Advanced Data Protection vs a photo vault
Advanced Data Protection is the best thing Apple offers for private photos. It encrypts iCloud Photos end to end, so Apple cannot read them. Your photos still live in iCloud, under your Apple Account, next to everything else. Oorvel keeps them off the internet entirely.
Where Advanced Data Protection is better: it is free, already on your iPhone, your photos survive a lost phone, and they stay in sync across your Apple devices. Oorvel keeps everything on one phone.
| Row | Oorvel | Advanced Data Protection |
|---|---|---|
| Encryption | XChaCha20-Poly1305 | End-to-end encrypted in iCloud with Advanced Data Protection on; Apple does not hold the keys |
| Key derivation | Argon2id, 256 MiB per guess | Keys held by your trusted devices; recovered with a device passcode, a recovery contact or a recovery key |
| Cloud | None. No server exists. | Photos stored in iCloud; Shared Albums are not end-to-end encrypted |
| Account | None | Your Apple Account |
| Analytics and tracking | None. Privacy label: Data Not Collected | Governed by Apple's privacy policy |
| Open source | Yes, GPL-3.0 | No |
| Price | $14.99, once | Free with iCloud; 5 GB included, more needs an iCloud+ plan |
| Backup and new phone | Sealed export, phone-to-phone transfer, restore proof | iCloud itself; Apple cannot help recover data if you lose access |
Encryption: both strong, in different places
Advanced Data Protection is real end-to-end encryption. With it on, Apple says your trusted devices hold the keys for iCloud Photos, and Apple does not. That closes the biggest gap in standard iCloud, where Apple holds the keys and could be asked for them.
Oorvel encrypts each file on your iPhone with XChaCha20-Poly1305 before it is stored, under a key made from six words with Argon2id at 256 MiB per guess. Nothing is uploaded, so there is no server copy to protect.
Cloud: protected copy against no copy
The difference is where your photos live. With Advanced Data Protection, they are in iCloud, encrypted, under your Apple Account, and reachable from every device signed in to it. Apple notes that Shared Albums are not end-to-end encrypted, and that some details about each photo stay under keys Apple holds.
Oorvel has no server and no network permission. Your vault is on your phone and in any sealed export you make yourself.
Unlock: your passcode against a separate secret
Your iPhone passcode is a recovery path for Advanced Data Protection, and it opens your phone and your Photos. Anyone who knows it, or watches you type it, gets both.
Oorvel opens with six words the app draws at random, worth 77.5 bits, that have nothing to do with your passcode or your Apple Account.
What Advanced Data Protection gets right
- It is free and built into iOS, so there is nothing to install or trust beyond Apple.
- It encrypts iCloud Photos end to end, so Apple itself cannot read them.
- Your photos survive a lost or broken phone, because they are in iCloud.
- It keeps photos in sync across your iPhone, iPad and Mac.
- Apple is upfront that it cannot recover your data once it is on, which is the honest price of real encryption.
Which one is for you
Choose Advanced Data Protection if you want your photos encrypted, backed up and on all your Apple devices, and your threat is a breach or a request to Apple. Turn it on either way; it costs nothing.
Choose Oorvel if you want certain photos and files off the internet entirely, behind a secret separate from your passcode, and you accept that if you lose the six words and your sealed export, nobody can bring them back.
Pick neither if
If your photos are private only from casual browsing, turning on Advanced Data Protection and keeping the Hidden album locked may be all you need. A vault adds a second secret to remember, and with Oorvel, losing it is final.
Frequently asked
- Does Advanced Data Protection encrypt iCloud Photos?
- Yes. With Advanced Data Protection on, iCloud Photos are end-to-end encrypted, and the keys stay on your trusted devices. With standard protection, Apple holds the keys.
- Is anything in Photos left out of Advanced Data Protection?
- Yes. Apple says Shared Albums are not end-to-end encrypted, and some details about each photo, such as dates and whether it is hidden, stay encrypted with keys Apple holds.
- Can Apple recover my photos if I lose access with Advanced Data Protection on?
- No. Apple says it will not have the keys to help. Recovery is through your device passcode, a recovery contact or a recovery key.
- Why use a vault if Advanced Data Protection exists?
- Advanced Data Protection protects photos in iCloud. A vault like Oorvel keeps them off iCloud entirely, behind a secret that is not your passcode or your Apple Account.