AlterVaultvs
Locked FolderLocked Folder vs a vault app
Locked Folder is free and it hides photos from your gallery. It does not encrypt them, and it opens with the PIN you unlock your phone with.
AlterVault vs Locked Folder
AlterVaultLocked FolderGetting in
Unlocks with
A code you chose
Screen lock
Needs a code your screen lock will not open
✓
✕
No account needed
✓
Google
No account reset path
✓
✕
What it protects
Files encrypted individually
XChaCha20-Poly1305
✕
Hidden from other apps
✓
✓
Holds documents and PDFs
✓
✕
Being asked, and moving on
Decoy to hand over
Shake gesture
✕
Moves to a new phone
Backup file
Optional backup
Cost
$19.99 once
Free
Why switch
What Locked Folder gets right
Stays on the device
Items are not uploaded to Google Photos, and do not appear in the grid, search, Memories or albums.
Invisible to other apps
Even apps you granted media permission cannot reach it.
Straight from the camera
On a Pixel, long-press the camera preview and send new shots directly in.
Where it stops
- It opens with your screen lock
- Same fingerprint or PIN that unlocks the phone. Anyone who knows it is already past. There is no second secret.
- No decoy
- Asked to open your gallery, you can refuse or comply. A visible locked folder is also an announcement that something is in it.
- Photos and video only
- Passport scans and PDFs end up in Files or Drive with no protection, which is often the more sensitive half.
- Moving phones is a trap
- Contents stay on the device. Some versions now offer an optional cloud backup, which solves the move and reintroduces the cloud.
The main Google Photos library is not end-to-end encrypted, so Google can access those photos. Locked Folder is the exception.
What AlterVault adds
- A code your screen lock does not open
- Derived from a code you choose with Argon2id, wrapping a master key in the Android Keystore.
- A decoy to hand over
- Shake once and the vault becomes an ordinary gallery, with no animation.
- Documents as well as photos
- PDFs and scans through the system picker, into the same encrypted store.
- A backup file you control
- One encrypted file that restores on any phone.
What to actually do
Keep Locked Folder for the holiday photos you would rather not scroll past in front of someone. It is free and it is already there.
Put anything with a consequence in AlterVault: a code your screen lock does not open, a decoy to hand over, and one encrypted backup file that moves to your next phone.