Test Results and Medical Records on Your iPhone: Keeping Them Private
You photographed a lab result to send to your partner. Now it sits in your camera roll between holiday photos, and anyone who borrows your phone can scroll to it. Move it out of Photos first.
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What do I need to know?
- Photos mixes everything. A scan looks like any other picture, and search can find it.
- Your passcode opens it all. Hidden and Recently Deleted use the same passcode.
- iCloud Photos copies it. The scan is on every device signed in to your Apple account.
What should I do today?
- Find the files. Search Photos for "lab", "prescription" or "insurance". Check Screenshots and Files too.
- Move them into a vault that does not open with your passcode.
- Delete the originals, then empty Recently Deleted in Albums.
- Lock sensitive notes. Open the note, tap the menu, then Lock.
- Check attachments. Messages and Mail keep copies. Delete the ones you no longer need.
- Turn off Lock Screen previews for Messages and Mail. Settings → Notifications → Show Previews.
Short on time? Do steps 2 and 3.
What about patient portals?
Keep the original in the portal and do not save a copy to Photos. When you must save one, go straight to the vault. Never send a result by plain text message.
What this doesn't protect against
A vault cannot hide something already shared. It cannot stop a portal, an insurer or a provider from holding your data. If someone watches you draw your pattern, they can open the vault. If you lose the pattern and the recovery phrase, the vault is gone.
Do it with Cryptile
Cryptile stores scans, PDFs and notes under a key made from a pattern, not your passcode. A different pattern opens a different vault, so a spare decoy vault can hold harmless photos.
Cryptile is free for up to 2 vaults, 100 photos and 10 videos. Plus removes the limits for $19.99 a year (7-day free trial) or $39.99 once. The price is the same every day.
Cryptile Send, Files access and shared vaults are coming and are not available yet. Search inside the vault is part of Plus.