the buyer may be stuck at a screen asking for your Apple Account. ### If you already handed it over - Ask the new owner to erase it using the steps above. - Remove it from your account and your trusted devices. - Change your Apple Account password: it doesn’t erase the phone, but it keeps the new owner out of your iCloud data. - Remove your cards and passes in Wallet. ### Before you erase a phone with a vault A vault app’s files are erased with everything else. With Latent, check that the vault’s encrypted iCloud backup is up to date, run the restore test, and make sure you have the nine-word recovery phrase. On the new iPhone, the vault restores from that backup with the phrase. **Sources:** - [Apple — What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your iPhone](https://support.apple.com/en-us/109511) - [Apple — Data Protection in Apple devices](https://support.apple.com/guide/security/data-protection-sece8608431d/web) - [Apple — Backup methods for iPhone or iPad](https://support.apple.com/en-us/108771) ## Giving your old iPhone to a family member: sign out first URL: https://latentapp.site/en/scenarios/handing-down-iphone-to-family/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Handing an old iPhone to a parent, partner or child? Sign out of your Apple Account and erase it first, or your photos and messages can follow it. **In short:** Before giving an old iPhone to a relative, back it up, sign out of your Apple Account, and erase it with Erase All Content and Settings. Then let them set it up with their own Apple Account — a Child Account for a child under 13. If the phone stays on your account, your iCloud photos, messages and call history can keep appearing on it. **Key takeaways:** - A phone left on your Apple Account keeps syncing your data. - Sign out, then erase — even for someone you trust. - Each family member should have their own Apple Account. ### Why “it’s only my mum” is not a reason to skip it The risk with a hand-me-down is rarely bad intent. It is that a phone still signed in to your Apple Account behaves like one of your devices. With iCloud Photos on, new photos you take appear on it; photos deleted on it are deleted from your library everywhere. Messages and voicemails meant for you can arrive on it, and your call history mixes with theirs. Apple’s own advice is not to share an Apple Account with a family member at all, because services treat both of you as the same person and some personal data becomes visible to the other. ### Prepare the phone 1. Back up the iPhone, or make sure everything you need is on your new one. 2. Unpair any Apple Watch paired with it. 3. Sign out: Settings › [your name] › Sign Out. This also turns off Find My and Activation Lock for the phone. 4. Erase it: Settings › General › Transfer or Reset iPhone › Erase All Content and Settings. 5. Remove it from your list of trusted devices. Skipping the erase leaves your apps and their data on the phone. Skipping the sign-out leaves it locked to your account: whoever sets it up will be asked for your Apple Account password. ### Set it up as theirs - They sign in with their own Apple Account, or create one during setup. - For a child under 13, create a Child Account. Where required by law, a child’s account must be part of a Family Sharing group (the age varies by country or region). - Use Family Sharing to share purchases, subscriptions and iCloud+ storage — each person’s photos and documents stay private. - For a child, set up Screen Time and Ask to Buy from your own device. > If you want to share family photos with them on purpose, invite them to an iCloud Shared Photo Library or a shared album instead of sharing your account. ### If the phone held a vault A vault app’s data goes with the erase. With Latent, check that each vault’s encrypted iCloud backup is current and that you have its nine-word recovery phrase before you wipe the phone; you restore the vault on your new iPhone, not on the hand-me-down. **Sources:** - [Apple — What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your iPhone](https://support.apple.com/en-us/109511) - [Apple — Make sure that each family member has their own Apple Account](https://support.apple.com/en-us/109040) - [Apple — Activation Lock for iPhone and iPad](https://support.apple.com/en-us/108794) ## Letting your child play games on your iPhone, safely URL: https://latentapp.site/en/scenarios/child-borrows-iphone-games/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Handing your iPhone to a child to play a game? Lock it to one app with Guided Access, block in-app purchases and keep private photos out of reach. **In short:** Before handing your iPhone to a child, open the game and start Guided Access: it locks the phone to that one app, with an optional time limit, until you end it with a passcode or Face ID. To guard against accidental purchases, restrict in-app purchases in Screen Time. Lock any app you don’t want opened, and keep private photos out of the camera roll altogether. **Key takeaways:** - Guided Access keeps the phone inside one app until you end it. - Screen Time can block in-app purchases on your own iPhone. - Locked apps need your Face ID or passcode to open. ### What a child can stumble on - The camera roll, one tap away from the Photos app or a game’s share button. - Notifications from Messages or Mail sliding in over the game. - In-app purchases charged to your payment method. - Deleting photos by accident — with iCloud Photos on, a deletion syncs to all your devices. ### Lock the phone to the game with Guided Access 1. Turn it on once: Settings › Accessibility › Guided Access. In Passcode Settings, set a Guided Access passcode or allow Face ID to end a session. 2. Open the game, then start Guided Access — with the Accessibility Shortcut, Control Center or by asking Siri. 3. Optionally circle parts of the screen to disable, such as a store button. 4. In Session Settings, choose whether the side button, volume buttons and keyboard work, and set a Time Limit if you want. 5. Tap Start. To end it, triple-click the side button and enter the Guided Access passcode, or use Face ID if you allowed it. > Emergency calls and Crash Detection aren’t available while Guided Access is on. Keep that in mind if this is the only phone nearby. ### Block in-app purchases In Settings › Screen Time › Content & Privacy Restrictions, turn on restrictions, tap iTunes & App Store Purchases, and choose your settings for in-app purchases. These apply to your own use of the phone too, so many parents prefer Guided Access for short sessions and a separate device with a Child Account for regular play. ### Keep notifications and other apps out of the way - Turn on a Focus such as Do Not Disturb before handing the phone over, so notifications are held back. - Lock apps you don’t want opened: touch and hold the app icon, then tap Require Face ID. A few built-in apps, such as Camera, Contacts and Settings, can’t be locked. - In Photos, the Hidden and Recently Deleted albums are locked by default and open with Face ID or your passcode. ### Photos that should never be a tap away Guided Access and locked apps protect a session. For photos and documents that should never appear next to the family pictures, a vault keeps them out of the Photos app entirely. In Latent, they sit behind a pattern of their own, and the vault can lock itself again the moment you leave the app. **Sources:** - [Apple — Lock iPhone to one app with Guided Access](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/use-guided-access-iph7fad0d10/ios) - [Apple — Change settings and restrictions in the App Store on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/change-settings-and-restrictions-iph3dfd91de/ios) - [Apple — Lock or hide an app on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/lock-or-hide-an-app-iph00f208d05/ios) ## Crossing a border with your phone: what to know about photos URL: https://latentapp.site/en/scenarios/border-crossing-phone-photos/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Phones can be inspected at borders. What that means in practice, how to prepare your photos and backups before you travel, and where to find official rules. **In short:** At many borders, officials have the authority to inspect electronic devices, including phones, and the rules differ from country to country. Before you travel, back up your photos so that a lost, damaged or held device doesn’t cost you your library, and think about what you actually need to carry. For the rules that apply to you, check the border agency’s official website. **Key takeaways:** - Border rules on device inspection vary by country. - Back up before you leave, not after something goes wrong. - Check the official border agency for the rules that apply to you. ### Devices can be inspected Customs and immigration officers in many countries can examine what travelers bring, and phones are included. This page is not legal advice, and it does not try to summarise every country’s rules. One example, from the United States’ own published guidance: - U.S. Customs and Border Protection says all travelers crossing the U.S. border are subject to inspection, and that searches of devices are rare: in fiscal year 2025, less than 0.01% of arriving international travelers had their devices searched. - It distinguishes basic searches, done by hand, from advanced searches in which equipment is connected to copy or analyse the device. - It says searches cover information on the device itself, not data stored only in the cloud, and that officers disable network connections first. - It says travelers must present devices in a condition that allows them to be examined, and that a device that can’t be inspected may be detained. Other countries have different rules. The border agency’s official website for the country you are entering is the place to check them. ### Before you travel 1. Back up your iPhone and your photos. If the phone is lost, damaged or held, a backup means you lose a device, not years of pictures. 2. Think about what the trip actually needs. A phone that holds everything you own carries everything you own. 3. If the phone holds work data, ask your employer whether they have a travel policy. 4. Write down the phone numbers and documents you would need if you were separated from the phone. ### At the border Answer officials truthfully and follow their instructions. If you have questions about your rights in your situation, the border agency’s official guidance, your country’s consulate or a lawyer are the right places to ask — not a website about photo apps. ### Where a vault fits — and where it doesn’t A photo vault is not a way around an inspection: files in a vault are on the device like everything else. What an encrypted vault does is protect your files day to day, and back them up. Latent’s encrypted iCloud backup is on by default, so if the phone doesn’t come home with you, your vault restores on a new iPhone with its nine-word recovery phrase. Keep that phrase on paper, at home — not on the phone you travel with. **Sources:** - [U.S. Customs and Border Protection — Border Search of Electronic Devices at Ports of Entry](https://www.cbp.gov/travel/cbp-search-authority/border-search-electronic-devices) - [Apple — Backup methods for iPhone or iPad](https://support.apple.com/en-us/108771) ## Family sharing one Apple Account? Why photos show up everywhere URL: https://latentapp.site/en/scenarios/family-shares-one-apple-account/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 If your family shares one Apple Account, every photo syncs to every device on it. Why that happens, and how to move to Family Sharing with separate accounts. **In short:** iCloud Photos keeps one library up to date on every device signed in to the same Apple Account, so a shared account means everyone sees, and can delete, everyone’s photos. Apple recommends that each person uses their own Apple Account and joins a Family Sharing group instead. Purchases and iCloud+ storage can still be shared, while each person’s photos stay private. **Key takeaways:** - Same Apple Account, same photo library, on every device. - A deletion on one device deletes the photo everywhere. - Family Sharing shares purchases and storage, not photos. ### Why it happens iCloud Photos stores every photo and video in iCloud and keeps the library the same on every device signed in with the same Apple Account. That is what it is designed to do. When a whole family signs in with one account, a teenager’s photos land on a parent’s Mac, a parent’s screenshots appear on a child’s iPad, and anyone can delete something for everyone. Photos are only part of it. Apple warns that on a shared account, messages and voicemails meant for one person can reach another, call history mixes, and if Family Sharing is ever stopped, the account owner keeps all the purchases. ### The fix: one Apple Account each, plus Family Sharing 1. Before anyone moves, make sure the photos each person wants to keep are saved somewhere they’ll still have access to. 2. On the family member’s device, sign out of the shared Apple Account. 3. Have them create their own Apple Account. A child under 13 needs a Child Account. 4. They sign in with the new account on their device. 