How to Transfer a Photo Vault to a New iPhone
A vault's photos live inside the app, not in your Photos library, so iCloud Photos never moves them. Each vault app has its own way across. Back up the vault on the old iPhone and restore it on the new one. Check it before you erase anything.
In Cryptile, you restore a vault from its encrypted iCloud backup with that vault's 9-word recovery phrase.
Try Cryptile free: join the beta on TestFlight
What do I need to know?
- Keep the old phone until the new one is checked. Open every vault on the new phone first.
- Find your recovery details now. A phrase, code or account login, whatever your vault app uses.
- Restore each vault on its own. In Cryptile, each vault has its own phrase.
What should I check in any vault app?
- Does it back up at all? Some vaults keep photos only on the phone.
- Is the backup recent? Look for a last backup time in the app's settings.
- How do you restore? Find the phrase, PIN or login before you switch phones.
- Is the backup encrypted before upload? Our page on whether vault apps back up to iCloud explains why it matters.
How do I back up Cryptile on the old iPhone?
- Open Cryptile and draw the pattern for a vault.
- Tap the More button, then Settings.
- Make sure Encrypted iCloud backup is on. Tap Back up now.
- Check that Last backup shows the current time.
- Go back, tap the More button, then Recovery phrase. Write the 9 words on paper.
- Lock the vault and repeat for every other vault, including decoys you want to keep.
How do I restore Cryptile on the new iPhone?
Sign in to the new iPhone with the same Apple Account and iCloud. Then:
- Install Cryptile from the App Store and open it.
- On the lock screen, tap Restore a vault from iCloud backup.
- If it asks you to draw a pattern, tap Use the recovery phrase instead.
- Enter the vault's 9 words, then tap Download backup and find vault.
- When Cryptile shows "Vault found", draw the pattern to use on this phone. It can be the same as before or a new one.
- Open the vault and check your photos are there. Repeat for each vault.
Only the vault that phrase belongs to can be read. Other vaults in the backup stay closed until you enter their own phrases.
What about my Cryptile Plus purchase?
Plus is tied to your Apple Account. On the new phone, open Settings in Cryptile and tap Restore purchases.
Can I just keep both phones in sync?
Not yet. Sync between devices is coming and is not available today. Changes made on the old phone after the restore will not reach the new one. Switch fully once the restore checks out.
What this doesn't protect against
If you lose both your pattern and a vault's recovery phrase, that vault cannot be restored by anyone, including us. A backup taken before your last few photos will not include them, so back up right before you switch. Erase the old phone only after every vault opens on the new one; see selling or trading in your iPhone.
Do it with Cryptile
Cryptile's iCloud backup holds AES-256-GCM ciphertext, and Apple stores ciphertext only. There is no account, no server and no reset, and the backup is included on the free plan.
Cryptile is free for up to 2 vaults, 100 photos and 10 videos. Plus removes the limits and adds search inside the vault and the panic pattern, for $19.99 a year (7-day free trial) or $39.99 once.