16 "Secret" Vault Apps People Use to Hide Photos — And What They're Actually Called
A calculator he never uses for math. A "Notes" app with a passcode. If you've caught yourself searching the exact name of an app because something felt off, this is the list — the most comprehensive one you'll find.
Vault apps hide photos and videos behind a decoy front — a working calculator, a notes app, or an audio player — that only reveals its real contents when you enter a separate passcode. The giveaway is usually a familiar-looking app you don't remember using, or one using more storage than its stated purpose would explain.
Her isn't a lawyer, and this isn't legal advice. Checking a device you don't own or have permission to access may violate state or federal law — laws vary, so know yours before you go digging.
You're not being paranoid for looking this up. Vault apps are real, they're free, and they're built specifically to survive a casual glance at someone's home screen. On its own, finding one of these isn't proof of anything. Paired with a phone that suddenly has a password, or a "calculator" nobody in the house ever opens — it's worth a second look.
Here are 16 that actually exist right now, what they're disguised as, and what to look for. (Icon screenshots below are pulled directly from each app's official App Store or Google Play listing — added for identification only.)
We didn't just screenshot these — we pulled the actual file hashes on every app in this list to confirm what you're seeing is what's really out there right now, not a rebrand or a duplicate someone slapped a new icon on.
A vault disguised as one
This is the whole trick — side by side, they're built to be nearly indistinguishable. The only way to tell them apart is to open it and try entering a PIN instead of doing math.
Know your actual calculator first. The current iPhone Calculator (above) uses all-circle buttons for every key. Older iOS versions used a wider, pill-shaped "0" button spanning two columns at the bottom — if your calculator icon looks like that, that's normal and not a vault by itself. The move either way: open your own calculator right now and know what it actually looks like, so anything different stands out immediately. And a note on scope — the apps below cover the well-known, high-download names, but app stores are flooded with dozens of near-identical white-label clones of the exact same calculator-vault trick, often from small developers reskinning the same underlying code. If you find a calculator-disguised vault app that isn't listed by name here, it almost certainly works exactly the same way as the ones that are: real math on the surface, a secret PIN underneath.
The Real Icon Has Changed 8 Times Since 2007
Here's every version of Apple's actual Calculator icon, in order. If yours doesn't match any of these, that's not automatically a red flag — but it's worth a second look.
Spot the Difference
All four of these are calculator-style app icons pulled from real listings. Before you scroll to the reveal — can you tell which one actually matches Apple's real iOS 7–10 icon, quadrant for quadrant?
Reveal the answer
That's the actual point. Not one of the four is a real match — every single one has at least one quadrant in the wrong color. That's exactly how convincing these disguises have gotten.
#1 swaps the grey and orange on × and =. #2 gets two quadrants wrong. #3 is the closest — only the − is wrong (should be orange, not dark). #4 uses a black background that Apple never actually paired with this layout.
The Quick List: Hidden App Vaults to Know
- Calculator Lock – Secure Vault — real calculator, secret PIN unlocks a vault
- Calculator# – Hide Photos & Videos — same trick, different app
- Best Secret Folder — icon disguises as "My Utilities"
- Vaulty: Hidden Photos Vault — disguises as "Notes" or "Passwords"
- Gallery Vault — flips into a working fake calculator on command
- KeepSafe Photo Vault / KeepSafe Calculator — decoy-icon version sold separately
- Hide It Pro — disguised as "Audio Manager," a volume control app
- SPV – Secret Photo Vault — disguised as a calculator
- Vault - Hide Pics, App Lock — icon disappears from the home screen entirely
- Calculator - Photo Vault — Android, 10M+ downloads, calculator disguise
- Private Photo Vault – Pic Safe — decoy password, GPS break-in report
- LockMyPix Secret Photo Vault — can disguise itself as Calculator, 40M+ users
- Locker – Hidden Photo Vault — icon swaps to a calculator or a timer
- Safe Lock – Hidden Photo Vault — has its own built-in hidden camera
- Safety Photo+Video — decoy vault + intruder detection
- My Folder: Safe Secure Hidden — customizable disguise icon + name
The Full Breakdown
1. Calculator Lock – Secure Vault iOS
Looks like: a plain, working calculator app.
Does real math. Type a specific PIN and press "=" instead, and it opens a hidden vault of photos, videos, notes, and even saved passwords. Has a built-in "Disguise Mode" that lets the owner change the icon and app name to something even less obvious.
Verdict: A real calculator that does real math — and a Disguise Mode that renames itself if you get too close. Check for that PIN screen.
2. Calculator# – Hide Photos & Videos iOS
Looks like: a plain, working calculator app.
