Hidy VaultIf someone forces you to unlock your phone
If someone demands to see your phone, your safety comes before your photos. The time to protect private files is before that moment: keep them out of the open phone, and if it fits your situation, set up a decoy vault you can open instead.
- In the moment: stay safe. Don't resist in a way that puts you at risk.
- In advance: keep sensitive files outside the phone's normal apps, in a vault the iPhone passcode doesn't open.
- Optional (Pro): a decoy vault opens normally and permanently deletes every other vault on that iPhone.
Prepare before it happens
Nothing works well in the moment itself. Under pressure, people forget patterns, draw the wrong one, or give in. A setup done calmly in advance is what actually protects you.
- Move private files out of Photos, Files and Notes into a vault. See how to move photos into a vault.
- Use separate vaults so opening one doesn't reveal the others. Hidy shows no list of vaults.
- Back up the vaults you can't lose with encrypted backup, and keep their recovery phrases off the phone.
- If it fits your situation, set up a decoy (Pro). Fill a vault with harmless photos and mark it as the decoy in its Settings.
What the decoy does
Drawing the decoy's pattern permanently deletes every other vault on that iPhone, then opens the decoy as normal. There's no undo on the device. Only backups bring the other vaults back.
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.
When not to use a decoy
- If you'd ever draw it by accident.
- If deleting data could get you into legal trouble where you are.
- If the person already knows your other patterns.
Checklist
- Private files only inside vaults, not in Photos or Files.
- Backups and recovery phrases for vaults you can't lose, stored away from the phone.
- Decoy pattern practised and clearly different from your real ones.
- Safety plan if this is a relationship or family situation (Apple's Personal Safety User Guide).
Frequently asked questions
Is using a decoy vault legal?
It depends on where you are and who is asking. Deleting data during an official search can have legal consequences. This page isn't legal advice.
Can deleted vaults come back?
Only from backups you made earlier, such as an encrypted iCloud backup or a backup file, with the vault's recovery phrase.
What should I put in the decoy?
Ordinary, believable files: pets, food, screenshots of nothing important. An empty vault looks suspicious.
