Hidy VaultOne-time payment photo vault for iPhone
A one-time payment photo vault charges once and keeps working, with no weekly or yearly renewal. Hidy Vault Pro offers a $39.99 lifetime plan alongside weekly and yearly options.
- Lifetime plan: Hidy Vault Pro costs $39.99 once on the web; App Store prices may differ.
- Free tier: 3 vaults, 100 photos and 10 videos per vault, encryption and backups included.
What does "one-time payment" mean for a photo vault?
You pay once and the app keeps working without a renewal date. No weekly charge, no yearly reminder, no card on file. That is the whole promise. The catch is that "lifetime" usually means the app's lifetime, not yours, and it rarely covers everything.
Most iPhone photo vaults sell subscriptions because storage and sync cost money every month. A one-time price only makes sense if the app stores files on your phone and uses your own iCloud for backups. Hidy Vault works that way: files are encrypted on the iPhone, and iCloud backups go to your own account.
What a lifetime plan usually includes
- The app itself, with no expiry date on the features you paid for.
- Unlimited vaults and files, if the free tier has caps.
- Extras like sync, sharing, decoy vaults or disguised icons.
Read the plan page before you pay.
Hidy Vault keeps photos, videos and documents in encrypted vaults that open only with a pattern you draw. No account, no Hidy server. Free for 3 vaults.
Hidy Vault's prices
Hidy Vault is coming to the App Store. Web prices for Pro are:
| Plan | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 3 vaults, 100 photos and 10 videos per vault |
| Weekly | $1.99 | Short-term use, like a trip or a move |
| Yearly | $19.99 (7-day trial for eligible users) | Ongoing use without a big upfront cost |
| Lifetime | $39.99 once | Paying once and forgetting about it |
App Store prices may differ from these web prices.
When a one-time price is the right choice
Choose weekly or yearly if you need the vault for a short period, or if you want to test Pro features before committing.
What the free tier already does
Before paying anything, Hidy gives you the core protection. You can create up to 3 vaults, each opened by its own pattern on a 5×5 grid. Each vault holds up to 100 photos and 10 videos, plus documents and notes. AES-256-GCM encryption, the recovery phrase and encrypted iCloud backup are all included.
That means you can test whether the pattern-based unlock fits how you use your phone before spending money. If it does, Pro removes the caps and adds sync, sharing, a decoy vault and disguised icons.
How to set up a vault before you decide
- Install Hidy Vault when it arrives on the App Store.
- Draw a pattern with at least 6 different dots. That pattern opens one vault.
- Add a few photos from your library, or take one with Hidy's own camera.
- Write down the 12-word recovery phrase when Hidy shows it. It is shown once.
- Use the free tier for a week. If you hit the caps, compare the yearly and lifetime prices.
What a one-time payment does not buy
It does not buy a cryptographic audit, and Hidy has not had one. It does not buy Face ID unlock for Hidy itself; the pattern is the key. It does not buy a working fake calculator, because Hidy's disguised icons change the icon but not the app. And it does not buy protection from someone who knows your pattern.
It also does not replace the iPhone's own tools. Those are good first steps. A vault app adds a separate encrypted store with its own unlock, which is a different layer.
The honest limits of lifetime pricing
Any one-time price is a bet by the developer that the app will not cost more to run later. If the app depends on a server, that bet can fail, and the plan can change. Hidy avoids that by having no Hidy server that stores vaults: your files sit encrypted on the iPhone, and backups go to your own iCloud.
Still, a lifetime plan is not a guarantee of forever. iOS changes, App Store rules change, and developers move on. Keep your recovery phrase and an exported backup file, so your photos are never hostage to any app's future.
If you want to compare before paying, read are photo vault apps safe and the Keepsafe comparison. When you are ready, get Hidy Vault and start with the free tier.
Frequently asked questions
Does Hidy Vault have a lifetime plan?
Yes. Hidy Vault Pro is $39.99 as a one-time web purchase, next to $1.99 per week and $19.99 per year. App Store prices may differ.
What happens to my photos if I never pay?
In Hidy, the free tier keeps working: 3 vaults, 100 photos and 10 videos per vault, plus encryption, notes, documents and backups. Pro adds unlimited storage, sync, sharing, a decoy vault and disguised icons.
