Throughout this website, and indeed all over the internet, you’ll find references to photo vaults. If you’re interested in the services provided by Cover, you’ll undoubtedly benefit from the use of a photo vault. This guide explains everything that you need to know about these increasingly popular apps.
A photo vault is an app that protects your privacy. Installed through a third party – no Android appliance will come with a photo vault as standard. These apps ensure that you can store particular images and videos away from your general photos.
Photo vaults protect your privacy by encrypting images. Once moved into a photo vault, somebody can only view a picture if your smartphone or tablet is in their very hand. Many photo vault manufacturers promise “military-grade encryption”, suggesting that you’d need be a budding Alan Turing to gain access.
This encryption means that even the creator of a photo vault cannot see the images. For example, if you install Cover, nobody at Baloota will know what you’re storing within the app – even if we wanted to!
In the 21st Century, privacy is more important than ever. Even if you eschew the opportunity to share too much of your life online through social media, a smartphone or tablet will contain all manner of sensitive material – including snapshots intended for your eyes only.
Now, for the avoidance of doubt, we do not just mean adult material here. Think about images that are precious to you. It could be heartbreaking to lose memories of a beloved family pet that passed on, for example, or of a once-in-a-lifetime holiday. An app like Dumpster will retrieve lost photos, but a vault will keep them safe in the first place. Install both for a best of both worlds approach!
Really though, a photo vault is designed to protect your privacy. Do your children borrow your phone? If so, how would you feel about them rummaging through your Google Photos? If any images in your camera roll could be deemed inappropriate, give serious consideration to downloading a photo vault.
Photo vaults are increasingly popular, so you’ll find plenty of options online. When weighing up which photo vault to install, you have two main choices. You can use a traditional, straightforward cyber-lockbox or a vault disguised as a calculator. The latter is less likely to raise eyebrows if somebody borrows your appliance, but calculator vault apps are not always as secure.
Ask yourself the following questions when deciding which photo vault will meet your needs best.
Check out our review of the finest apps on the market for more information on your options.
Photo vaults are designed to be secure. Any vault will require a password to open. If using a calculator vault, you’ll need to enter a particular key sequence. Other apps will ask for a more straightforward password or PIN.
Ensure this is secure and unique! Somebody may be able to unlock the home screen of your device if you simply use your birthday as a lock screen PIN. Such an enterprising snoop will naturally use the same code to gain access to your photo vault.
A second later of security is advisable – ideally a fingerprint. Nobody will be able to replicate this without your presence. You could use Face ID, but we do not recommend this. Android’s Face ID software is considerably less secure than that enjoyed by iOS users, and hackers can easily outwit the technology.
Consider renaming the app itself, too. Be honest with yourself. If you were using somebody else’s phone and found an app that suggested something secretive and fascinating inside, would your curiosity be piqued? You wouldn’t open the app as you respect the privacy of the device’s owner. A child or teenager, and certainly a hacker, would likely be less bound by principles. An innocuous retitling increases the chances of somebody scrolling on by.
There is no such thing as 100% hacker-proof software, sadly. If even major corporations fall foul to the attentions of the criminal classes, any app could similarly struggle.
However, keeping your images in a photo vault is much more secure than simply using Google Photos or an online cloud drive. These apps provide a level of encryption that the alternatives mentioned above cannot offer – and additional security steps beyond a generic password.
Familiarise yourself with the privacy policy and Ts & Cs of your chosen photo vault app, though. You’ll find Cover’s hereand here. Ensure that you’re happy with these before uploading anything to a vault. From the moment you add a photo to an external app, you are accepting responsibility for it.
If you’re ready to install a photo vault onto your smartphone or tablet, we hope that you’ll consider Cover. Call us biased if you like, but we think that we’re the best provider on the market.
Cover cannot be accessed without entering a passcode and can also be assigned a fingerprint to unlock. More importantly, Cover will automatically shift any potentially explicit or private images straight to your photo vault. You won’t need to go through your pictures and move them manually.
Cover is the only app that offers such a service, courtesy of our Auto-HideTM technology. Cover automatically scans any image on your phone – including those received through messaging apps like WhatsApp – and checks them for explicit content.
If the content is deemed sensitive, it’s blocked and sent straight to the vault. Don’t worry; you’ll receive a notification announcing this, so you will not be missing out on anything. Innocent eyes are protected though, and you can save plenty of time!
If you’re keen to protect your privacy, you need to Cover yourself. Install Cover from the Google Play store and reap the rewards of doing so. You’ll be able to relax, safe in the knowledge that nobody will see your private images but you.