Apple Photos or Bishop Vault?
By Bishop Technology Solutions, LLC, the maker of Bishop Vault. Facts checked on October 25, 2026. Every fact about Apple comes from Apple’s own page, listed at the bottom.
The short answer
If you only want a few photos out of the main library, and you are fine with Face ID as the only lock, Apple Photos’ locked album is enough, and it costs nothing. If you want photos, videos, notes, scans, and files behind their own passcode, encrypted by an app that explains how, and kept out of Photos altogether, that is what Bishop Vault is for. No lock on a phone stops spyware or someone watching you type, and Bishop Vault says so plainly.
Side by side
Apple’s column describes the album Photos locks on iPhone and iPad with Face ID or Touch ID. Numbers in brackets are sources, listed below.
| Apple Photos locked album | Bishop Vault | |
|---|---|---|
| What it protects | Photos and videos you move into the album. They leave the main library views, and they stay out of the Photos widget on the Home Screen [1]. | Photos, videos, notes, scans, a private diary, and any file. Nothing in the vault appears in Photos, Files, or the app switcher. |
| Encryption you can check | Not stated. Apple’s page does not describe how the album is encrypted [1]. | Argon2id and XChaCha20-Poly1305 from libsodium. The test vectors are published on the How it works page, and a second implementation re-derives them. |
| How it locks | Locked by default on iOS 16 and later. You open it with Face ID or Touch ID [1]. | Its own passcode, at least 8 characters. Face ID or Touch ID only if you turn it on, and it never falls back to your device’s passcode. |
| Account needed | None for the album. With iCloud Photos on, what you put in it is kept the same on your other devices [1]. | None. No sign-up, no email, no tracking. |
| Price | Part of the Photos app. Apple’s page lists no separate charge [1]. | Free for up to 25 items in each vault. See Pricing for Plus. |
| Where it works | iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro [1]. | iPhone, iPad, and Mac, including a native Mac app. Coming soon. |
| What it can’t stop | Not stated. Apple’s page lists no limits [1]. | Spyware already on your device, and someone watching you type your passcode. No outside security review yet. |
Where Bishop Vault is different
- A lock that is not your face. The locked album opens with the same Face ID you use for everything else on the phone. Bishop Vault has its own passcode, so a person you handed your unlocked phone to still can’t open it.
- A different place. The locked album is a part of the Photos app [1]. Bishop Vault keeps everything inside its own encrypted vault, and removes location data from every photo and video as it comes in.
- More than photos. Notes, scans, a private diary, and any kind of file go in the same vault.
- Encryption you can read about. The method, the key layers, and the test vectors are written down on How it works. For the locked album, Apple’s page does not say.
- A printed recovery kit. If you forget your passcode, the kit gets you back in. If you lose the kit and forget your passcode, no one can open the vault, not even Bishop Vault. That is the price of having no account.
When the locked album is enough
Most people don’t need another app. If what you want is for a roommate or a friend scrolling through your camera roll not to see a few photos, the locked album does that, for free, with nothing to install and nothing to remember. It works with iCloud Photos, so the same photos stay out of the way on your other devices [1]. If you only ever use Photos, and the person who might pick up your phone doesn’t know its passcode, use it.
A separate vault earns its place when you want more than photos in one locked place, a passcode that is different from the one that opens your phone, or encryption you can read about before you trust it.
The honest limits
Bishop Vault protects against everyday snooping. It can’t stop spyware already on your device, or someone watching you type your passcode. No lock on a phone can stop those two, and Apple’s page does not claim otherwise for the locked album. No outside security review yet.
Sources and the date they were checked
Facts checked on October 25, 2026. This site loads nothing from other sites, so the address is written out in full.
- Apple Support, the article about hiding photos on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro with the locked album (published March 16, 2026):
https://support.apple.com/en-us/104987. Checked October 25, 2026.
Bishop Vault’s own facts come from its README, its in-app Guide, and its About screen. If you find something out of date, tell us.
Keep reading: all comparisons, how Bishop Vault keeps your things private, or the Keepsafe comparison.
Coming soon to iPhone, iPad, and Mac.