5. The organizer sets up Family Sharing and invites them, then turns on Purchase Sharing. ### What you can still share - Purchases and subscriptions, through Family Sharing. - One iCloud+ plan with up to five other family members — each person’s photos and documents stay private to their own account. - Family photos you want everyone to have, through an iCloud Shared Photo Library or shared albums. > With separate accounts, sharing photos becomes a choice you make for specific photos or a specific library — not a side effect of signing in. ### Private photos in the meantime Moving a family to separate accounts can take a weekend. Until it is done, anything in the shared library is visible on every device signed in to it, including the Hidden album to anyone who can unlock one of them. A vault like Latent doesn’t depend on the Apple Account at all: it opens with its own pattern, and its iCloud backup is encrypted before it is uploaded. **Sources:** - [Apple — Make sure that each family member has their own Apple Account](https://support.apple.com/en-us/109040) - [Apple — Set up and use iCloud Photos](https://support.apple.com/en-us/108782) - [Apple — Share iCloud+ with your Family Sharing group](https://support.apple.com/en-us/108783) ## After a breakup: photos, passcodes and what to change on iPhone URL: https://latentapp.site/en/scenarios/after-a-breakup-photos-passcodes/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 After a breakup, an ex may still know your passcode or share your photos. What to change, how Safety Check helps, and what can’t be undone. **In short:** Change your iPhone passcode, check Face ID for an appearance you didn’t add, then open Settings › Privacy & Security › Safety Check to review what you still share — including Shared Library, shared albums and your location in Find My — and which devices are signed in to your Apple Account. Stopping sharing ends future access; it does not take back copies the other person already has. **Key takeaways:** - Safety Check reviews sharing and account access in one place. - Removing someone from a Shared Library can leave them with a copy. - If you’re worried about your safety, start with Apple’s Personal Safety guide. ### Before you change anything > If you are worried about your safety, changes to your phone can be noticed by the other person. Apple’s Personal Safety User Guide explains how to review access with that in mind, and Safety Check has a Quick Exit button that closes it instantly. If you are in immediate danger, call your local emergency number. ### Passcode and Face ID 1. Change your passcode in Settings › Face ID & Passcode › Change Passcode. Custom Alphanumeric Code and Custom Numeric Code are the most secure options. 2. If someone else could have added an alternate appearance to Face ID, tap Reset Face ID in the same place and set it up again. 3. Check the devices signed in to your Apple Account, and change its password if the other person ever knew it. ### Safety Check Safety Check is in Settings › Privacy & Security › Safety Check, on iOS 16 or later, with a two-factor Apple Account. It offers two paths: - Emergency Reset stops sharing with all people and apps at once, and walks you through your devices, trusted phone numbers and Apple Account password. - Manage Sharing & Access lets you review person by person — Shared Library and shared albums, location in Find My, shared notes, passwords, calendars and more. It can’t see everything: non-Apple accounts, social media, and devices signed in to a different Apple Account are outside it. ### Shared photos #### iCloud Shared Photo Library Leave it, or remove the other person if you created it: Settings › Apps › Photos › Shared Library (Settings › Photos on iOS 17 or earlier). Be aware that a participant removed after more than seven days automatically gets a copy of everything in the library in their own library. Until you leave, new photos can keep going into it if sharing from the Camera is turned on. #### Shared albums Open the album and remove the person as a subscriber, or delete the album if it is yours. If an album was published as a public website, anyone with the link can view and download it, so turn off the public website or delete the album. The exact menu names differ between iOS versions. #### What you can’t undo Photos you sent, shared or that were copied to someone else’s library stay on their devices. Changing settings protects what comes next. If someone threatens to share intimate images of you, contact local support services or the police. ### Keeping things private from here The safest private photos are the ones no former partner has a key to. A vault like Latent opens with its own pattern, which no one learns by watching you unlock your phone, and shows no list of the vaults it holds. **Sources:** - [Apple — Safety Check for an iPhone with iOS 16 or later](https://support.apple.com/guide/personal-safety/safety-check-iphone-ios-16-ips2aad835e1/web) - [Apple — Manage Photos sharing settings on Apple devices](https://support.apple.com/guide/personal-safety/manage-photos-sharing-settings-ips129f51353/web) - [Apple — Leave iCloud Shared Photo Library](https://support.apple.com/en-us/111758) ## Someone saw your iPhone passcode: what to do now URL: https://latentapp.site/en/scenarios/someone-saw-your-passcode/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Someone watched you type your iPhone passcode. Change it now, what they could open with it, and how Stolen Device Protection limits the damage. **In short:** Change your passcode as soon as you can, in Settings › Face ID & Passcode › Change Passcode, ideally to a custom alphanumeric code. Until you do, anyone holding your phone with that code could open the Hidden album, saved passwords and your Apple Account settings. Turn on Stolen Device Protection, and use Face ID in public so you type the code less often. **Key takeaways:** - Change the passcode now, not tonight. - The passcode opens far more than the Lock Screen. - Stolen Device Protection makes a stolen passcode much less useful. ### Change it now 1. Go to Settings › Face ID & Passcode and enter your current passcode. 2. Tap Change Passcode. 3. Tap Passcode Options and choose Custom Alphanumeric Code or Custom Numeric Code — Apple calls these the most secure options. With Stolen Device Protection on and the phone away from a familiar place, changing the passcode comes with a one-hour security delay. Start it anyway, and keep the phone with you until it completes. ### What the passcode could open - The phone itself, whenever Face ID is skipped or fails. - The Hidden and Recently Deleted albums in Photos. - Apps you locked with Require Face ID — the passcode opens them too, unless Stolen Device Protection applies. - Saved passwords and Apple Account settings — unless Stolen Device Protection is on and the phone is away from familiar places. If the phone left your hands after the code was seen, also check Settings › Face ID & Passcode: if you’re not sure who set up Face ID’s appearances, tap Reset Face ID and set it up again. Then check the devices signed in to your Apple Account. ### Turn on Stolen Device Protection In Settings › Face ID & Passcode › Stolen Device Protection. Away from places like home or work, it requires Face ID or Touch ID — no passcode fallback — to use saved passwords, erase the phone or open a locked app, and it adds a one-hour delay before your Apple Account password or passcode can be changed. It needs two-factor authentication, Find My and Significant Locations. ### Type it less, and less visibly Face ID unlocks the phone for most of the day, but iOS still asks for the passcode after a restart, after 48 hours without unlocking, and in a few other cases. Those are the moments to shield the screen. A longer alphanumeric code is also much harder to read from a glance than four or six digits. > If the person who saw your code is someone close to you, see what to do when a partner knows your passcode. ### A second secret for what matters most Whatever relies only on the passcode is exposed every time it is seen. Latent opens with its own pattern or password, independent of the iPhone passcode, so a code seen over your shoulder doesn’t open your vault. **Sources:** - [Apple — Set a passcode on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/set-a-passcode-iph14a867ae/ios) - [Apple — About Stolen Device Protection for iPhone](https://support.apple.com/en-us/120340) - [Apple — Set up Face ID on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/set-up-face-id-iph6d162927a/ios) ## Personal photos on a work phone: what your employer can see URL: https://latentapp.site/en/scenarios/work-phone-personal-photos/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 On a managed work iPhone, what can your employer see or erase? What Apple’s device management allows, what it doesn’t, and how to keep personal photos apart. **In short:** A managed iPhone lets your employer control settings, install apps and, on company-owned devices, erase the whole phone. Apple’s documentation says device management cannot view personal messages, mail, contacts, call logs or Safari history, and can see the phone’s location only by putting it in Managed Lost Mode, which locks it with a visible message. The simplest way to protect personal photos is to keep them on a personal phone. **Key takeaways:** - Check Settings › General › VPN & Device Management to see what is managed. - Company-owned phones can be erased remotely, photos included. - A personal phone is the cleanest separation. ### Is your phone managed? Look at the top of the main Settings screen: a supervised iPhone, usually one your organization owns, says so there. Then go to Settings › General › VPN & Device Management and tap any profile to see what it changes. If there is no profile, no device management profile is installed. ### What device management can do It depends on how the phone was enrolled. Apple’s deployment guide describes the main methods: - On every method, the organization can require a passcode, install and manage apps, and remotely erase the data it manages. - With any method other than User Enrollment, it can also see the list of all installed apps, the serial number and phone number, and erase all content and settings — your photos included. - On supervised phones, it can restrict features such as AirDrop and filter or route internet traffic. ### What Apple says it can’t do Apple lists capabilities that device management does not have under any enrollment method: querying the device location, collecting how often you use apps, and viewing personal calendars, contacts, mail, notes, reminders, iMessage or SMS messages, FaceTime and call logs, or Safari history. An administrator can see the location only by turning on Managed Lost Mode, which locks the phone and shows a message on the Lock Screen. Photos aren’t named in that list either way. Ask your IT department what their policy covers, and check which apps — including company apps — have access to your photos in Settings › Privacy & Security › Photos. ### Bring-your-own-device is different If you use your own iPhone for work, your organization may use User Enrollment. Apple says that with it, IT can manage only the organization’s accounts, settings and data, never your personal account, and can’t erase the whole phone. If you have a choice, it is the option that keeps your personal side most separate. ### Keeping personal photos apart - Keep personal photos on a personal phone where you can. - Remember that a work phone is handed back when you leave, and may be erased before you do. - Review which work apps can access your photos, and turn off access they don’t need. > A vault on a work phone protects the contents of your files, not the fact that the app is installed: on many managed phones, the list of apps is visible to the organization. Latent is designed for your own iPhone. **Sources:** - [Apple — If you have a supervised iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Vision Pro](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102291) - [Apple — Enrollment methods for Apple devices](https://support.apple.com/guide/deployment/enrollment-methods-for-apple-devices-dep08f54fcf6/web) - [Apple — User Enrollment and device management](https://support.apple.com/guide/deployment/user-enrollment-and-device-management-dep23db2037d/web) ## How to send your ID to a landlord safely URL: https://latentapp.site/en/scenarios/send-id-photo-to-landlord-safely/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Sending a passport or payslips for a rental? How to check the request, crop and watermark the photo, remove its location and clean up afterwards. **In short:** Send as little as you can: a copy cropped to the document, with a visible watermark naming the landlord, the purpose and the date, and with location turned off when you share it. Check the request is genuine first, use an official channel if one exists, and delete your extra copies — including from Recently Deleted — once the application is over. **Key takeaways:** - A watermark ties a copy to one landlord and one purpose. - Turn off Location under Options in the share sheet before sending. - Delete the copies you made, then delete them from Recently Deleted. ### Before you send anything A fake listing is an easy way to collect identity documents. If a request for your passport arrives unexpectedly or comes with pressure to act fast, Apple’s advice for any unexpected request for personal information applies: presume it may be a scam, and contact the agency or landlord through details you found yourself. - Ask exactly which documents they need, and at which stage of the application. - Check whether an official route exists. In England, GOV.UK explains that some tenants can prove their right to rent with a share code, or through an online identity service provider, instead of handing over documents. In France, the government’s DossierFacile service watermarks your documents and shares them through a link you control. - If the agency has its own portal or app, prefer it to email or a chat app. ### Prepare a copy made for this landlord Work on a duplicate so your original stays untouched: open the photo in Photos, tap the More button, then tap Duplicate. Then, on the duplicate: 1. Edit the photo and crop it to the document alone — no table, no room, no other papers in the frame. 