VaultCave vs Vaultaire: two pattern-locked photo vaults compared

If you're looking for a Vaultaire alternative, VaultCave is the closest match you'll find, and that makes this comparison more about details than big gaps. Both apps unlock with a pattern on a 5×5 grid, both use AES-256-GCM, neither needs an account, both back up encrypted to your own iCloud, and both offer a decoy for when you're forced to open the app. This page is written by VaultCave's developer, so read it with that in mind: we've stuck to what each app publicly states, and we say where Vaultaire is the better pick.

All facts about Vaultaire come from its App Store listing, website, privacy policy and security page, as of November 2026. Things Vaultaire says about its own security are its claims, not independently verified, and the same goes for ours. VaultCave is launching soon and is not on the App Store yet.

Who each app suits

Vaultaire may suit you better if:

• You want a family plan. Vaultaire lists Pro Family Annual and Pro Family Lifetime options; VaultCave has no family plan.
• You want more than one vault for free. Vaultaire's free tier allows up to 3 vaults (100 photos and 10 videos in total). VaultCave's free tier has one vault.
• You want multi-device sync. Vaultaire offers it with Pro. VaultCave keeps each device's vaults separate.
• You'd rather choose your own recovery phrase. Vaultaire lets you supply a custom phrase of at least six words.
• You want an app that's available now, with ratings to read. As of November 2026 Vaultaire has a 4.7 rating from 57 ratings on the US App Store. VaultCave is new and has no reviews yet.

VaultCave may suit you better if:

• You want an app that collects no data at all, with no analytics or crash reporting to switch off.
• You want to choose a passcode instead of a pattern for some vaults.
• You want restoring a backup to require a recovery phrase, never a pattern.
• You want the vault key tied to your iPhone's Secure Enclave, so copied files can't be attacked off the device.
• You want a documented limit on wrong guesses, with an optional erase.

Side-by-side comparison

	VaultCave (launching soon)	Vaultaire
Platforms	iPhone and iPad, iOS 17+	iPhone and iPad, iOS 17+
Unlock	Pattern (5×5, at least 6 dots) or passcode, per vault	Pattern (5×5, at least 6 dots and one direction change)
Face ID / Touch ID	No, by design	Not described
Encryption	AES-256-GCM, chunked	AES-256-GCM (vendor says)
Key derivation	PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256, 600,000 iterations	PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA512, 600,000 iterations (vendor says)
Key bound to the Secure Enclave	Yes (a device secret in the Secure Enclave)	Not described; Keychain items are device-only (vendor says)
Account	None	None
Analytics / crash reports	None	On by default, can be turned off
App Store privacy label	Data Not Collected	Data Linked to You and Data Not Linked to You (see below)
Ads	None	None
Encrypted iCloud backup	Yes, on by default, free	Yes, on by default, free
Restore a backup with	Recovery phrase only	Recovery phrase; Vaultaire also derives a backup key from the pattern
Recovery phrase	Always generated, 12 words	Generated 9 words, or your own of 6+ words
Vaults listed on unlock screen	No	No
Multiple vaults	Pro	Yes, up to 3 on the free tier
Decoy / duress	Pro: decoy that erases other vaults	Decoy; duress pattern with Pro
Failed-attempt limits	Documented, with optional erase (Pro)	Not publicly documented
Disguised icons	Pro	Pro
Family plans	No	Yes
Multi-device sync	No	Pro
Free tier	1 vault, up to 100 items	Up to 3 vaults, 100 photos and 10 videos in total
App Store rating	Not yet released	4.7 from 57 ratings (US, Nov 2026)

What's the same

It's worth being clear about how much overlaps, because if these basics are what you care about, either app covers them.

Both apps state that files are encrypted with AES-256-GCM under a random key, and that your pattern unlocks that key rather than being the encryption key itself. Both use PBKDF2 with 600,000 iterations to turn the pattern into a key (Vaultaire says it mixes in a device-wide Keychain salt; VaultCave binds it to a Secure Enclave secret, covered below). Vaultaire uses SHA-512 inside PBKDF2, VaultCave uses SHA-256; at that iteration count, the difference matters far less than the other choices below.

Neither app asks for an account or an email address. Both back up to the CloudKit private database in your own iCloud, encrypted before upload and with padded record sizes, and both have the backup switched on by default with the option to turn it off. Neither shows a list of vaults on the unlock screen. And neither has a provider-held key: if you lose both your pattern and your phrase, nobody can get you back in.

Analytics and the privacy label

This is the clearest difference. Vaultaire's privacy policy says "App analytics and crash diagnostics are enabled by default", and you can turn them off in Settings. Its security page says the data goes to PostHog, and its FAQ notes that "crash reports can include file names".

As of November 2026, Vaultaire's App Store privacy label lists Contact Info (email address) and User Content (customer support) as Data Linked to You, and Usage Data plus Diagnostics (crash, performance and other diagnostic data) as Data Not Linked to You. There's no "Data Used to Track You" section, and Vaultaire states "No ads or cross-app tracking".