Functionally the same idea as above from a different developer — one of several near-identical "calculator vault" apps in this category.
Verdict: Same trick as #1, different name tag. If a phone turns up two working calculators, that's not a coincidence.
3. Best Secret Folder iOS
Looks like: an app called "My Utilities."
Doesn't even try to look like a calculator — the icon and name are deliberately generic so it blends into a folder of system-looking apps. Password, pattern, Face ID, or Touch ID protected, with an intruder-selfie feature that photographs anyone who fails the passcode.
Verdict: Doesn't even bother pretending to be math — it hides in plain sight as “My Utilities.” The name itself is the disguise.
4. Vaulty: Hidden Photos Vault iOS
Looks like: "Notes" or "Passwords."
Lets the user fully camouflage the app as one of those two built-in-looking utilities. Also has a "Decoy PIN" — enter a second, different passcode and it opens a completely empty gallery, so someone demanding to see "the vault" sees nothing.
Verdict: The decoy PIN is the sneaky part — a second passcode opens an empty vault. Someone handing over “the app” proves nothing on its own.
5. Gallery Vault iOS
Looks like: a normal photo gallery app — until it doesn't.
Markets itself openly as a vault app, but its "Disguise Mode" turns the entire interface into a fully working calculator, icon included, so a glance at the home screen shows nothing unusual.
Verdict: Advertises itself honestly right up until Disguise Mode flips it into a full calculator, icon included. Check what's under the hood, not just the name.
6. KeepSafe Photo Vault / KeepSafe Calculator iOS · Android
Looks like: KeepSafe keeps its own branding, but sells a separate "Calculator" version with a decoy icon.
One of the older, more established names in this space. The standard version keeps its own icon; the Calculator variant is built specifically to pass as a real calculator app.
Verdict: An established name selling two versions on purpose — one that looks like itself, one that doesn't. Know which one you're looking at. (Not the same app as #9 below — different developer, same disguise.)
7. Hide It Pro Android
Looks like: "Audio Manager," a volume control utility.
50M+ downloads. Appears in the app drawer as a working volume/audio manager. Long-pressing the title (not tapping it) launches the real app underneath — a vault for photos, videos, apps, and even text messages.
Verdict: 50 million+ downloads pretending to be a volume knob. A long-press, not a tap, is what actually gives it away.
8. SPV – Secret Photo Vault iOS
Looks like: a calculator.
Another calculator-disguised vault, functionally similar to #1 and #2 — worth knowing the name specifically because it's a common one to turn up in an App Store search.
Verdict: Another calculator clone worth knowing by name specifically — it's common enough to be the first result in a store search.
9. Vault - Hide Pics, App Lock Android
Looks like: nothing — the icon disappears from the home screen entirely.
No calculator front here. Once Stealth Mode is switched on, the app icon vanishes from the home screen and app drawer completely, and the vault is reopened only through a hidden widget or a companion unlock screen. It has over 100 million downloads and 1.29 million+ reviews, making it one of the most widely installed vault apps on Android.
Verdict: There's no fake-app skin to spot on this one — if an app has quietly vanished from the home screen without being uninstalled, this is one of the tools worth checking for.
10. Calculator - Photo Vault Android
Looks like: a plain, working calculator app.
One of the most established apps in this category — over 10 million downloads, a 4.8-star rating from nearly half a million reviews, and still getting active updates years in. Disguised as a real working calculator, with AES-encrypted storage, a built-in private browser, and an intruder-selfie alert if someone guesses the wrong PIN.
Verdict: The real deal in a category full of clones — years of updates and half a million reviews back it up, so if you find this one, it's not some fly-by-night copy.
11. Private Photo Vault – Pic Safe iOS
Looks like: its own branded lock icon — no calculator disguise here.
A long-running, heavily reviewed app with a decoy password that opens a second, harmless vault under pressure, plus a break-in report that logs both a photo and GPS coordinates of a failed unlock attempt.
Verdict: No calculator act here — it's upfront about what it is, and it snaps a photo of anyone who fails the passcode.
12. LockMyPix Secret Photo Vault iOS
Looks like: can be set to disguise itself as "Calculator" or another everyday app.
40 million+ users. Offers a fake decoy vault, intruder-selfie detection, and a "shake to lock" panic gesture that instantly locks the entire vault.
Verdict: 40 million+ users and a shake-to-lock panic gesture. If a phone locks itself the second it's picked up wrong, that's why.
13. Locker – Hidden Photo Vault iOS
Looks like: whatever the owner sets it to — a calculator or a timer app, by design.
Lets the owner swap the app's icon to a calculator or a timer specifically to avoid suspicion, and stores photos, videos, notes, files, and even app links behind Face ID or Touch ID.