2. Open Markup and add text across the page, for example “Rental application, 12 Oak Street, Smith Lettings only, 4 Nov 2026”. Keep it clear of your photo and of the details they need to read. 3. If some fields are not needed, ask whether you can mask them. The free face blur and redaction tool on this site hides text or areas of an image in your browser, without uploading it. 4. When you share, tap Options in the share sheet and turn off Location. “Location Not Included” appears above the Options button. 5. If you use AirDrop, leave All Photos Data off. It sends the original file with its edit history, not just the cropped, watermarked version. > A watermark does not stop misuse. It makes a copy recognisable as one sent to a particular person for a particular purpose, which makes it much less useful to anyone else. ### Payslips and bank statements The same approach works for financial documents. Send only the months or pages asked for, watermark them, and prefer the PDF your employer or bank provides over a photo of a printout: it is easier to read, and it was not taken in your home. ### After the application 1. Delete the duplicates you made in Photos. Deleted photos stay in Recently Deleted for 30 days, so open it — it unlocks with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode — and delete them there too. 2. Remember the copies you don’t control: the email or message you sent, and whatever the agency saved. You can ask how long it keeps applicants’ documents. 3. If you will need the document again, keep one clean copy somewhere other than the camera roll. ### Where Latent fits Latent’s secure camera photographs a document straight into an encrypted vault, so the ID never lands in Photos, iCloud Photos or Recently Deleted. You keep one copy there, tagged “ID” if you like, and share it from the vault only when an application really needs it. **Sources:** - [Apple — Add text, shapes, stickers, and more with Markup on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/add-text-shapes-stickers-and-more-iphcdb1d0bc7/ios) - [Apple — Manage location metadata in Photos](https://support.apple.com/guide/personal-safety/manage-location-metadata-in-photos-ips0d7a5df82/web) - [GOV.UK — Prove your right to rent in England](https://www.gov.uk/prove-right-to-rent) ## How to upload a photo of your ID online safely URL: https://latentapp.site/en/scenarios/send-id-document-online-safely/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Banks, rental sites and apps ask for a photo of your passport or ID. How to check who is asking, what to remove from the image and where to keep your copy. **In short:** Upload ID only to a site or app you reached yourself — not through a link in a message — and preferably inside its own verification flow. Send a fresh scan cropped to the document, without location data, delete the extra shots afterwards, and keep your own copy somewhere safer than the camera roll. **Key takeaways:** - Reach the site yourself rather than following the link that asked for your ID. - A photo taken at home can carry your home’s location. - Photos groups identity documents it recognises in Utilities. ### Check who is asking - Type the address yourself or open the company’s own app, rather than tapping a link in an email or text. For unexpected requests for personal information, Apple’s advice is to presume a scam and contact the company directly. - Be wary of being asked to email or message an ID to a service that has its own app or account area. That is where an identity check belongs. - Ask what the ID is for. Proving your age, opening an account and renting a flat do not call for the same documents. ### Use a digital ID where it is accepted In the United States, you can create a Digital ID in Apple Wallet from an unexpired U.S. passport. Select businesses accept it in person, in apps and online to check your identity or age. You choose what information is shared by default, rather than sending a picture of the whole document, and Apple says it can’t see when and where you use it. ### Prepare the image 1. Scan rather than snap. The Notes app and the Preview app can scan a document into a PDF, cropped to the page, with nothing of the room around it. 2. If you send a photo, remove its location first. In Photos, open the photo’s details, tap Adjust Info, then Adjust Location, then No Location. Or, when sharing, tap Options and turn off Location. 3. Check what else the file reveals. The photo metadata tool on this site shows a photo’s location, device and other fields, and downloads a copy without them — in your browser, without uploading anything. 4. Upload only the pages and sides that are asked for. > Apple’s Personal Safety User Guide points out that people you share photos with may be able to read the location where they were taken. For a photo of an ID taken at your kitchen table, that location is your home. ### Afterwards - Delete the extra shots. Photos keeps deleted items in Recently Deleted for 30 days, so delete them there as well. - Don’t leave the ID in your library by default. Photos can find photos by their content, including identity documents, and groups them in Utilities, where anyone browsing your unlocked phone can find them easily. - Note where you uploaded what, so you know whom to contact if one of those services is ever breached. ### Keeping your own copy You will need the scan again. Kept in the camera roll, it syncs to every device signed in to your Apple Account when iCloud Photos is on. Latent keeps it in an encrypted vault instead — captured with the secure camera, so no copy ever reaches Photos — behind a pattern that is not your iPhone passcode. **Sources:** - [Apple — Recognize and avoid social engineering schemes including phishing messages, phony support calls, and other scams](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102568) - [Apple — Use your Digital ID in Apple Wallet](https://support.apple.com/en-us/123719) - [Apple — Manage location metadata in Photos](https://support.apple.com/guide/personal-safety/manage-location-metadata-in-photos-ips0d7a5df82/web) ## Medical photos on iPhone: keeping them out of your camera roll URL: https://latentapp.site/en/scenarios/medical-photos-on-iphone/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Photos of a rash, a wound or a prescription for your doctor end up next to holiday pictures. Where they spread, and how to keep them out of the camera roll. **In short:** A photo taken with the Camera app goes into your library, syncs with iCloud Photos and becomes part of what Photos draws on for featured photos and Memories. For medical photos, scan documents into Notes instead, hide or delete photos once they are sent, empty Recently Deleted — or capture them straight into an encrypted vault so they never reach the library. **Key takeaways:** - Hidden photos leave the library view but still sync with iCloud Photos. - Notes can’t lock a note that contains a scanned PDF. - Deleted photos stay in Recently Deleted for 30 days. ### Where a symptom photo goes by default - Into your library, next to everything else — and, with iCloud Photos on, onto every device signed in to your Apple Account. - Into the pool Photos draws on for Memories, featured photos and the Photos widget. - Into a shared library, if you use iCloud Shared Photo Library and Camera shares automatically at home or when other participants are nearby. - Into Utilities, where Photos groups images by content — identity documents, receipts, handwriting — so a prescription or a letter can be easy to find. ### Better for documents: scan them For prescriptions, test results and letters, a scan beats a photo. In Notes, open a note and choose Scan Documents; the scan is saved as a PDF inside the note, not in Photos. One limit: Apple says you can’t lock notes with PDF attachments, so a scanned document in Notes is protected only by the phone’s own lock. ### If you already took the photo 1. Send it through the channel your clinic expects — a patient portal or secure messaging, if it offers one. 2. If you still need it, hide it: tap the More button, then Hide. The Hidden collection is locked with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode by default. 3. If it went into a shared library, open it, tap the More button and choose Move to Personal Library. 4. Once it is no longer needed, delete it, then delete it again from Recently Deleted, where it would otherwise stay for 30 days. > The Hidden and Recently Deleted collections open with your iPhone passcode. Anyone who knows that passcode can open them too. ### Capturing straight into a vault Latent’s secure camera saves the photo directly into an encrypted vault. It never appears in Photos, iCloud Photos or Recently Deleted, and the vault opens with its own pattern. Tags such as “Dermatology” are encrypted with the file, and when the doctor needs the photo, you share it from the vault. **Sources:** - [Apple — Lock your notes on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/lock-notes-iphf177bb154/ios) - [Apple — Find receipts, QR codes, recently edited photos, and more on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/find-receipts-qr-codes-edited-photos-iph995007f21/ios) - [Apple — Delete or hide photos and videos on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/delete-or-hide-photos-and-videos-iphb4defbde9/ios) ## Hiding surprise gift photos from your family on iPhone URL: https://latentapp.site/en/scenarios/hide-gift-photos-surprise/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Planning a surprise with a shared photo library or a family Mac? Where gift photos can give you away, and how to keep them out of sight until the day. **In short:** If you use iCloud Shared Photo Library, make sure Camera isn’t sharing automatically and keep gift photos in your personal library. If a family Mac or iPad is signed in to your Apple Account, your library — hidden photos included — syncs there too. Hide the photos, keep them off shared devices, or keep them in a separate vault. **Key takeaways:** - Shared Library can add photos automatically at home or near family. - Shared library photos appear in everyone’s Memories and Photos widget. - Hidden photos still sync to every device on your Apple Account. ### Where a surprise leaks - A shared library. With automatic sharing on, photos you take at home or near other participants can go straight into the iCloud Shared Photo Library — and into everyone’s memories, featured photos and Photos widget. - Shared Library Suggestions, which proposes photos you might want to add. - A shared device. A family Mac or iPad signed in to your Apple Account with iCloud Photos on shows your library, including what you photographed this morning. - Messages. Photos sent to you in Messages — a shop’s photo, a picture from someone in on the secret — can be saved to your library automatically. ### Before you photograph the gift 1. In Camera, check the Shared Library button at the top of the screen and make sure you are saving to your personal library. That is the default, but it is easy to switch. 2. To be safe until the day, turn sharing from Camera off in Settings › Apps › Photos › Shared Library › Sharing from Camera. 3. If you prefer to keep it on, turn off Share When At Home: in Photos, tap Collections, tap your account in the top-right corner, then Shared Library › Sharing from Camera. 4. In the same Shared Library screen, you can turn off Shared Library Suggestions. ### After you take it - If a photo went into the shared library by mistake, open it, tap the More button and choose Move to Personal Library. Anyone who looked in the meantime may already have seen it. - Hide it. Hidden photos appear only in the Hidden collection, which is locked by default — but it opens with the passcode of any device signed in to your account. - To stop Messages saving received photos to your library, go to Settings › Apps › Messages › Shared with You and turn off Photos. - After the day, delete what you no longer need, and delete it again from Recently Deleted. ### On a family Mac If the family Mac is signed in to your Apple Account with iCloud Photos on, your hidden photos are there too, behind the Mac’s password or Touch ID. If that Mac shouldn’t show your library at all, see why your photos appear on a family Mac and how to stop it. ### A vault for the planning Gift photos, receipts and screenshots of an order are exactly what Latent keeps out of Photos. The secure camera saves them straight into an encrypted vault that never reaches a shared library, Memories or a family Mac. Latent 1.0 keeps vaults on your iPhone, with an encrypted backup in your iCloud, and does not sync them to other devices. **Sources:** - [Apple — Add content to an iCloud Shared Photo Library on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/add-content-to-an-icloud-shared-photo-library-iphc6c5d25ce/ios) - [Apple — Use iCloud Shared Photo Library on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/use-icloud-shared-photo-library-iph1a6c849ab/ios) - [Apple — Delete or hide photos and videos on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/delete-or-hide-photos-and-videos-iphb4defbde9/ios) ## Why your iPhone photos show up on a family Mac or iPad URL: https://latentapp.site/en/scenarios/photos-syncing-to-family-mac/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Your iPhone photos on a shared Mac or iPad usually mean it’s signed in to your Apple Account with iCloud Photos on. How to check, and how to stop it. **In short:** Your photos appear on another device when it is signed in to your Apple Account with iCloud Photos on, or when you share a library or album with its owner. To stop it, turn off iCloud Photos on that Mac or iPad, or sign it out of your account — then give each person their own Apple Account and Mac user account. **Key takeaways:** - iCloud Photos syncs to every device signed in to your account. - Turning off iCloud Photos on a Mac can leave downloaded copies behind. - Family Sharing shares storage, not your photo library. ### Why it happens - The Mac or iPad is signed in to your Apple Account with iCloud Photos on. Your whole library syncs there, the Hidden and Recently Deleted collections included. - You share an iCloud Shared Photo Library with the person who uses that device. Everything in a shared library is visible to every participant. - You added photos to a shared album they follow. - The device was set up with your account long ago, and nobody changed it. Family Sharing is not the cause. Apple says that when a family shares iCloud+, everyone uses their own Apple Account, so photos, documents and other information stay private. ### Check which account the device uses On the Mac, open System Settings: the name at the top of the sidebar is the Apple Account in use. On an iPad, it is the name at the top of Settings. ### Stop the sync #### On a Mac 1. Open Photos, choose Photos › Settings, then click iCloud. 