A hidden vault for confidentiality
Vault - Hide Pics, App Lock is a relatively straightforward app designed to hide things you don't want others to see on your mobile device. This free security and privacy tool can hide your personal photos and videos behind a secure vault, ensuring that only you can access them with a password, PIN, or fingerprint authentication.
Vault - Hide Pics, App Lock also includes a private browser for secure web browsing, cloud backup for data protection, and other valuable features to enhance privacy and security. Gallery Vault and Calculator - photo vault also provides similar functionality.
Keep your files hidden and secure
Vault - Hide Pics, App Lock keeps your files secure behind an account-specific password. When using this security tool for the first time, you will need to set this password and remember it to gain access in the future. This tool can store a wide range of files, including photos, videos, contacts, text messages, call logs, and even Facebook messages.
This platform also allows you to encrypt messages sent to Facebook through the private Facebook chat feature, which prevents your Facebook chat history from being saved. Further functionality includes the ability to lock apps behind your password, ensuring only you can access the app. Premium users can activate a camouflage App lock, which creates a fake crash if someone else tries to use the app.
Premium users of the app get a plethora of helpful functionality to complement the camouflage lock. The premium version offers a more comprehensive way to protect sensitive data on your device. This includes creating multiple vaults with different passwords and fake vaults, break-in alert functionality that discreetly captures photos of unauthorized access attempts using the incorrect password and a Stealth mode that completely hides the app's icon from the screen.
Free or premium?
Vault is an easy-to-use app that outlines how to access the various areas. Fortunately, importing images, videos, and other files is easy, and selecting what areas to hide is also simple. Free users get access to standard functionality, which includes keeping your files confidential within the app. However, they cannot access the advanced features available to premium users, such as break-in alerts or the ability to create multiple vaults.
The free functionalities are sufficient for most users unless a significant amount of data needs to be moved across and secured. Having a secured external server with a higher data limit will be invaluable in that instance.
Technical Information about Vault
Vault is available on Android devices running OS 5.0 and up. The developers regularly update the app, with numerous updates arriving each month. Additionally, other in-app purchases offer additional functionality and support where needed.
Customer service and in-app issues
Every app comes with its share of road bumps, and unfortunately for Vault, users face constant and consistent problems. One consistent issue is that photos and videos suddenly disappear after an update, or some users find that their files are lost upon resetting their phones. This particular issue is most troubling as the app's primary function is to keep files secure. Users have also noted that their pictures and videos disappeared after renewing the premium subscription.
Most notable, however, is a consensus of unhelpful customer support or a lack of help in general. Many users claim they never received responses to their queries or that customer support actively ignores any negative requests or feedback.
Keep your files secure with caution
Vault - Hide Pics, App Lock provides great functionality around its core offering of keeping files secure and away from prying eyes. While premium users can access much more functionality than free users, the free version is fit for general use.
However, given the issues experienced by Vault's users, from disappearing data to unhelpful or non-existent customer service, it is hard to recommend this app. To make matters worse, users have expressed that requesting refunds for the app is also difficult. If you decide to give this app a go, it's recommended that you try the free version first, and if you decide to purchase the premium version, be extra cautious.
