Photo Lock Turns Your iPhone into a Private Vault

Everything has changed. Our pictures now belong to the digital realm, where they’re liable to teleport from place to place and show up where you don’t expect them. They move through the world like wayward pets, going wherever they like and taking your secrets with them.

Ever been flicking through your gallery to discover that a gross picture you received over WhatsApp is now nestled among your treasured memories? Ever taken a mildly embarrassing private snap only to see it blown up in 4K via your Chromecast?

It’s unsettling to say the least.

Fortunately, there’s a simple solution at hand. Photo Lock, from developer AlgoTwist, is a neat, user-friendly app that enables you to avoid these minor inconveniences and countless other much more serious violations of your privacy, dignity, and security besides.

Features include a secure access folder, unlockable with a pattern, passcode, Touch ID, or Face ID, along with the ability to lock albums with a password. Plus, there’s a private browser that lets you download images directly into a locked private album.

Photo Lock offers break-in alerts, too, along with a decoy gallery and misleading app icons to throw snoops off the scent. Basically, it’s like having James Bond’s phone.

But it’s also just a really handy way to organize your photos. Photo Lock lets you arrange your media into multiple albums with custom covers using an interface that’s easy and intuitive to use.

These can be photos you’ve imported from your gallery or taken directly within the app, meaning there are pretty much no extra steps involved if you don’t want there to be.

However, Photo Lock also offers an advanced, subscription-based security level that gives you a host of premium privacy features. The pricing for premium subscription in the app is $7.99 a month with a 7-day free trial, and also $29.99 a year.

You can download the base Photo Lock app for free on the App Store. And the app has an official site where you can learn more about it here.