2. Deselect iCloud Photos. 3. Click Remove from Mac to remove items that were not fully downloaded, or Download to keep a full copy on the Mac. Photos already fully downloaded stay in that Mac’s library. Once iCloud Photos is off there, the Mac no longer syncs with your other devices, so you can delete those local copies without touching your iPhone or iCloud. #### On an iPad Go to Settings › [your name] › iCloud › Photos and turn off Sync this iPad. #### Or sign the device out If the Mac shouldn’t use your account at all, go to System Settings, click your name, then click Sign Out and follow the onscreen choices about copies of your iCloud data. > Don’t choose “Turn Off and Delete from iCloud” to fix one device. It stops iCloud Photos on all your devices, and your photos are deleted from iCloud after 30 days unless you undo it. ### Set the Mac up for a family Apple recommends a separate user account for each person who uses a Mac. Add one in System Settings › Users & Groups, and let each person sign in to their own Apple Account in their own user. ### If some photos shouldn’t sync anywhere Even on your own devices, iCloud Photos puts the whole library — hidden photos included — on every Mac and iPad you sign in to. Latent 1.0 keeps vaults on the iPhone only, with an encrypted backup in your iCloud that can be restored only with the vault’s recovery phrase. **Sources:** - [Apple — Use iCloud Photos on Mac](https://support.apple.com/guide/photos/use-icloud-photos-phtf5e48489c/mac) - [Apple — Share iCloud+ with your Family Sharing group](https://support.apple.com/en-us/108783) - [Apple — Add a user or group on Mac](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/add-a-user-or-group-mchl3e281fc9/mac) ## Stop iPhone Memories from showing photos of your ex URL: https://latentapp.site/en/scenarios/memories-show-ex-photos/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Photos keeps surfacing an ex in Memories, featured photos and the widget. How to feature a person less, turn off featured content and decide what to keep. **In short:** Open a photo of the person in Photos, tap the More button, choose Don’t Feature a Person, then Feature This Person Less or Never Feature This Person. To stop memories and featured photos altogether, turn off Show Featured Content in your account menu in Photos. Hiding or deleting the photos is a separate choice that can wait. **Key takeaways:** - “Never Feature This Person” covers Memories, featured photos and the widget. - Show Featured Content turns automatic memories off entirely. - Leaving a shared library lets you copy its content first. ### Feature a person less, or never 1. Open a photo of the person in Photos. 2. Tap the More button, then tap Don’t Feature a Person. If there is more than one person in the photo, tap the right one, then tap Next. 3. Choose Feature This Person Less or Never Feature This Person, then tap Confirm. This changes what Photos suggests in memories, featured photos and the Photos widget. The photos themselves stay in your library. To undo it later, tap Collections, tap your account in the top-right corner, then tap Reset People & Pets Suggestions. From Collections › People & Pets, you can also touch and hold the person’s key photo and choose Hide [name] or Don’t Feature [name]. ### Deal with one memory In Collections, open Memories, touch and hold a memory and choose Feature Less — this day, this place or a person — or Delete Memory. ### Turn off memories altogether In Photos, tap Collections, tap your account in the top-right corner and turn off Show Featured Content. Photos stops automatically generating featured photos and memories. Turning off Show Holiday Events also stops memories built around holidays. ### Shared libraries If you and your ex shared an iCloud Shared Photo Library, its content appears in every participant’s memories and featured photos. When you leave, Photos lets you copy everything from it into your own library, or only what you contributed. If the organizer deletes it, participants who have been members for more than seven days can copy everything — so the other person may keep copies too. ### The photos themselves There is no need to decide today. Moving photos out of sight is often easier than choosing what to delete. Hiding sends them to the Hidden collection, which opens with your passcode. A vault like Latent keeps them encrypted behind a pattern of their own, out of Memories, the widget and the Photos search, until you know what you want to keep. > If an ex may still have access to your phone, accounts or location, Safety Check in Settings › Privacy & Security › Safety Check reviews what you share. Apple’s Personal Safety User Guide explains how to do this, including when changes might be noticed. If you are in immediate danger, call your local emergency number. **Sources:** - [Apple — Hide people, memories, and holidays in Photos on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/hide-people-memories-and-holidays-iph10a9dd2a1/ios) - [Apple — Set up or join an iCloud Shared Photo Library on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/set-up-or-join-an-icloud-shared-photo-library-iph28ac9ea81/ios) - [Apple — Personal Safety User Guide](https://support.apple.com/guide/personal-safety/welcome/web) ## Stop notifications popping up when screen sharing on iPhone URL: https://latentapp.site/en/scenarios/screen-sharing-private-photos-popup/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Sharing your iPhone screen on a call or a TV? How to stop notifications and private photos appearing mid-presentation, using built-in iOS settings. **In short:** When you share your screen with SharePlay or Screen Mirroring, iPhone allows notifications by default. Turn them off in Settings › Notifications › Screen Sharing, turn on Do Not Disturb as a backstop, and put what you will show in an album prepared in advance, so you never scroll through your library on screen. **Key takeaways:** - Settings › Notifications › Screen Sharing controls banners while you share. - Do Not Disturb silences notifications whichever app you share from. - Show an album you prepared, never your whole library. ### Before you share 1. Go to Settings › Notifications › Screen Sharing and turn off Allow Notifications. Apple allows them by default when you share with SharePlay or Screen Mirroring. 2. Open Control Center, tap Focus, then turn on Do Not Disturb. It also covers sharing through a third-party video-call app, which the setting above may not. 3. Put the photos you want to show in an album, and open only that album. 4. Open the app you will present before you start sharing, so the Home Screen spends as little time on screen as possible. ### If you present often Schedule a Focus instead of remembering it each time: go to Settings › Focus, tap a Focus, tap Add Schedule, and choose an app — your presentation or video-call app — so the Focus turns on whenever you open it. For messages, you can also set Settings › Notifications › Show Previews to Never, so banners don’t show what a message says. ### What can still appear - Your Home Screen and its widgets. A Photos widget shows featured photos; you can turn featured content off in Photos under Collections › your account › Show Featured Content. - The app switcher, if you swipe between apps while sharing, with a preview of each recent app. - Search results and suggestions, if you search in Photos with the screen shared. - In a FaceTime call, the other person can tap or draw on your shared screen, and can control it if you allow remote control. ### Showing photos on a TV To show photos on an Apple TV 4K or an AirPlay 2 smart TV, you don’t have to mirror the whole screen. Open a photo in Photos, tap the Share button, swipe up and tap AirPlay. Start from the album you prepared rather than your full library. Mirroring, by contrast, shows everything on your iPhone. To end it, open Control Center, tap Screen Mirroring, then Stop Mirroring. ### Keeping private photos off the screen entirely The most reliable protection is that private photos aren’t in the library you scroll through. In Latent, they sit in a vault that stays locked until you open it with its own pattern, and the app’s preview is hidden in the app switcher. If you hand your phone over instead of sharing the screen, Guided Access locks iPhone to a single app. **Sources:** - [Apple — Change notification settings on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/change-notification-settings-iph7c3d96bab/ios) - [Apple — Turn on or schedule a Focus on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/turn-a-focus-on-or-off-iph5c3f5b77b/ios) - [Apple — Share your screen in a FaceTime call on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/share-your-screen-in-a-facetime-call-iph327b4b53c/ios) ## Back up your iPhone before an iOS update: a checklist URL: https://latentapp.site/en/scenarios/back-up-before-ios-update/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Updating iOS keeps your data, but Apple still recommends a backup first. What to back up, how to check it worked, and what vault apps need on top. **In short:** Apple says your data and settings stay in place when you update iOS, but recommends backing up first. Run an iCloud backup with Back Up Now or a computer backup, check that it finished, make sure iCloud Photos has finished syncing, and — if you use a vault app — check its own backup and recovery phrase. **Key takeaways:** - Settings › [your name] › iCloud › iCloud Backup › Back Up Now. - With iCloud Photos on, photos sync rather than going into the backup. - A vault app needs its own backup and its own recovery secret. ### Why back up if the update keeps everything An update is designed to leave your data and settings untouched. The backup covers the rest: an update interrupted, an iPhone that won’t start afterwards. Apple’s recovery steps for an iPhone that can’t update suggest trying Update first, but Restore reinstalls iOS and erases all your data — and at that point, the backup is what you have. ### Back up #### To iCloud 1. Connect to Wi-Fi. 2. Go to Settings › [your name] › iCloud › iCloud Backup. 3. Tap Back Up Now and wait for it to finish. In the same screen, tap This iPhone to see when the last backup was made and which apps are included. #### To a computer On a Mac, connect the iPhone with a cable, select it in the Finder sidebar, click General, choose to back up all of the data on your iPhone to this Mac, then click Back Up Now. Select “Encrypt local backup” to protect it with a password — a password you will need to restore it. On a Windows PC, the steps are similar. ### Know what the backup doesn’t hold - iCloud Photos. If it is on, your photos sync to iCloud and are not part of the iCloud backup. In Photos, tap Collections and check the sync status at the top right before updating. - Messages in iCloud, which also syncs instead of being backed up. - Data that apps store in iCloud Drive, which lives there rather than in the backup. ### If you use a vault app A photo vault deserves its own check, because its contents are only as recoverable as its backup and its key. Before updating: - Check the app’s own backup status, if it has one. - Find your recovery phrase or password, and make sure it isn’t stored only inside the vault or in a screenshot in Photos. - If the app offers a restore test, run it. Latent backs each vault up to your iCloud, encrypted on the iPhone, shows the backup status at all times and includes a restore test. Restoring on a new or erased iPhone needs the vault’s nine-word recovery phrase. ### Then update Go to Settings › General › Software Update, tap Download and Install, and follow the onscreen instructions. **Sources:** - [Apple — Update iOS on iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/update-ios-iph3e504502/ios) - [Apple — Back up iPhone](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/back-up-iphone-iph3ecf67d29/ios) - [Apple — What does iCloud back up?](https://support.apple.com/en-us/108770) ## iPhone broken or won’t turn on: how to get your photos back URL: https://latentapp.site/en/scenarios/broken-iphone-get-photos-back/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 A dead or smashed iPhone doesn’t always mean lost photos. Check iCloud Photos, your backups and your vault’s recovery phrase before a repair erases anything. **In short:** If iCloud Photos was on, your photos are already in iCloud: sign in at iCloud.com/photos or on another device to see them. Otherwise, look for an iCloud or computer backup to restore onto a working iPhone. Photos that lived only on the broken phone depend on getting it working again, and a vault app restores only from its own backup and secret. **Key takeaways:** - iCloud.com/photos shows your iCloud Photos in any browser. - A repaired iPhone may come back erased, ready to restore from a backup. - A vault restores only with its backup and its recovery phrase. ### First: what was already off the phone - iCloud Photos. If it was on, your library is in iCloud. Open iCloud.com/photos in any web browser and sign in, or open Photos on a Mac or iPad signed in to the same account. - An iCloud backup. If iCloud Photos was off, an iCloud backup may include the photos and videos in your library. - A computer backup, made with the Finder on a Mac or on a Windows PC. - Photos you sent or shared — in messages, emails or shared albums — also exist with the people and services you sent them to. ### If the phone still turns on Back it up straight away, to iCloud or to a computer, and check that iCloud Photos has finished syncing. Every photo you get off the phone now is one you won’t need to rescue later. ### Restoring onto a working iPhone 1. Turn on the new or newly erased iPhone. At the Hello screen, begin setup. 