VaultCave has no analytics, no crash reporting, no ads and no trackers. Its privacy label is "Data Not Collected". Keep in mind that App Store privacy labels are filled in by each developer and are "not verified by Apple", for both apps.

If you're happy to go into Settings and turn Vaultaire's analytics off, this gap narrows. If you'd rather an app never sends anything by default, it's a real difference.

Recovery phrases and backup restore

Both apps use a recovery phrase as the way back in if you forget your pattern, and both use it to restore an iCloud backup. They differ in how the phrase is made and in what else can unlock a backup.

Vaultaire generates a nine-word phrase for each vault, or lets you "supply a custom phrase of at least six words". Its privacy policy also says it "derives a separate device-independent backup key from your pattern". A custom phrase is easier to remember; the trade-off is that phrases people choose themselves tend to be easier to guess than random ones.

VaultCave always generates a 12-word phrase from the standard BIP39 English word list. You can't choose your own. It's shown once at setup and you type back 3 of the words to prove you've saved it. Restoring a backup needs that phrase; a pattern can never restore a backup. The reason is the attempt limit below: if a pattern could restore a backup, someone who triggered an erase could restore and keep guessing.

Neither approach is free of risk. With VaultCave, losing both the pattern and the phrase means the vault is gone for good. If you're worried about storing a phrase, our guide on how to store a recovery phrase walks through the options.

Secure Enclave and copied files

VaultCave's keys come from your pattern or passcode combined with a device secret held in the iPhone's Secure Enclave. In practice, that means copies of the encrypted files can't be attacked on a computer: guesses only work on the device itself, where the attempt limits apply.

Vaultaire's security page says its Keychain items use Apple's "WhenUnlockedThisDeviceOnly" setting, which keeps them on that device. It doesn't describe binding the vault key to the Secure Enclave, so we can't say whether copied files could be attacked off the device. Neither app runs the file encryption itself inside the Secure Enclave; the difference is in how the key is protected. You can read how VaultCave's key hierarchy works on our security page.

Wrong guesses, lockouts and erase

VaultCave documents its limits. Wrong attempts count across all vaults: after 5 there's a 30-second wait, then 1 minute, 5 minutes, and 15 minutes for attempts 8 and 9. At 10, the pattern or passcode stops working and the recovery phrase is required. If you've turned on "erase after 10 failed attempts" (Pro, off by default), every vault on the device is erased instead. The counter survives reinstalling the app and ignores clock changes.

As of November 2026, Vaultaire doesn't publicly document how its attempt limit, lockout or erase-after-failures works, so we can't compare this part directly.

Decoys and duress

Both apps let a second pattern open something other than your real vault.

Vaultaire describes a decoy vault opened by a different pattern, and with Pro, a duress pattern that "opens one designated vault while silently removing the other vaults' indexes".

In VaultCave, duress mode is a Pro feature. You set up a decoy vault from inside a real vault and fill it with believable content. Opening the decoy silently erases every other vault on the device, with no alert. Your real vaults come back only from the encrypted iCloud backup, each with its own recovery phrase.

Free tier and pricing

Vaultaire's free tier is more generous on vaults: up to 3 vaults holding 100 photos and 10 videos in total. VaultCave's free tier is one vault with up to 100 items; multiple hidden vaults and unlimited items are Pro. Both include encrypted iCloud backup for free.

As of November 2026, Vaultaire lists these Pro options on the US App Store: Pro Weekly $1.99, Pro Monthly $5.99, Pro Annual $19.99, Pro Lifetime $39.99, Pro Family Annual $49.99 and Pro Family Lifetime $99.99. Its site mentions a 7-day free trial on the yearly plan for eligible new subscribers.

VaultCave Pro will be offered as a weekly or yearly subscription or a lifetime purchase; prices will be set on the App Store at launch. There's no family plan.

VaultCave's limits

To be fair about our own side:

• Not released yet. VaultCave is launching soon, with no App Store ratings or reviews.
• iPhone and iPad only. Android is planned but not available. Vaultaire lists no Android version either.
• No Face ID, by design. You draw a pattern or type a passcode every time.
• No sync between devices. Each iPhone or iPad has its own vaults.
• One free vault. More vaults need Pro.
• You hold the only key. Forget both your pattern and your recovery phrase and the vault can't be recovered by anyone.

No vault app can block screenshots on iPhone, and no vault can stop someone who watches you draw your pattern from opening that vault. For more on what a vault does and doesn't protect, see Hidden album vs an encrypted vault.

The short version

• VaultCave and Vaultaire share most basics: pattern unlock, AES-256-GCM, no account, encrypted iCloud backup, hidden vaults and a decoy.
• Vaultaire has analytics and crash diagnostics on by default (you can turn them off); VaultCave collects nothing.
• Vaultaire lets you choose a recovery phrase; VaultCave always generates 12 words and restores backups only with the phrase.
• Vaultaire is the better pick for family plans, three free vaults, multi-device sync and an app you can download today.
• VaultCave adds a passcode option, Secure Enclave binding and documented attempt limits, but it's new and not released yet.