iPhone Passwords App vs a Vault App: What Each Protects
Use both, for different things. Apple's Passwords app (iOS 18 and later, built on iCloud Keychain) is the right place for logins, passkeys and verification codes. A vault app is for the photos, documents and notes the Passwords app was never built to hold.
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What do I need to know?
- Passwords is free and already on your phone. It stores "account passwords and passkeys, Wi-Fi passwords, and verification codes."
- iCloud Keychain is end-to-end encrypted by default. Apple lists passwords and Keychain as end-to-end even under standard iCloud protection.
- It opens with your passcode. Apple's steps: "Unlock with Face ID or Touch ID, or enter your passcode."
What does the Passwords app protect?
It keeps credentials and fills them in for you. Apple's Passwords app guide describes it. You can share chosen logins through a Shared Group, and it warns about weak, reused or leaked passwords.
On iOS 17 and earlier, the same passwords live in Settings → Passwords instead of a separate app. See Find saved passwords.
What does a vault app protect?
A vault app is for files that are not logins:
- Photos of a passport, a driving licence or a medical card.
- Private photos and videos you want out of the Photos library.
- PDFs such as contracts, statements and test results.
- Longer notes, such as recovery codes with instructions.
These are the things people try to squeeze into a password manager's notes field.
How do they compare?
| Passwords app | Cryptile vault | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Logins, passkeys, codes, Wi-Fi | Photos, videos, files, notes |
| Opens with | Face ID, Touch ID or passcode | A pattern you draw, not your passcode |
| Fills in websites | Yes | No |
| Syncs to other devices | Yes, with iCloud Keychain on | Not yet; sync is coming |
| Hidden second set | No | Yes, a different pattern opens a different vault |
| Cost | Free | Free tier; Plus $19.99 a year or $39.99 once |
Passwords app facts are from Apple's pages linked above, checked 2026-10-26.
Which one is safer if someone knows my passcode?
The Passwords app opens with your passcode. Stolen Device Protection helps when the phone is away from familiar places: on iOS 17.3 and later it asks for Face ID or Touch ID, with no passcode fallback, before showing passwords. Turn it on in Settings → Face ID & Passcode. Apple explains it on its Stolen Device Protection page.
A vault with its own pattern does not open with the passcode at all. That is the main reason to keep photos and documents there.
Should I store passwords in a vault app?
Usually not. The Passwords app fills logins for you, and it is end-to-end encrypted in iCloud by default. Keep the vault for what Passwords cannot hold, such as photos and documents.
What this doesn't protect against
Neither tool helps if the phone has malware while it is unlocked. Anyone who knows your passcode can open the Passwords app when Stolen Device Protection is off or the phone is at home. A vault cannot help if someone watches you draw your pattern, and a short pattern is weaker than a passphrase: use 8 or more cells.
Do it with Cryptile
Cryptile stores photos, videos, files and notes encrypted with AES-256-GCM under a key made on your device from your pattern. There is no account and no server, and a 9-word recovery phrase restores the encrypted iCloud backup.
Cryptile is free for up to 2 vaults, 100 photos and 10 videos. Plus adds search inside the vault and the panic pattern for $19.99 a year (7-day free trial) or $39.99 once.