2. Tap Set Up Manually, then Restore from iCloud Backup — or connect it to the computer holding your backup, select it in the Finder, click Trust, then Restore from this backup. 3. If the computer backup is encrypted, enter its password. ### Before and after a repair - Apple asks you to back up before service, if you still can, and warns that a device might come back erased. - If you set the returned iPhone up as new and later want your old iCloud backup, Apple says to erase it and restore as soon as possible: new backups made in the meantime can overwrite the earlier ones. - Apple and Apple Authorized Service Providers will never ask for your Apple Account password or device passcode. For some software support you may be asked to enter it yourself — Apple says to stay present while the technician has access. If the phone can’t be brought back and nothing was synced or backed up, photos that existed only on it may not be recoverable. ### Vault apps A vault that encrypts properly can’t be opened by a repair shop, by Apple or by the app’s developer — which also means it can’t be rescued from a dead phone. What matters is its backup. Latent backs each vault up to your iCloud, encrypted, and restores it on a new iPhone signed in to the same iCloud account, with the vault’s nine-word recovery phrase. > Do this before anything breaks: check that your backups are current, and that your recovery phrase lives somewhere other than the phone itself. **Sources:** - [Apple — Download iCloud photos and videos](https://support.apple.com/en-us/111762) - [Apple — Restore all content to iPhone from a backup](https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/restore-all-content-from-a-backup-iph1624229a/ios) - [Apple — Prepare your iPhone or iPad for a service appointment](https://support.apple.com/en-us/109519) ## What happens to your iPhone photos when you die? Legacy Contact URL: https://latentapp.site/en/scenarios/legacy-contact-photos/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Apple’s Legacy Contact lets someone you choose request your iCloud photos after your death. What it covers, what it doesn’t, and what encrypted vaults mean. **In short:** With a Legacy Contact, someone you choose can request access to the data in your Apple Account after your death — including iCloud Photos and your iCloud Backup — using the access key you gave them and a death certificate. Access lasts three years. Photos in an end-to-end encrypted vault app stay locked unless they also have that vault’s secret. **Key takeaways:** - Add one in Settings › [your name] › Sign-In & Security › Legacy Contact. - They need the access key and a death certificate. - An encrypted vault opens only with its own secret, Legacy Contact or not. ### What a Legacy Contact can reach Apple’s list covers data stored in iCloud and in iCloud Backup: iCloud Photos, Notes, Mail, Contacts, Calendars, Reminders, Messages in iCloud, call history, files in iCloud Drive, Health data, Voice Memos, Safari bookmarks, and anything in an iCloud backup — which may include photos and videos stored on the device. Excluded: purchased movies, music and books, subscriptions, payment information, and everything in iCloud Keychain, such as passwords and passkeys. Access is temporary. The Legacy Contact account is available for three years from when Apple approves the first request, and is then permanently deleted. ### Adding a Legacy Contact 1. Go to Settings › [your name] › Sign-In & Security › Legacy Contact. 2. Tap Add Legacy Contact, confirming with Face ID, Touch ID or your passcode if asked. 3. Choose a member of your Family Sharing group, or someone from your contacts. 4. Share the access key: by iMessage, or as a printed copy you hand over or keep with your estate planning documents. Your account needs two-factor authentication, and your contact must be over 13, though the minimum age varies by country or region. Apple can’t access or replace a lost access key, so store it where it will be found. ### How access is requested After a death, the Legacy Contact requests access from their Apple device or on Apple’s Digital Legacy website, with the access key and a death certificate; requirements vary by country or region. Apple reviews and verifies each request. Once it is approved, the original Apple Account stops working and Activation Lock is removed from the devices that used it. Encrypted data, such as Health data, may require the access key. ### Photos in a vault app A Legacy Contact receives what Apple can provide. An app that encrypts photos with its own key — a key Apple never had — stays locked, even if its encrypted backup sits in your iCloud. That is the point of the encryption, and it applies to the people you leave behind as much as to anyone else. With Latent, a vault opens only with its pattern or its nine-word recovery phrase. If there are photos you want someone to inherit, keep the recovery phrase where your Legacy Contact access key lives, or keep those photos somewhere they can be reached. If there are photos you would rather nobody opened, the vault already does that. For questions about wills and estates, a legal professional where you live is the right person to ask. > Latent has no account and no server, so there is nothing for Apple, for Latent or for a Legacy Contact to reset. Without the pattern or the recovery phrase, a vault cannot be opened. **Sources:** - [Apple — How to add a Legacy Contact for your Apple Account](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102631) - [Apple — Data that a Legacy Contact can access](https://support.apple.com/en-us/103128) - [Apple — Request access to an Apple Account as a Legacy Contact](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102678) # Compare Latent Side-by-side comparisons between Latent and the other ways to keep photos private on iPhone. ## Latent vs the iPhone Hidden album URL: https://latentapp.site/en/compare/latent-vs-apple-hidden-album/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Latent compared with the Hidden album built into the iPhone Photos app: who can open it, how it is encrypted, what it syncs and what it stores. **In short:** The Hidden album is free and good enough to keep photos out of a casual scroll. Latent is the better choice when the people you want to protect photos from might know your iPhone passcode, when you want encryption that Apple cannot unlock, or when you need to store documents and other files too. **Key takeaways:** - Hidden album: opens with the iPhone passcode. - Latent: opens with its own pattern, independent from the passcode. - Latent stores any file type; the Hidden album only photos and videos. | | Latent | Hidden album | |---|---|---| | Unlocks with | Its own pattern or password | Face ID, Touch ID or the iPhone passcode | | Who holds the encryption keys | Only your iPhone | Apple, unless Advanced Data Protection is on | | Several separate vaults | Yes, with no visible list | No, one album | | File types | Photos, videos, PDFs, any file | Photos and videos | | Syncs to your other devices | No, backup only, encrypted | Yes, with iCloud Photos | | Secure camera | Yes, straight into the vault | No | | Price | Free to start | Free, built in | ### When the Hidden album is enough If what you want is for a few photos not to appear while you scroll through your library in front of someone, the Hidden album does that well, costs nothing and needs no setup. > [Figure] The Hidden album opens with the iPhone passcode. A vault opens with a secret of its own. (Hidden album · Opens with the iPhone passcode or Face ID · Syncs to your other devices with iCloud Photos · Latent vault · Opens with its own pattern · Each file encrypted with its own key) ### When Latent is the better choice - Someone close to you knows, or could learn, your iPhone passcode. - You share a Mac or iPad signed in to the same Apple ID. - You want files that Apple holds no key to, without turning on Advanced Data Protection for your whole account. - You need to keep documents, not only photos. ### Using both They do not exclude each other. Many people keep the Hidden album for photos they simply prefer not to see every day, and a vault for what must stay private from people who could unlock the phone. **Sources:** - [Apple — iCloud data security overview](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102651) - [Apple — How to turn on Advanced Data Protection for iCloud](https://support.apple.com/en-us/108756) - [Engadget — Apple disables iCloud’s Advanced Data Protection feature in the UK (Feb. 2025)](https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/apple-disables-iclouds-advanced-data-protection-feature-in-the-uk-173016447.html) # Free privacy tools Small tools that run entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, nothing is stored. ## Photo metadata viewer and remover URL: https://latentapp.site/en/tools/photo-metadata/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 See what a photo reveals — location, device, serial number, AI declaration, Content Credentials — and download a copy without it. Free, nothing is uploaded. ### What this tool shows Photos carry information that is not visible in the picture: when it was taken, which device took it, sometimes the device’s serial number, often the exact GPS position — and, for images made with AI tools, a declaration saying so. This tool reads all of it and marks what could identify you or a place. > [Figure] What a photo file can carry besides the picture itself. (Date and time · Device and lens · Camera settings · GPS location) ### AI declarations and Content Credentials Generators that label their output write an IPTC “digital source type” field, and some sign a C2PA manifest — Content Credentials — recording how the image was created and edited. Stable Diffusion and ComfyUI often store the prompt itself in a PNG text field. The tool detects all three. ### What “remove” does The clean copy is the same image, byte for byte. Metadata blocks are cut out of the file; nothing is re-encoded, so there is no loss of quality. Only the orientation is kept, so a portrait photo is not displayed sideways. ### Privacy Everything happens in your browser. The photo is read from your device, processed in memory and offered back as a download. It is never uploaded, and this site is configured so that the page cannot send data to any other server. ## How to check if an image was generated by AI URL: https://latentapp.site/en/tools/photo-metadata/check-if-image-is-ai-generated/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Metadata labels, Content Credentials, visible watermarks and platform tags can show an image was AI-generated. What each proves — and what it does not. **In short:** Look for what the image declares: an IPTC “digital source type” in its metadata, Content Credentials (C2PA), a visible watermark, or a label added by the platform. Any of these is a strong sign. But labels are easily lost — a screenshot or re-save removes metadata — so an image without them is not proven real. **Key takeaways:** - A metadata label or C2PA manifest is strong evidence of AI involvement. - No label is not evidence of a real photo. - AI detectors that guess from pixels are unreliable. ### 1. Read the metadata Generators that label their output write an IPTC field — DigitalSourceType — with the value “trainedAlgorithmicMedia”. Some local tools, such as Stable Diffusion interfaces, store the prompt in a PNG text field. The photo metadata tool on this site reads both. ### 2. Look for Content Credentials Content Credentials (C2PA) are a signed record of how an image was made and edited. When present, they can say which tool generated or modified the image, and the signature shows whether the record was tampered with. ### 3. Visible signs and platform labels Some generators add a visible mark in a corner. Social platforms add their own “AI info” or “made with AI” tags when they detect a declaration. Both are useful hints, and both disappear with a simple crop or screenshot. ### What does not work well - Online “AI detectors” that guess from pixels: they produce false positives and false negatives, and are easy to fool. - Counting fingers or reading text: modern generators have largely fixed these tells. ### When it matters For an image that could mislead — news, evidence, a claim about a person — look for the original source, run a reverse image search, and check whether reliable outlets published it. ## What are Content Credentials (C2PA)? URL: