VaultCube vs Keepsafe: a Keepsafe alternative with no account
Short answer
Keepsafe is one of the best-known photo vaults, with 384,938 US ratings and a Private Cloud for up to 10,000 items in Premium. Its free version is ad supported, by its own listing. VaultCube is a Keepsafe alternative with no account, no ads and no server: every photo is encrypted on your iPhone, and the backup sits in your own iCloud where only your recovery phrase opens it.
VaultCube vs Keepsafe side by side
VaultCube
Keepsafe
Lock
Pattern on a 5×5 grid
PIN, Touch ID
Encryption
AES-256-GCM on the iPhone, a separate key for every file and thumbnail
"Military-grade encryption", no details given
Account or email
None. There is no VaultCube server
Not stated. Syncs "to all of your Keepsafe installations on any platform"
Ads
None, free or paid
"Keepsafe Basic is ad supported"; Ad-Free is a Premium feature
Cloud
Your own private iCloud, as ciphertext; only your recovery phrase opens it
Private Cloud, up to 10,000 items, Premium
Photo quality
Originals kept as they are
Space Saver compresses photos and keeps originals in the cloud (Premium)
Decoy
Panic pattern opens a decoy vault (Pro)
Not in its listing
Separate locks
Separate vaults, each with its own pattern
Album Lock: a PIN per album (Premium)
Secure camera
Yes, photos never touch the camera roll
Integrated camera
Disguised icon
Calculator or Notes that really work (Pro)
Not in its listing
Forgot your PIN
9-word recovery phrase; nobody, us included, can reset it
Not stated
Free version
100 photos and 10 videos per vault
Basic, with ads
Paid plans
Pro: weekly, yearly with a 7-day free trial, or once for life
Premium: monthly or yearly
Android
No, iPhone and iPad only
Yes
Minimum iOS
18
17.0
US App Store ratings
New on the App Store
384,938 · 4.75
Keepsafe's column quotes its US App Store listing, retrieved 2026-10-23. VaultCube's column is checked against the app's code.
We haven't run our own hands-on test of Keepsafe yet. When we do, this page gets the results and the test date.
Why people look for a Keepsafe alternative
The usual reasons are ads in the free version, wanting a vault that works without signing up, and wanting to know where the photos actually go.
A company cloud is convenient, but it means a company holds a copy of your vault and a way back into it.
Do you need an account for Keepsafe?
Keepsafe's listing doesn't say. It describes a Private Cloud and syncing across all your Keepsafe installations on any platform,
and support tickets sent from inside the app. Check the sign-up screens yourself before you import anything private.
VaultCube has no account at all: no email, no sign-up, no server that knows you exist. That also means there's no "forgot password" email,
so the recovery phrase is your way back. Why no account matters
Is Keepsafe encrypted?
Its listing says "military-grade encryption" and doesn't name a cipher or say where the keys live. That's a claim, not something you can check.
VaultCube publishes its design: AES-256-GCM in 256 KB chunks, a separate key for every file, the vault key derived with PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 at
600,000 rounds, and file names, folders, dates and thumbnails encrypted too. How VaultCube's encryption works · Security model
Where your backup lives, and who holds the key
Keepsafe's Private Cloud is Keepsafe's service, in Premium. VaultCube backs up to your own iCloud, and Apple sees only ciphertext.
The backup opens only with your recovery phrase, never with a password reset. Encrypted backup
Where Keepsafe does more
Android. If you need the same vault on an Android phone, Keepsafe has it and VaultCube doesn't.
Space Saver. Compressing photos on the phone and keeping originals in its cloud frees storage.
Safe Send and trash recovery. Keepsafe lists time-limited sharing and recovering deleted photos. VaultCube has its own secure sharing with open limits and expiry (Pro).
Years of polish. Keepsafe has been on the App Store since 2012.
Who should choose which
Keepsafe if you need Android, want a company cloud to hold your originals, and don't mind ads in the free version.
VaultCube if you want no account, no ads, files encrypted on the iPhone, a decoy vault, and a backup no company can open.
Questions
Is there a free Keepsafe alternative without ads?
Yes. VaultCube's free version has no ads and stores 100 photos and 10 videos per vault, encrypted. Pro removes the limits.
How do I move from Keepsafe to VaultCube?
Export your photos from Keepsafe to the Photos app, import them into VaultCube, and let VaultCube delete the originals from Photos.
Then empty Recently Deleted, because iOS keeps deleted photos there for 30 days.
Does VaultCube work on Android?
No. VaultCube is for iPhone and iPad (iOS 18 or later), and Pro syncs your vault between the two.