Verdict: The owner picks the disguise — calculator today, timer tomorrow. An icon that keeps changing is the actual tell, not the icon itself.
14. Safe Lock – Hidden Photo Vault iOS
Looks like: its own branded icon, but the standout feature is what's inside.
This is the one to know for the "secret camera app" question specifically — Safe Lock has a hidden camera built directly into the app, so photos can be taken and saved straight into the vault without ever touching the regular camera roll or camera app.
Verdict: Has its own hidden camera built in, so nothing has to touch the regular camera roll on its way into the vault.
15. Safety Photo+Video iOS · Android
Looks like: its own branded icon.
Newer to the category, with a decoy vault, intruder detection, and Face ID support layered together — pitched as a more full-featured option than a basic PIN-and-hide app.
Verdict: Newer to the category and stacks a decoy vault with Face ID — more features than the basics, aimed at people who got caught before.
16. My Folder: Safe Secure Hidden Android
Looks like: whatever the owner picks — the app offers multiple selectable icons and names to disguise itself as.
2.4 million+ downloads. Locks down photos, videos, audio, contacts, and documents behind four different lock-screen types, and bundles in an app locker on top — so it can hide its own contents and lock other apps on the phone at the same time.
Verdict: Picks its own icon and name, and locks other apps on top of hiding its own contents. If one app on a phone is oddly locked, check what else is.
What this doesn't prove: Finding one of these apps is not, by itself, evidence of anything. People use vault apps for all kinds of private-but-innocent reasons — IDs, financial documents, kids' photos they don't want mixed into a shared album. Context is what matters: a sudden password on a phone that never had one, a "calculator" nobody uses, or resistance to sharing a phone that never used to be an issue.
What's Actually On Your Mind
Finding an app on this list is a data point, not a diagnosis. What you do next probably depends less on the app and more on what's actually worrying you. Pick the one that's closest:
What Actually Helps
Some links below are affiliate links — Check Her First may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We only link things we'd actually tell you about ourselves.
Get your info off the data broker sites
Vault apps hide what's on a phone. But your own name, home address, and phone number are almost certainly sitting in 200+ public data broker profiles right now — the same databases anyone can search for a few dollars, including someone you're trying to put distance between yourself and. Optery finds those listings and requests removal on your behalf, automatically, on an ongoing basis.
See what Optery finds on you →If the real issue is someone reading over your shoulder
Not everything here requires a forensic approach. Sometimes the actual problem is simpler: someone glancing at your screen on the couch, in a waiting room, over your shoulder in line. A privacy screen protector fixes that specific problem in about five minutes — the screen only reads clearly to the person looking at it head-on.
JETech Privacy Screen Protector, 2-Pack — $9.99 →Frequently Asked
What app hides pictures on a phone?
The most common apps that hide pictures are photo vault apps like Calculator Lock, Calculator#, Private Photo Vault, KeepSafe, Vaulty, Hide It Pro, and LockMyPix. Many look like a normal calculator or utility app, and a PIN opens a hidden gallery. The full list with their disguised icons is above.
What is a secret photo app?
A secret photo app (also called a photo vault or hidden app vault) stores pictures and videos behind a passcode, separate from the phone's regular gallery. Some are open about it, like Private Photo Vault. Others disguise themselves as a calculator, notes, or file manager so nobody suspects what's inside.
What do hidden vault apps look like on a phone?
Most disguise themselves as boring utility apps — a calculator, a notes app, an audio/volume manager, or a file cleaner. They work normally on the surface. A secret PIN, or a long-press on the icon, unlocks the hidden gallery underneath.
Is a calculator app with a hidden vault actually real?
Yes — several of them, and they do real math. Calculator Lock, Calculator#, SPV, and Calculator Hide App all function as working calculators. Entering a specific PIN and pressing "=" is what opens the hidden vault instead of solving an equation.
How would I even notice one of these on someone's phone?
Look for a second calculator, a duplicate notes or utilities app, an "Audio Manager" nobody remembers installing, or any utility app that asks for a PIN instead of just working. Checking app storage size in phone settings can also help — a real calculator app is a few megabytes; most of these vault apps are 60–120MB because of everything they're actually storing.
Part of HER's Hidden Apps Guide. Related reads: Signs of Financial Abuse in Marriage · Signs Someone Is Lying About Being Single
Finding one of these apps is a data point, not proof. Pair it with a real background search before you decide what it means.
RUN THE CHECK →HER's Letters — Every Tuesday
The check, the red flag, and the resource you actually need.
Every Tuesday · Free · Unsubscribe in one click