https://latentapp.site/en/tools/photo-metadata/content-credentials-c2pa/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Content Credentials are a signed record of where an image comes from and how it was edited, defined by the C2PA standard. How they work and their limits. **In short:** Content Credentials are a provenance record defined by the C2PA standard (Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity). Embedded in the file and cryptographically signed, they can state which camera or software created an image, whether AI was used, and which edits followed. The signature reveals tampering, but the record can still be removed entirely. **Key takeaways:** - A signed manifest stored inside the image file. - It can record capture, AI generation and each edit. - Removing it is easy; faking a valid one is not. ### What is inside A C2PA manifest lists assertions — “captured by this camera”, “generated with this model”, “cropped”, “colour adjusted” — and signs them with a certificate. Editing software that supports the standard adds a new entry for each change, keeping the chain. > [Figure] Each step adds a signed entry to the manifest, which travels inside the file — until something strips it. (Captured · Edited · Published · Signed manifest, carried in the file) ### Who uses it The coalition was founded by companies including Adobe, Microsoft, Intel and the BBC. Adobe’s tools, several AI image generators and some cameras and phones now attach Content Credentials, and some platforms read them to show a label. ### What it proves - If the manifest is present and the signature is valid, the recorded history has not been altered since it was signed. - If the image was changed by software that does not support C2PA, the chain is broken, and verifiers say so. ### What it does not prove Content Credentials are metadata. A screenshot, a re-save in many apps, or a metadata remover deletes them. An image without them may be real, generated or edited — the absence says nothing. ### Privacy A manifest can include more than you expect: device, software, sometimes a name or location. Check what an image carries before publishing it. ## How to find where a photo was taken URL: https://latentapp.site/en/tools/photo-metadata/find-where-a-photo-was-taken/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Many photos record their exact GPS location. How to read it on iPhone and in a browser, what to do when it is missing, and when not to look. **In short:** Photos taken with location enabled store GPS coordinates in their EXIF metadata. On iPhone, swipe up on the photo in the Photos app to see a map. For any file, a metadata viewer shows the coordinates. If they are missing — removed by an app, or never recorded — only clues in the picture itself remain. **Key takeaways:** - GPS coordinates are often stored in the file. - Social networks usually remove them when you upload. - Locating a person from their photos without consent can be stalking. ### Reading the location #### On iPhone Open the photo in the Photos app and swipe up, or tap the info button. If the photo has a location, a map shows where it was taken. #### For any file The photo metadata tool on this site reads the GPS coordinates of a JPEG, PNG or WebP without uploading it, along with the date and device. ### When there is no location - The camera had no access to location. - The photo went through a messaging app or social network, which removed it. - It is a screenshot, which never carries the original photo’s location. What remains are visual clues — signs, landmarks, vegetation — and reverse image search, which can find where else the picture appears. ### A word of caution Finding where your own photo was taken is harmless. Using someone else’s photos to work out where they live or are can be stalking, and is illegal in many countries. And the same applies to your photos: check what they reveal before sharing them. ## Removing AI labels and watermarks: what is possible, and what is allowed URL: https://latentapp.site/en/tools/photo-metadata/remove-ai-watermark/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 AI images can carry metadata labels, visible marks and invisible watermarks. Which can be removed, which cannot, and what the law expects. **In short:** Metadata labels — IPTC declarations and Content Credentials — are removed by a metadata cleaner, a screenshot or many re-saves. Visible marks can be cropped. Invisible watermarks, such as Google’s SynthID, are woven into the pixels and are built to survive editing. Removing a label to pass an AI image off as real can be deceptive, and in the EU, those who publish deepfakes must disclose them. **Key takeaways:** - Metadata labels are easy to remove; invisible watermarks are not. - Legitimate reason to clean metadata: privacy. - Hiding that an image is AI-generated to mislead is not legitimate — and may be illegal. ### Three kinds of label - Metadata: an IPTC “digital source type” field, a C2PA manifest, sometimes the prompt in a PNG. Stored beside the pixels. - Visible marks: a logo or text in a corner of the image. - Invisible watermarks: a pattern spread through the pixels themselves, detectable only by the company’s own tool. ### What a metadata cleaner does The photo metadata tool on this site removes metadata labels together with the location, device and editing history. It does not touch visible marks, and no metadata tool can remove an invisible watermark, because it is not metadata. ### Legitimate reasons An image edited with an AI tool can carry your location, your device and your editing history. Removing that before sharing protects your privacy. Saying openly that an image is AI-generated, where it matters, costs nothing. ### What the law expects Under the EU’s AI Act, people who publish AI-generated or manipulated images that look like real people, places or events — deepfakes — must disclose that they are artificial, with exceptions for evidently artistic or satirical work. These transparency obligations apply from 2 August 2026. Platforms also require AI labels in their own rules. > Removing a label to present a generated image as a real photograph — in news, as evidence, or about a real person — can be deception, fraud or defamation, whatever the tool used. ## How to remove photo metadata on iPhone URL: https://latentapp.site/en/tools/photo-metadata/remove-photo-metadata-iphone/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Share an iPhone photo without its location or other metadata: the Options menu in the share sheet, Camera location settings, and a browser tool for full cleaning. **In short:** When sharing a photo, tap Options at the top of the share sheet and turn off Location — and All Photos Data to drop the rest of the metadata. To stop new photos recording location, set Camera to Never in Location Services. For a file you need fully cleaned, a browser metadata tool removes everything without re-encoding. **Key takeaways:** - Share sheet › Options: turn off Location and All Photos Data. - Location Services › Camera › Never for future photos. - A screenshot also drops metadata, but lowers quality. > [Figure] What a photo file can carry besides the picture itself. (Date and time · Device and lens · Camera settings · GPS location) ### When sharing 1. Select the photo and tap Share. 2. Tap Options at the top of the sheet. 3. Turn off Location. Turn off All Photos Data to remove the other metadata too. 4. Share. These settings apply to that share only; the photo in your library keeps its metadata. ### For all future photos Go to Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services › Camera and choose Never. Photos you take from then on contain no GPS coordinates. ### To clean a file completely The photo metadata tool on this site shows everything a photo contains — location, device, serial number, dates, AI declarations — and removes it all without re-encoding the image. It works in Safari on iPhone and uploads nothing. ### The screenshot shortcut A screenshot of a photo has none of the original metadata. It is quick, but it lowers resolution and includes whatever else was on screen. ## Image compressor URL: https://latentapp.site/en/tools/image-compressor/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Make a JPEG, PNG or WebP smaller — by quality, or under a size limit such as 100 KB for an email or a form. Free, private, nothing is uploaded. ### Two ways to compress - Under a size limit: choose a ceiling — 50 KB, 100 KB, 200 KB or your own — and the tool finds the highest quality that fits. - By quality: choose the quality yourself and see the resulting size. If even the lowest quality is too heavy, the tool also reduces the image’s dimensions, and tells you so. > [Figure] File size rises steeply over the last points of quality, where the difference is hardest to see. Around 80 to 85, it is invisible on most photos. (Quality · File size · 80–85) ### What about PNG? PNG is lossless, so a quality setting does nothing to it. To make a PNG smaller, the tool converts it to WebP — which keeps transparency — or to JPEG. ### Privacy The image is compressed in your browser and never uploaded. Compressing re-encodes the image, which also removes its metadata — location, device and date. ## How to compress a photo for email URL: https://latentapp.site/en/tools/image-compressor/compress-image-for-email/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Email services cap attachments at 20–25 MB. How small a photo should be for email, and how to shrink it without visible loss. **In short:** Most email services refuse attachments above 20 to 25 MB in total, and many recipients’ servers accept less. Resize photos to about 2,000 pixels on the longest edge and compress them to a few hundred kilobytes each: they will look the same on any screen and arrive without trouble. **Key takeaways:** - Gmail allows 25 MB of attachments, Outlook.com and iCloud Mail 20 MB. - About 2,000 px on the longest edge is plenty for a screen. - Resizing saves more than compressing. ### The limits - Gmail: 25 MB of attachments per message; beyond that it offers a Google Drive link. - Outlook.com: 20 MB. - iCloud Mail: 20 MB; larger files can be sent with Mail Drop. These are the sender’s limits. The recipient’s server can be stricter, and a message close to the limit may bounce. ### What size to aim for A photo straight from a phone is often 3 to 8 MB and 4,000 pixels or more wide. A screen shows it perfectly at 2,000 pixels. At that size, a JPEG at good quality weighs 300 to 800 KB: ten photos fit comfortably in one email. ### How to do it 1. Resize to about 2,000 pixels on the longest edge. 2. Compress under a limit — 500 KB is a good target — or at a quality around 80. 3. Check the result at full size before sending. ### On iPhone When you attach photos in the Mail app, it offers Small, Medium, Large or Actual Size before sending. Medium is enough for most uses. ## How to compress an image without losing quality URL: https://latentapp.site/en/tools/image-compressor/compress-without-losing-quality/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Lossless and lossy compression explained: what can be saved with no loss at all, and how far lossy compression can go before it shows. **In short:** Truly lossless compression keeps every pixel identical: converting a PNG to lossless WebP usually saves a good share of the size. Lossy compression discards detail you cannot see: a JPEG or WebP at quality 80 to 85 is usually indistinguishable from the original at normal viewing size. Reducing pixel dimensions saves the most of all. **Key takeaways:** - Lossless: identical pixels, moderate saving (PNG → lossless WebP). - Visually lossless: quality 80–85, large saving. - Never recompress the same JPEG repeatedly. ### Lossless compression The file gets smaller, the image stays bit for bit the same. PNG is already lossless, but lossless WebP usually stores the same pixels in less space. Removing metadata also saves a little, without touching the image. ### Visually lossless compression JPEG and lossy WebP drop fine detail the eye barely perceives. At quality 80 to 85, the difference is invisible on a phone or computer screen for most photos; below 60, blocks and halos start to appear around edges. ### The biggest saving: fewer pixels Halving the width and height divides the number of pixels by four, and the size roughly as much. If a photo is shown at 1,200 pixels wide, storing it at 4,000 is wasted space. > [Figure] Halving the width and the height leaves a quarter of the pixels, and roughly a quarter of the file size. (Original · full width and height · Half the width and height · a quarter of the pixels) ### What to avoid - Re-saving a JPEG again and again: each pass loses a little more. - Saving a photo as PNG: it becomes several times heavier with no visible gain. - Compressing screenshots with text as JPEG: letters get blurry halos; PNG or WebP suit them better. ## Image resizer URL: https://latentapp.site/en/tools/image-resizer/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Resize a JPEG, PNG or WebP by longest edge, width, height, percentage or bounding box, proportions kept. Free, private, nothing is uploaded. ### Five ways to set the size - Longest edge: the longer side gets the size you choose, the other follows. - Width or height: fix one dimension, the other follows. - Percentage: scale the whole image. - Bounding box: the largest size that fits inside a width and a height. Proportions are always kept, so nothing is stretched or squashed. The original format is kept too. ### Privacy The image is resized in your browser and never uploaded. The new file contains no metadata. ## Profile picture sizes: one rule that works everywhere URL: https://latentapp.site/en/tools/image-resizer/profile-picture-sizes/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Platforms change their profile picture sizes often. A rule that works on all of them: square, at least 400 × 400 px, face centred in the inner circle. **In short:** Upload a square image of at least 400 × 400 pixels — 800 × 800 is safer for platforms that show large avatars — with the face centred and well inside the middle, because most platforms crop profile pictures to a circle. Keep it under a few megabytes, in JPEG or PNG. **Key takeaways:** - Square, at least 400 × 400 px; 800 × 800 to be safe. - Face centred, with margin: the circle crops the corners. - Check the preview the platform shows before saving. ### Why one rule beats a table LinkedIn, Instagram, X, Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp and Slack each display avatars at their own sizes, and change them with redesigns. They all accept a larger square image and scale it down; none can make a small image sharp. Uploading generously sized squares works everywhere. ### The rule 1. Crop to a square (1:1). 