Photo Vault With No Quality Loss: Keep Full Resolution
A good photo vault stores the original file byte for byte and only makes a small preview for the grid. Before you move a library into any vault, test it with a few photos and compare.
Try Cryptile free: join the beta on TestFlight
What do I need to know?
- Check your iPhone is holding the originals. With Optimize iPhone Storage on, the full-size file may only be in iCloud.
- Test before you delete. Import a photo, export it again, and compare size and dimensions.
- Try the hard cases. One video, one edited photo and one Live Photo.
Where are my full-resolution photos now? (iOS 27)
Apple says iCloud Photos stores your photos "in their original format at full resolution". When Optimize iPhone Storage is on, the originals stay in iCloud and "storage-saving versions" stay on your iPhone. It is on by default (Apple: back up and sync photos with iCloud).
To keep the originals on the phone:
- Open Settings and tap your name.
- Tap iCloud → Photos → iPhone Storage.
- Tap Download and Keep Originals.
You need enough free space for the whole library.
How do I check a vault app keeps full quality?
- Pick three photos: an ordinary one, an edited one and a Live Photo. Add one video.
- In Photos, open each one and swipe up. Note the file size and camera details (Apple: see photo information).
- Import them into the vault.
- Export them from the vault back to Photos or Files.
- Swipe up on the exported copies and compare. The file size should match closely, and the video should keep its length and sound.
If a photo comes back much smaller, the app re-compressed it. Do not move a whole library into that app.
Why do some vault apps lose quality?
Re-encoding a photo saves storage and makes an app feel fast. A screen-sized copy looks fine on the phone and only shows its loss when you print or zoom. Store pages rarely go into this detail, which is why the test above matters.
How does Cryptile store photos?
Cryptile encrypts the file it is handed, as it is, with AES-256-GCM. It does not re-compress photos or videos when it saves them. Separately, it makes a small preview for the grid, and that preview is encrypted too.
- From Photos: Cryptile stores the file that the iOS photo picker hands it.
- From Files or the share sheet: the file is stored exactly as it arrives.
- Taken with Cryptile's camera: saved at the camera's full quality and never in Camera Roll. A GPS on/off button decides whether location is added.
- Getting them back out: Save a copy to Photos or Share / Save to Files returns the stored file.
File sizes are padded to hide them, so the vault uses slightly more space than the files alone. Run the test above on your own Live Photos and edited photos before you delete originals. We would rather you check than take our word for it.
Does a vault take double the space?
Until you delete the originals, yes. Cryptile offers to delete them from Photos after an import. Deleted photos then sit in Recently Deleted for 30 days, so empty that too.
What this doesn't protect against
A full-quality copy in a vault is only one copy. If you lose the phone and never set up encrypted backup, the vault goes with it. If you forget the pattern and lose the 9-word recovery phrase, nobody can bring the photos back.
Do it with Cryptile
Cryptile keeps your originals encrypted under a key made from your pattern on your device. There is no account and no server.
Cryptile is free for up to 2 vaults, 100 photos and 10 videos, with encrypted iCloud backup included. Plus removes the limits for $19.99 a year (7-day free trial) or $39.99 once.