What a decoy vault actually does
Encryption stops someone who takes your phone. It does nothing about someone holding it out and asking. AlterVault answers that with a shake.
The problem encryption does not solve
Encryption handles a stolen phone. A key you have not typed is the end of it.
It does nothing about someone standing in front of you. Then encryption only lets you refuse, and refusing confirms there is something to see.
What a decoy is
A second gallery of harmless photos that opens instead of your real one. Being asked to unlock your phone gets an answer other than no.
Most apps trigger it with a fake PIN. That means typing a code while the person who asked is watching, and they can notice it, remember it and repeat it.
How AlterVault does it
- One sharp shake hides it
- The decoy replaces the vault instantly. No code, no confirmation, no animation, and one hard haptic thud so you know it fired without looking.
- Shake again to come back
- A code pad appears. Enter your code and you are back where you were. No input for five seconds and the pad clears itself.
- Every failure fails toward privacy
- Too hard, too soft, by accident: every outcome is either boring photos or a keypad nobody present can fill.
- The decoy is a real gallery
- It ships with filler so it is never empty. Pro lets you swap in your own photos, which holds up better.
The decoy hides what is in the vault, not that you have one. The app is on your home screen with its own name and icon.
Getting it
The shake is in the free tier, along with the encryption, the decoy and the encrypted backup. Free covers ten items.
Pro is $19.99 once. It lifts the item cap, adds more vaults each behind its own code, and lets you fill the decoy with your own photos.