2. Resize to 800 × 800 pixels, or at least 400 × 400. 3. Keep the face in the central circle, with space around the head. 4. Save as JPEG at good quality, or PNG if the picture has flat colours or a logo. ### The circle trap Most platforms show avatars as circles. A square photo framed edge to edge loses its corners — and sometimes the top of the head. Leave a margin of about a fifth of the width on every side. ### Before you upload A profile picture is public. Check that it does not show a house number, a street sign or anything else that says where you live, and remove the location metadata. ## Image cropper URL: https://latentapp.site/en/tools/image-crop/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Crop a JPEG, PNG or WebP by hand or to a fixed ratio such as 1:1, 4:5 or 16:9, with exact pixel bounds. Free, private, nothing is uploaded. ### How to crop 1. Choose an image. 2. Drag the frame to move it, or its corners to resize it — or type exact values in pixels. 3. Pick a ratio if the image must fit a format: 1:1 for a profile picture, 4:5 for a portrait post, 16:9 for a cover. > [Figure] Common ratios: 1:1 for profile pictures, 4:5 and 3:4 for feeds and prints, 16:9 for screens, 9:16 for stories. ### Cropping out private details Cropping is the simplest way to remove what should not be seen: a reflection, a street sign, a document on a desk. Unlike hiding something with an emoji, a cropped area is gone from the file. ### Privacy The image is cropped in your browser and never uploaded. The new file contains no metadata. ## Face blur and photo redactor URL: https://latentapp.site/en/tools/face-blur/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Hide faces, names, plates or text in a photo or screenshot with a solid mask or pixelation. Export as PNG. Free, private, nothing is uploaded. ### Solid mask or pixelation A solid mask replaces an area with black: nothing of the original survives. Pixelation keeps the general shape — fine for a face in a crowd, unsafe for text, which can sometimes be reconstructed from the pixel pattern. The tool uses a solid mask by default. ### Suggested areas Some browsers can detect faces and text on their own. When yours can, the tool suggests areas; always check them, because detection misses faces in profile, in shadow or partly hidden. ### Why PNG The result is saved as PNG, without loss. JPEG compression softens edges and can let the outline of what was hidden show through. ### Privacy Everything happens in your browser, including detection. The image is never uploaded, and the new file contains no metadata. ## Image brightener URL: https://latentapp.site/en/tools/image-brightener/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Brighten a dark JPEG, PNG or WebP photo with three modes — natural, shadow lift and backlit — and compare before and after. Free, private. ### Three modes - Natural: a gentle overall correction, calculated from how dark the photo is. - Shadow lift: brightens dark areas while leaving bright ones nearly untouched. - Backlit: for a subject in front of a bright background, lifts the subject strongly without burning the background. ### Colours stay true The correction is applied to brightness, then used to scale red, green and blue together. Brightening each colour separately turns shadows grey or blue; this keeps skin tones and colours as they were. ### Privacy The photo is processed in your browser and never uploaded. The new file contains no metadata. ## How to brighten a dark photo without ruining it URL: https://latentapp.site/en/tools/image-brightener/how-to-brighten-a-dark-photo/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Brighten an underexposed photo while keeping natural colours: which correction to use for a dark scene, shadowed faces or a backlit subject. **In short:** Identify why the photo is dark. If everything is dark, brighten it evenly. If faces are in shadow but the rest is fine, lift only the shadows. If the subject is dark in front of a bright window or sky, lift the subject strongly while leaving the background alone. Correct brightness, not each colour separately, so skin tones stay natural. **Key takeaways:** - Evenly dark photo: overall correction. - Shadowed faces: lift the shadows only. - Dark subject against a bright background: backlit correction. ### Three kinds of dark photo #### Everything is too dark Typical of indoor photos without flash. An overall correction brightens mid-tones most, which is what the eye expects. #### Faces in shadow A hat, a tree, a harsh midday sun. Brightening the whole image would burn the bright areas; lifting only the shadows fixes the faces and leaves the rest. #### Backlit subject A person in front of a window, a sunset behind a group. The camera exposes for the bright background and the subject turns into a silhouette. A backlit correction lifts the subject strongly without touching the background. ### Avoid the usual mistakes - Do not push too far: a very dark photo brightened a lot shows noise and blotches. - Brighten luminance, not red, green and blue separately — that turns shadows grey or blue. - Compare with the original before saving: the right setting is usually lower than it first seems. ### Next time, on iPhone Before taking the photo, tap the subject and drag the sun icon up to raise exposure. In the Photos app, the Exposure, Brilliance and Shadows adjustments do the same as the modes above. ## Passport photo maker URL: https://latentapp.site/en/tools/passport-photo/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Crop a photo to official passport sizes — France 35×45 mm, UK 35×45 mm, US 2×2 in — at print resolution, with a 10×15 cm print sheet. ### The same size is not the same rule France and the United Kingdom both use 35 × 45 mm photos, but France requires a head of 32 to 36 mm, hair excluded, and the United Kingdom 29 to 34 mm. A photo that is right for one can be refused by the other — which is why each format here has its own guides, taken from the official requirements. ### Ready to print The photo is saved at 600 dots per inch, with the resolution written into the file so that a print service sizes it correctly. The print sheet places as many copies as fit on a standard 10 × 15 cm print, with cut lines. ### Before you submit Size is only part of the rules: background colour, neutral expression, no glasses or shadows, and how recent the photo is all count. Check the official page for your document. ### Privacy An identity photo is personal data. Here it is processed in your browser and never uploaded. ## HDR image converter: JPG to Ultra HDR URL: https://latentapp.site/en/tools/hdr-image-converter/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Turn a JPEG, PNG or WebP into an Ultra HDR JPEG with a gain map: brighter highlights on HDR screens, unchanged everywhere else. Free, private. ### What the converter does It keeps your photo as a normal JPEG and adds a gain map: a second, small image that tells HDR screens how much brighter each area may be. Highlights — sky, reflections, lights — gain brightness; mid-tones and shadows stay as they are. ### Compatible everywhere A screen or app that does not know Ultra HDR simply shows the normal JPEG. Nothing breaks, and the file can be shared like any photo. ### Privacy The photo is converted in your browser and never uploaded. The new file contains no metadata from the original. ## What is Ultra HDR? URL: https://latentapp.site/en/tools/hdr-image-converter/what-is-ultra-hdr/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Ultra HDR is a JPEG that carries a gain map: an ordinary photo everywhere, brighter highlights on HDR screens. How it works and where it shows. **In short:** Ultra HDR is an image format introduced with Android 14. It is a standard JPEG followed by a small second image, the gain map, which tells an HDR screen how much brighter each area may be. Apps that do not understand the format show the normal JPEG; compatible ones — Chrome, recent Android — show the brighter version. **Key takeaways:** - A normal JPEG plus a gain map in the same file. - Fully backwards compatible: nothing breaks on older screens. - The brightness gain only shows on an HDR screen, in a compatible app. ### SDR, HDR and the gain map An ordinary photo — SDR, standard dynamic range — is made for screens of limited brightness. HDR screens can make highlights several times brighter than paper white: the sun on water, a lamp, a sky. The gain map records, area by area, how much brighter the HDR rendition should be than the SDR one. > [Figure] An Ultra HDR file is an ordinary JPEG plus a gain map that tells HDR screens how much brighter each area can be. (Ordinary JPEG · displayed everywhere · Gain map · how much to brighten each area · HDR on HDR screens) ### Why one file instead of two Sending a separate HDR image would break on every device that cannot read it. Ultra HDR avoids that: the first image is a complete, ordinary JPEG, and the gain map is stored after it with a short description. Software that does not look for it never sees it. ### Where it shows - Chrome on an HDR screen displays Ultra HDR images in HDR. - Android 14 and later shoot and display Ultra HDR photos. - iPhone photos also use a gain map, in Apple’s own format; how other gain map formats are shown varies from app to app. ### Making one from an ordinary photo A converter can create a gain map from an SDR photo by boosting its brightest areas. This does not recover detail that was never captured, but it gives highlights the extra brightness that HDR screens are able to show. ## PNG to WebP converter URL: https://latentapp.site/en/tools/png-to-webp/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Convert a PNG to WebP, lossless or smaller, with transparency kept and the exact size saving shown. Free, private, nothing is uploaded. ### Lossless or smaller Lossless WebP keeps every pixel exactly and is usually lighter than the PNG. Lossy WebP is much lighter still, with a quality you choose. Transparency is kept in both modes. ### Works on iPhone Safari cannot create WebP files on its own, so the tool includes Google’s own WebP encoder, running in your browser. ### Privacy The image is converted in your browser and never uploaded. The new file contains no metadata. ## PNG or WebP: which one to use URL: https://latentapp.site/en/tools/png-to-webp/png-vs-webp/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 PNG and WebP both support transparency and lossless compression. How they compare in size, quality and compatibility, and when to choose each. **In short:** For the web, WebP: it does everything PNG does — lossless compression, transparency — in less space, and every current browser displays it. Keep PNG for files you will edit, archive, or open in older software, and for images that must stay exactly the same everywhere. **Key takeaways:** - Lossless WebP is usually smaller than the same PNG. - Both keep transparency. - PNG remains the safest choice for compatibility and editing. ### What they have in common Both can store an image without any loss, and both support transparency — a logo on a coloured background, a cut-out product photo. ### Where WebP is better - Size: lossless WebP is usually noticeably smaller than PNG for the same pixels. - Flexibility: WebP can also be lossy, with transparency, which PNG cannot do. - Web support: all current browsers display it, including Safari. ### Where PNG is better - Compatibility: every editor, office suite and operating system opens it. - Editing: a master copy you will work on again. - Archiving: a format with decades of support behind it. ### In short Publish in WebP, keep your master in PNG. ## WebP to JPG converter URL: https://latentapp.site/en/tools/webp-to-jpg/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Convert a WebP image to JPG with adjustable quality, transparency flattened onto white or black, and metadata removed. Free, private. ### Why convert to JPG WebP is lighter, but some apps, forms and printing services still accept only JPEG. Converting keeps the picture and drops the compatibility problem. ### Transparency JPEG has no transparency. Transparent areas are filled with white or black — your choice — instead of turning an unpredictable colour. ### Privacy The image is converted in your browser and never uploaded. The new file contains no metadata. ## WebP to PNG converter URL: https://latentapp.site/en/tools/webp-to-png/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Convert a WebP image to PNG, transparency kept and metadata removed. Free, private, nothing is uploaded. ### Why convert to PNG PNG is understood by every editor and keeps transparency. It is the safe choice when you need to edit an image or reuse it in software that