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Draw a pattern on the 5×5 grid. That pattern is the key to its own encrypted vault. Draw a different pattern and you open a different vault. There is no list of vaults anywhere, so nobody can tell how many you have.

Patterns must match exactly. A slightly different pattern opens a different, empty vault. Tap the lock and draw your pattern again, slowly. If you've forgotten it, use your recovery phrase from the lock screen.

Not yet. Every vault opens only with its pattern, so a glance at your phone can't open it.

On the lock screen, tap Use recovery phrase and type that vault's nine words, or the phrase you chose. You'll then choose a new pattern. Without the phrase or the pattern, nobody can open the vault, including us.

Open the vault, tap the gear, then Recovery phrase. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe. Anyone with it can open that vault.

Yes. On the recovery phrase screen, tap Use my own phrase instead and type it twice. It needs at least 32 characters and 5 different words; a sentence only you would think of works well. The nine words you were given then stop working.

Before you erase the old iPhone, open each vault and check two things in its settings: iCloud says it's backed up, and you have its recovery phrase. On the new iPhone, install ShyVault, tap Use recovery phrase on the pattern screen, type the phrase and choose a pattern. The vault's files download from iCloud.

Yes. Each vault is encrypted on your device before it's uploaded to your own iCloud, in pieces padded to set sizes, so neither Apple nor we can see what's in it or the exact size of any file. On a new iPhone, only the vault's recovery phrase can open the backup.

Open the vault's settings and tap Earlier versions. ShyVault keeps a version a day for a week; choose one to bring back the files it had.

Select files, tap Share, then Share privately in ShyVault. They go into a separate, read-only vault that opens with a twelve-word code. Send the code to the people you choose; they tap Join shared vault on the pattern screen. You can set an expiry date and stop sharing at any time. Creating one needs Pro; joining is free.

Photos in ShyVault come out blank in screenshots and recordings, and the vault locks so nothing leaks. Draw your pattern to continue.

No. Everything is encrypted on your device with a key made from your pattern, and there's no account. Backups go to your own iCloud, and shared vaults can only be opened with their code.

A Pro feature for when someone forces you to unlock. Its pattern opens it normally and quietly removes your other vaults' patterns from this device. They come back only with their recovery phrases.

Three vaults, and 100 photos and 10 videos in total. Notes and documents don't count. Pro removes the limits and adds duress vaults, disguise icons and more.

Subscriptions are managed by Apple. In ShyVault, go to Settings, then Help and support, then Manage subscription to cancel, or Request a refund to ask Apple for your money back. You can also cancel in your Apple Account settings.