Guides

How to Backup Your Vault Photos Without iCloud (iPhone Guide)

Mehmet Ali Kısacık · Developer of Secure Folder · July 24, 2026 · 3 min read

Updated October 2, 2026

Backup vault photos without iCloud by selecting the items in your vault, tapping Share, then saving the copies to Files or AirDropping them to a Mac. From there, move the copies to a computer or external drive so they live outside the vault.

External drive connected to a laptop for an iPhone guide to backing up vault photos.
Photo by Budget Bizar on Pexels
In this article

Why you need to export a separate copy

Secure Folder: Privacy Vault keeps imported photos, videos and files in its own gallery on your iPhone. Nothing is uploaded, and Secure Folder does not use iCloud. To keep another copy outside the vault, export the items you want.

Apple's Hidden album is a Photos feature, while a separate vault is a different setup. If you are deciding between the two, see how iCloud Photos and a separate vault differ.3

If you are avoiding iCloud because of account security, use the iCloud Photos security checklist for that separate job.

Export photos and videos from the vault

  1. 1.

    Open the folder

    Open the vault and go to the folder that contains the photos or videos you want to copy.

  2. 2.

    Select the items

    Tap the three-dot menu, choose Select, then pick the photos or videos you want to export.

  3. 3.

    Open Share

    Tap Share to open the iPhone share sheet for the selected items.

  4. 4.

    Choose the destination

    Choose Save to Files if you want the copies in Files, or AirDrop if you want to send them to a nearby Mac.1,2

Put the copy on a Mac or external drive

If you use AirDrop, send the exported files to your Mac and save them in a folder you can find later. Apple documents AirDrop for sending photos, videos, documents and other items between nearby Apple devices, including your own.2

If you use Files, move the exported copies to a connected external drive rather than leaving the only extra copy on the same iPhone. Apple's Files guide documents Copy and Move for files and folders, and the iPhone User Guide documents exporting photos and videos to connected external storage.1,4

After the copies reach the Mac or drive, open a few of them and confirm they are readable before you delete or reorganize anything in the vault.

Move vault photos to a new iPhone

To move vault content to a new iPhone, export the photos, videos or files with Share, transfer those ordinary copies to the new iPhone, then import them into the vault there.

AirDrop is one option for moving the exported copies between nearby Apple devices.2

For reset and restore behavior, see what happens to hidden photos after an iPhone reset.

Sources

  1. 1.Apple, “Files basics,” support.apple.com
  2. 2.Apple, “Use AirDrop to send items to nearby Apple devices,” support.apple.com
  3. 3.Apple, “Hide photos on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Vision Pro with the Hidden album,” support.apple.com
  4. 4.Apple, “Import and export photos and videos on iPhone,” support.apple.com

Hide private photos in a PIN-protected vault.

Secure Folder is free to download on the App Store, and your photos and videos stay on your iPhone.

Get Secure Folder →

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