does not read WebP. ### Size A PNG is often larger than the WebP it comes from: PNG is lossless and less efficient. That is expected. ### Privacy The image is converted in your browser and never uploaded. The new file contains no metadata. ## What is a WebP file, and how do you open it? URL: https://latentapp.site/en/tools/webp-to-png/what-is-a-webp-file/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 WebP is an image format created by Google, smaller than JPEG and PNG for the same quality. How to open it on Mac, Windows and iPhone, and how to convert it. **In short:** WebP is an image format released by Google in 2010. It can be lossy like JPEG or lossless like PNG, supports transparency and animation, and is usually smaller than both. All current browsers display it, and recent macOS, Windows and iOS open it. If an app refuses it, convert it to JPG or PNG. **Key takeaways:** - Lossy or lossless, with transparency and animation. - Usually smaller than JPEG or PNG at the same quality. - Convert to JPG or PNG for apps that do not accept it. ### Why so many websites use it Smaller images load faster. Websites serve WebP to browsers that support it — today, all of them — which is why an image saved from a web page often turns out to be a .webp file. ### Opening a WebP - Mac: Preview and Safari open it. - Windows: the Photos app and any browser open it. - iPhone: it opens in Safari and Files, and can be saved to Photos. ### When it causes trouble Some online forms, office software and printing services still accept only JPEG or PNG. Convert it: to JPG for a photo, to PNG to keep transparency or for an image you will edit. ### Privacy A WebP can carry metadata like any photo — location, device, editing history. Converting with the tools on this site removes it. ## QR code generator: Wi-Fi, vCard, URL URL: https://latentapp.site/en/tools/qr-code-generator/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Make static QR codes for a website, Wi-Fi network, contact card, email, phone number, SMS or text. PNG or SVG. Free, no tracking, never expires. ### Static, not dynamic Many QR services make “dynamic” codes that point to their own server, then redirect. They can count scans, change the destination, and stop working when the subscription ends. The codes made here contain their content directly: they work for as long as the content is valid, and nobody sees who scans them. > [Figure] A static code contains the address itself. A dynamic code sends every scan through someone else’s server first. (Static code · Dynamic code · Scan · Your link · Their server · counts scans, can stop working) ### Seven kinds of content - Website: opens the address. - Wi-Fi: joins the network without typing the password. - Contact card: adds a contact (vCard). - Email, phone, SMS: prepares a message or a call. - Text: shows the text. ### PNG or SVG PNG for screens and documents; SVG for print, because it stays sharp at any size. ### Privacy Codes are generated in your browser. What you type — including a Wi-Fi password — is never sent anywhere. ## Are QR codes safe? How to scan without getting caught URL: https://latentapp.site/en/tools/qr-code-generator/are-qr-codes-safe/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 A QR code can hide a phishing link. How QR scams work — on parking meters, letters and emails — and how to check a code before trusting it. **In short:** A QR code itself cannot harm your phone, but it can lead to a fake website that asks for a password or payment. Before opening, read the address your camera shows; be wary of stickers on parking meters and payment terminals, and of QR codes in unexpected emails or letters. Never enter bank details on a page reached through a code you did not expect. **Key takeaways:** - The danger is the link, not the code. - Read the address shown before tapping it. - Stickers on meters and unsolicited codes are the main traps. ### How QR scams work Criminals print QR codes leading to imitation websites — of a parking operator, a bank, a delivery company — and stick them over real ones or send them by email and post. The page then asks for card details or a login. This is called “quishing”. ### Before you scan - On a parking meter, charger or terminal: check the code is not a sticker on top of another. - In an email or letter you did not expect: go to the official website yourself instead. - In a restaurant or shop: a code printed on the menu is safer than a loose sticker. ### After you scan Your iPhone camera shows the address before opening it. Read the domain: a single wrong letter, an unusual ending, or a link shortener hiding the destination are warning signs. ### Codes that track you Many QR codes, even legitimate ones, go through a redirection server that records each scan: time, approximate location, device. Codes you make yourself can avoid this by containing their content directly. ## How to make a business card QR code URL: https://latentapp.site/en/tools/qr-code-generator/business-card-qr-code/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 A vCard QR code adds your details to someone’s contacts in one scan. What to include, how big to print it, and why a static code is better. **In short:** Encode your details as a vCard: name, company, job title, phone, email, website and address. Scanning it with an iPhone or Android camera offers to add the contact. Print it at least 2 cm wide, test it on two phones before printing, and prefer a static code so it keeps working without any subscription. **Key takeaways:** - vCard format: understood by iPhone and Android cameras. - At least 2 × 2 cm on paper. - Static code: no expiry, no tracking of who scans it. ### What to include Only what you would print on the card: name, company, title, one phone, one email, website. Each extra field makes the code denser and harder to scan from a small print. ### Print size - At least 2 × 2 cm for a card scanned at arm’s length. - Keep a white margin around the code — the quiet zone — or it may not scan. - Use SVG for printing: it stays sharp at any size. ### Static or dynamic Dynamic codes point to a service that redirects to your details. They let you change the details later, but stop working if the service closes or the subscription ends, and they record who scans. A static code contains the vCard itself and works forever; if your details change, print a new card. ### Test before printing Scan the code on an iPhone and an Android phone, check every field, and only then send the file to the printer. ## Do QR codes expire? URL: https://latentapp.site/en/tools/qr-code-generator/do-qr-codes-expire/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 Static QR codes never expire; dynamic ones depend on the service that made them. How to tell them apart and avoid a code that stops working. **In short:** A static QR code contains its content directly and never expires: it works as long as the content is valid — a website that still exists, a Wi-Fi password that has not changed. A dynamic QR code points to a redirection service and stops working if that service closes or your subscription ends. **Key takeaways:** - Static: never expires. - Dynamic: depends on a third-party service. - A static code can still lead to a page that no longer exists. ### Static codes The text, address or Wi-Fi details are written in the pattern itself. No server is involved, so there is nothing to expire. The code made by the generator on this site is static. ### Dynamic codes The pattern contains a short address on the provider’s server, which redirects to your real content. Many free QR sites make dynamic codes by default, then deactivate them after a trial period unless you pay. ### How to tell them apart Scan the code and look at the address: if it is the provider’s domain rather than yours, it is dynamic. ### Codes that break anyway - A website that changes address or closes. - A Wi-Fi network whose password changes. - A phone number or email that is no longer used. For printed material that will last years, point the code to an address you control and keep it alive. ## How to make a QR code for a PDF URL: https://latentapp.site/en/tools/qr-code-generator/qr-code-for-pdf/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 A QR code cannot contain a PDF; it contains a link to one. Where to host the file, which link to use, and how to keep the code working. **In short:** A QR code holds a few kilobytes at most, far too little for a PDF. Upload the PDF somewhere that gives a permanent public link — your website, or a cloud drive set to “anyone with the link” — then make a QR code of that link. Test it on a phone that is not signed into your account. **Key takeaways:** - Host the PDF, then encode its link. - Use a link that will not change. - Test on a phone that is not logged into your account. ### Why the PDF cannot go in the code The largest QR code holds about 3 KB of data. A one-page PDF is usually tens or hundreds of kilobytes. So the code always stores an address, and the phone downloads the file from there. ### Where to host the PDF - Your own website: the most durable link, under your control. - A cloud drive (iCloud Drive, Google Drive, Dropbox) shared as “anyone with the link”. ### Keep it working If you replace the PDF, keep the same address, or the printed codes will lead nowhere. Avoid temporary file-sharing links that expire. ### Privacy Anyone who scans the code can download the file, and pass the link on. Do not use a QR code for a document that should stay private. ## QR code SVG or PNG: which file to download URL: https://latentapp.site/en/tools/qr-code-generator/qr-code-svg-vs-png/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 SVG stays sharp at any size and is best for print; PNG suits screens and documents. How to choose, and the minimum size for a reliable scan. **In short:** Download SVG for anything printed — business cards, posters, packaging — because it is vector and stays perfectly sharp at any size. Download PNG for screens, slides, emails and documents, choosing a size larger than you need. In both cases, keep the white margin around the code. **Key takeaways:** - SVG: vector, sharp at any size, ideal for print. - PNG: pixels, universal, ideal for screens. - Never remove the white margin. ### SVG An SVG describes the code as shapes, not pixels. A printer or design software can enlarge it to a poster without blur. Most design tools and printers accept it. ### PNG A PNG is a grid of pixels. It is accepted everywhere — email, presentations, word processors, websites. Enlarging a small PNG makes it blurry, so download a large size, such as 1,024 or 2,048 pixels, and let it be scaled down. ### Rules for any format - Keep the quiet zone: a white border of about four modules around the code. - Keep strong contrast: dark code on a light background. - On paper, at least 2 × 2 cm; larger if it will be scanned from a distance. ## How to make a Wi-Fi QR code for guests URL: https://latentapp.site/en/tools/qr-code-generator/wifi-qr-code/ Last reviewed: 2026-11-03 A Wi-Fi QR code lets guests join your network by pointing their camera, without typing the password. How to make one and share it safely. **In short:** Enter the network name, password and security type in a QR generator to create a Wi-Fi code. iPhone and Android cameras recognise it and offer to join the network. Since the code contains the password in readable form, use a guest network if your router offers one, and display the code only where you would share the password. **Key takeaways:** - Recognised by iPhone and Android cameras. - The code contains the password: treat it like the password. - Use a guest network where possible. ### Making the code 1. Choose Wi-Fi as the content type. 2. Enter the network name exactly as it appears, including capitals. 3. Enter the password and choose the security type — WPA for almost every current network. 4. Download, print and test it with your own phone. ### Sharing it safely Anyone who scans the code can read the password — and so can anyone who photographs it. Put it inside your home rather than in a window, and prefer the guest network that many routers offer: it keeps visitors away from your own devices. ### Without printing An Android phone can display a Wi-Fi QR code for the network it is connected to, from its Wi-Fi settings. An iPhone can share a password with a nearby Apple device that tries to join the same network. ### When the password changes The code contains the old password and stops working. Print a new one. ## Privacy policy URL: https://latentapp.site/en/privacy/ ### What Latent collects Nothing. The app creates no account, asks for no email address, contains no analytics and sends no data to any server. There is no server. ### Where your files are Only on your device, encrypted. If you turn on iCloud backup, they are sent end-to-end encrypted to your own iCloud account: Apple cannot read them, and neither can we. ### Crash reports No report is sent by default. If you turn them on, they contain no file names, no content and no identifier. ### Your rights Because no personal data is collected, there is nothing for us to access, correct or delete. Deleting the app deletes all local data. ## Terms of use URL: https://latentapp.site/en/terms/ ### Loss of access Encryption is end-to-end. Without your pattern and your recovery phrase, nobody can access your files, including us. We have no way around it. ### Access and export when a subscription ends Reading and exporting any content already stored remain available, with no time limit, even after a subscription ends. Content already entrusted to Latent is never locked behind a payment. ### Expected use Latent is a personal storage space. You remain responsible for the lawfulness of the content you place in it.