HushkeeperSecret Photo Album vs Hushkeeper
Secret Photo Album – SA by BPMobile combines a PIN-locked album with a decoy PIN, intruder reports, a private browser and cloud sync. Here's how it compares with Hushkeeper, which needs no account and doesn't track you.
Updated
Short answer. Secret Photo Album has the popular vault features (decoy PIN, intruder photos, cloud backup) and a big install base. Its privacy label is the heaviest of the vault apps we've compared: purchases, location, identifiers, usage data and more are declared as used to track you, and cloud restore needs an email. Hushkeeper has no account, no tracking and a free encrypted backup in your own iCloud.
Facts about Secret Photo Album come from its US App Store listing as of November 2026.
At a glance
| Secret Photo Album – SA | Hushkeeper | |
|---|---|---|
| App Store rating | 4.6 from about 39K ratings | Launching soon on the App Store |
| Developer | BPMobile | Hushkeeper |
| Encryption | "Encrypted, PIN-protected storage"; algorithm not named | AES-256-GCM on the device; method published |
| Unlock | PIN, Touch ID, Face ID; locks after 3 wrong PINs | 5×5 pattern (PBKDF2, 600,000 iterations) |
| Decoy access | Decoy PIN | Unlimited hidden vaults that can't be counted; duress pattern (Pro) |
| Break-in alerts | Security reports with intruder photos | Not offered |
| Cloud backup | "Secure cloud backup"; unlimited storage in Premium; whose cloud not stated | Encrypted iCloud backup, free and on by default; daily versions kept 30 days |
| Account or email | Email registration needed for cloud sync and restore | None needed |
| Forgot your code | Not stated on the listing | Recovery phrase (yours to keep) |
| Ads | Not stated; privacy label lists advertising data; browser has an ad blocker | No ads in any tier |
| Tracking (privacy label) | Purchases, location, identifiers, usage data, diagnostics, other data | No tracking, no account |
| Disguise | Not stated on the listing | Calculator, Notes, Weather or Clock icon (Pro) |
| Sharing | Not stated on the listing | Separate encrypted vault with expiry, open limit, export block (Pro) |
| Price | Free; ten in-app purchases from $1.99 to $51.99 | Free tier; Pro $1.49/week, $4.99/month, $16.99/year or $34.99 once |
| Languages | 12 | 5 |
"Not stated on the listing" means the App Store page doesn't say; it doesn't mean the app lacks the feature. Privacy labels are declared by each developer.
Privacy label: the biggest difference
Apple's privacy labels are declared by the developer. Secret Photo Album's label lists purchases, location, identifiers, usage data, diagnostics and other data as used to track you, and adds user content such as photos and videos (for example in support requests) among data linked to you. For an app whose job is privacy, that's worth reading before you install. Hushkeeper has no ads, no tracking and no account to link anything to.
Cloud backup and your email
To use cloud sync and restore, Secret Photo Album asks you to register an email, and unlimited storage is part of Premium. The listing doesn't say whose servers hold the backup. Hushkeeper's backup goes to your own private iCloud, is free, and only contains ciphertext, so there's no account and no email involved.
Decoy PIN and intruder photos
A decoy PIN and photos of intruders are two features many people look for. Hushkeeper doesn't take intruder photos. Instead it lets every pattern open its own vault with no list to reveal, and Pro adds a duress pattern that clears the other vaults from the device.
Price
Secret Photo Album lists ten in-app purchases between $1.99 and $51.99, mostly without billing periods. Hushkeeper's prices are simple: a free tier, Pro from $1.49 a week, $16.99 a year or $34.99 once.
When Secret Photo Album is the better choice
- You want intruder photos and a decoy PIN in one app.
- You want a private browser with an ad blocker built in.
- You need its additional languages.
When Hushkeeper is the better choice
- You don't want a vault app that declares tracking data.
- You don't want to register an email to back up.
- You want published encryption and a free encrypted iCloud backup.
- You want simple, clearly labelled pricing.
Before you switch vaults
Whichever app you pick, move files across while the old vault still opens, check every album on the new side, then delete the originals and empty Recently Deleted. Our guide to moving a photo vault without losing anything covers the order, and the best private photo vault apps for iPhone roundup compares the bigger names side by side.
Sources
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