Encrypt My Data

Security

Last updated: 2026-10-27

Protection should be understandable. Here is what the app does, and where your choices still matter.

Encryption on the device

The vault database and individual images are encrypted using AES-256-GCM through Apple's CryptoKit. The vault key is protected with a key derived from the master password using PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256. Videos are encrypted in fixed-size AES-256-GCM chunks under a key of their own for each file, so they can be played and skipped through without a decrypted copy being written to storage. The app uses Apple's cryptographic frameworks rather than a custom encryption algorithm.

While unlocked, the working database is held in memory. Locking closes the working database and releases the session's key references. Swift, CryptoKit and iOS do not provide a guarantee that every temporary memory copy is overwritten.

Face ID, PIN and pattern

The master password is always required to set up the vault and always works. Face ID, a PIN of 6 to 12 digits and a pattern drawn on a 4×4 grid are optional shortcuts. Their keys are bound to this iPhone and are never included in a backup. After a restart, or if the faces enrolled in Face ID change, the master password is needed before a shortcut works again. The same happens at every fifth wrong PIN or pattern: Face ID, PIN and pattern then stop working for every vault until it is opened once with its own master password. A correct PIN in between does not reset that count. A PIN or pattern is weaker than a strong master password, and a pattern is easy to remember after one glance: you can hide its trail while you draw.

Failed attempts are slowed by increasing delays that survive restarts. An optional setting erases the vault after a number of failed attempts you choose.

More than one vault

With Pro you can create up to 20 vaults, each with its own master password and, if you want, its own PIN and pattern. They are fully separate: each has its own key, database and photos, and nothing in one can reach another. There is no list of vaults anywhere. The lock screen has one password field, and whichever vault the password, PIN or pattern belongs to is the one that opens. Every vault offers to create another, and the lock screen always offers a PIN and a pattern, so nothing on screen shows how many vaults there are. An unlock attempt takes the same time whichever vault it opens and however many exist.

A password, PIN or pattern that already opens another vault cannot be used for a new one, and trying counts as a failed attempt. Face ID and Password AutoFill belong to one vault at a time: whichever turned them on last. This protects against someone using the app, not against technical examination of the phone: the vaults' encrypted files are visible to anyone who can inspect the device's storage.

Automatic locking and hidden fields

Automatic locking, masked secret fields and an expiring clipboard reduce everyday exposure. The app covers vault views when it is inactive and while the screen is being recorded or mirrored. iOS does not let apps block screenshots, and these measures are not protection against every form of recording or a compromised operating system.

Backups and sharing

Encrypted backups require the associated master password. Restoring validates the main vault database and its referenced original images before replacement. Temporary thumbnails are derived data. A backup holds only the vault it was made in. Older backup formats have limits: a second vault carried by an older backup is restored as a vault of its own; its encrypted structure is validated, but its contents are authenticated when it is opened with its own password.

A valid older backup cannot be cryptographically distinguished from the newest one. Keep track of the backups you trust. When you share without encryption, the destination receives readable information. Metadata removal for shared images is enabled by default and sharing fails if requested removal cannot be completed.

Optional Password AutoFill

AutoFill has a separate encrypted copy of saved website logins and a dedicated biometric-protected key. It does not give the extension the main vault key, master password or draft contents. The provider matches saved and requested hostnames exactly and asks for confirmation before filling. Always check the destination shown before sharing credentials.

What the app does not protect against

Knowing the limits is part of the protection. Encrypt My Data cannot help against:

  • Someone using the vault while it is open, or who knows your master password. The same goes for a PIN or pattern someone has watched you enter.
  • A compromised iPhone. Malware with deep access to the system, or a jailbroken device, can read what the app shows and what you type.
  • A forgotten master password. It cannot be reset, and no one can open the vault without it. A backup opens only with the password that was in effect when it was made.
  • Copies outside the vault. Anything you share without encryption, save to Photos, paste elsewhere or capture in a screenshot. Photos and videos you import from your library also stay there until you delete them in the Photos app.
  • Older backups. An older iPhone backup or backup file may still hold an earlier encrypted copy of your vault, which opens with the master password that applied at the time.
  • Seeing that the app is installed. The contents are encrypted, but anyone with your unlocked iPhone can see that Encrypt My Data is on it.

Deletion is not a promise of forensic overwriting of flash storage, remote copies or old backups.

We do not claim an independent security certification or that the app is “unbreakable”. Keep iOS and the app updated, choose a strong master password and test your backup workflow.

Report a problem

Contact hello@encryptmydata.net with “Security report” in the subject. Use invented data in reproduction steps. Do not send real passwords, private vault files or another person's information.