Vaultumi

How to move photos in and out of a vault safely

By Vaultumi. Published .

The risky moments for private photos are the moves: the instant when the only copy is in transit, and the afterwards when stray copies remain. A careful order of steps avoids both.

Key takeaways

  • Import first, check the result, back up, and only then delete the originals.
  • Deleted photos stay in Recently Deleted for about 30 days, and synced copies may live on elsewhere.
  • The share sheet route leaves the original in Photos. Delete it yourself.
  • An exported file is a plain, unprotected copy. Delete it when it has done its job.

Before you move anything

  • Check free space. The original and the encrypted copy exist together until you delete the original. Vaultumi checks space before it writes anything and keeps a margin.
  • Know the free plan. It holds up to 20 items and 2 albums. If you try to bring in more, import stops. Nothing is deleted.
  • Set up your secrets. Create the vault, write down the recovery code and decide on the PIN before you put real photos in.

Moving photos in from your library

  1. Open Vaultumi, tap the add button and choose photos and videos from your library. Allow access when iOS asks. Limited access works, so you can share only the items you pick.
  2. Vaultumi encrypts each item on your iPhone with its own key. For Photos library items, the data is streamed into the encryptor, so no plaintext copy is written for them.
  3. It then verifies the stored copy by decrypting it in memory and comparing it with what went in. Only a verified item is accepted.
  4. When the import is done, Vaultumi offers to remove the originals from Photos. iOS shows its own confirmation.

Large videos and Live Photos are handled in small pieces, so memory stays low, and a long import does not need the whole file in memory at once. Duplicates are caught: if the same photo or the same content is already stored, Vaultumi refuses it instead of storing it twice. If the import is interrupted, open the app again. Incomplete items are cleaned up automatically, and you can import the same items again without duplicates.

Check before you delete anything

The prompt to remove originals is convenient, but you are allowed to say Keep originals. Do it when it matters:

  • Open a few imported items and confirm they look right, including the longest video.
  • Remember that if you edited a photo, deleting the original removes the original file, so the edit is not what was imported. Look at it in the vault.
  • Make a backup file and run the Backup safety check, so a second copy exists before the first is gone. The backup guide has the routine.

Deleting the originals properly

When you delete photos from the library, iOS moves them to Recently Deleted, where they stay for about 30 days. You can delete them there too for good. If you use iCloud Photos, the deletion usually syncs to your other devices, but check them. Photos you sent in messages, shared albums and screenshots are separate copies that you must clear yourself.

Vaultumi does not claim to erase anything securely from flash storage, and no app that works through the Photos library can. If you need every trace gone, finish the job yourself.

Moving things in from other apps: Vault Drop

Vault Drop adds Vaultumi to the iOS share sheet. Open the app once first. In Photos or Files, tap Share, scroll to the end of the row of apps, tap More, turn on Vaultumi and drag it up.

  • Share a photo, video or PDF to Vaultumi and it is encrypted straight away into a sealed inbox.
  • It joins your vault the next time you unlock with the main PIN or Face ID. The decoy vault never receives shared files.
  • While you share, iOS makes a temporary unencrypted copy for the extension and removes it afterwards. Vaultumi cannot control exactly when.
  • If you share from Photos, the original stays there. Delete it yourself.

Moving photos out: export

Open an item, choose export or share, and pick where it goes: back to your Photos library or to Files, for example. Saving to Photos asks only for permission to add items. Exporting is free, at any time, and it never removes anything from the vault.

Know what you get. The exported file is an ordinary copy that Vaultumi no longer protects, and it keeps details such as the date and place. If you send it on, look at the Options button in the iOS share sheet to leave some details out. A copy saved to Photos is subject to every leak listed in how to keep private photos safe.

Taking a photo out of the vault for good

  1. Export it and open the exported file to check that it is complete.
  2. Delete the item in Vaultumi. It goes first to the vault’s own Recently Deleted, where you can restore it, and is removed for good when you purge it there.
  3. Make a fresh backup if you want the file gone from your backups too. Older backup files, and iPhone backups made earlier, still contain it until they are replaced or deleted.

The safe order, in short

  1. Free space and recovery code first.
  2. Import, then open a few items.
  3. Back up and run the safety check.
  4. Delete the originals, then empty Recently Deleted.
  5. Check other devices, shared albums and chats.

For the protection details, see the security page. Vaultumi has not been independently audited, and screenshots, exported files and a compromised phone stay outside what it can protect.

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