Secure Folder
On the App Store since 2025
It needs no account, and the app never uploads your photos. Free to download, with no ads.
Calculator app to hide photos on iPhone: four options compared
Mehmet Ali Kısacık · Developer of Secure Folder · · Updated
A calculator app to hide photos looks and works like a normal calculator until you enter a code, and then it opens a private gallery. Three of the apps below work that way. The fourth is ours, and you never type your code into a calculator.
The short version
Calculator# has the most ratings and was updated in July. It has no decoy vault on iPhone, though.
Locxafe has a decoy PIN, but it keeps your photos in the developer's cloud and needs an account.
Calculator Lock works the classic way: type your code, then =. It hasn't been updated since December 2024.
Secure Folder: Privacy Vault is ours. It's free, needs no account, and its calculator really does the math. Premium, the optional paid upgrade, adds a decoy vault and Break-in Alerts.
We picked Calculator# and Calculator Lock because they're the iPhone apps Google ranks highest for this search. Locxafe is here for its decoy PIN, which neither of the top two has. Facts on the other three come from their own listings, reviews, websites and privacy policies; ours come from our source code and App Store listing.
Side by side
Where photos live Secure Folder: On device, no cloud sync Calculator#: Device, cloud optional Calculator Lock: Device, cloud optional Locxafe: Developer's cloud
- Secure Folder
- There's no cloud sync, and nothing is uploaded. The vault stays on your iPhone.
- Calculator#
- Files stay on your iPhone, and you can back them up to your own iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive account.
- Calculator Lock
- Files stay on your iPhone, and the listing warns that you'll lose them for good if you delete the app. Backup to iCloud or Google Drive is optional and needs a paid plan.
- Locxafe
- In the developer's cloud: its privacy policy names Google's Firebase Cloud Storage. The listing says photos are "always backed up", and the privacy label lists photos and videos as data linked to you.
Account required Secure Folder: No Calculator#: No Calculator Lock: No Locxafe: Yes
- Secure Folder
- No account, email or sign-up. The PIN stays on the iPhone.
- Calculator#
- You set a calculator code or PIN and can optionally add an email address for password recovery. Some mid-2026 reviews mention a new sign-in screen; I couldn't confirm whether it's required.
- Calculator Lock
- No sign-up. You set a calculator password and a security question, and the privacy label lists no contact details.
- Locxafe
- Yes. Resetting the PIN asks for your account password, and the privacy label lists your email address as data linked to you.
Decoy vault (fake PIN) Secure Folder: Yes Calculator#: No Calculator Lock: No Locxafe: Yes
- Secure Folder
- A decoy vault is available.
- Calculator#
- Not on iPhone. The iPhone version only has a fake crash message; the decoy login is in the Android version.
- Calculator Lock
- No. It isn't in the listing's feature list or version history, and a 2025 review asks for one.
- Locxafe
- A decoy PIN opens a dummy gallery you can show someone else.
Intruder photo Secure Folder: Yes Calculator#: Yes Calculator Lock: Yes Locxafe: Yes
- Secure Folder
- With Break-in Alerts turned on and camera access allowed, Secure Folder takes a front-camera photo after each wrong PIN, starting with the third attempt by default. You can change that number to anything from one to ten.
- Calculator#
- Its Hack Monitor shows who tried a wrong password, and the developer's own walkthrough video shows it taking their photo.
- Calculator Lock
- It takes a selfie of anyone who enters a wrong password.
- Locxafe
- The listing says it takes a secret selfie of anyone who tries to open the app without permission.
Disguise Secure Folder: Calculator icon + working calculator Calculator#: Working calculator Calculator Lock: Working calculator Locxafe: Working calculator
- Secure Folder
- A calculator icon on the home screen and a working calculator as the lock screen: it really calculates, and the gear at the top right opens the PIN pad.
- Calculator#
- It opens as a calculator, and typing your secret code opens the vault. One reviewer says the calculator "works just fine".
- Calculator Lock
- It opens as a calculator. To get in, you type your password and press =.
- Locxafe
- Off by default. Since January 2026 you can switch it on, and the app then opens as a calculator that does real math. You type your 6-digit PIN and press = to get in.
Price Secure Folder: Free + optional Premium upgrade Calculator#: Free, ads + subscription Calculator Lock: Free, ads + subscription or one-time Locxafe: Free, ads + subscription
- Secure Folder
- Free to download, with no ads. The decoy vault and Break-in Alerts come with Premium, the optional paid upgrade.
- Calculator#
- Free with ads and limits. $4.99 a year removes the ads and unlocks the full app, and there's also a $4.99 Premium Features Pack.
- Calculator Lock
- Free with ads, or $3.99 to remove them. Pro is $1.99 a week, $14.99 a year or $29.99 once, and cloud backup is a separate $4.99 subscription.
- Locxafe
- Free to download, with ads. Paid plans are subscriptions only, from $2.99 a week to $99.99 a year; there's no one-time purchase.
On the App Store since Secure Folder: 2025 Calculator#: 2016 Calculator Lock: 2023 Locxafe: 2023
- Secure Folder
- First released December 4, 2025. Last updated September 10, 2026.
- Calculator#
- First released November 24, 2016. Last updated July 29, 2026.
- Calculator Lock
- First released May 2, 2023. Last updated December 20, 2024.
- Locxafe
- First released April 10, 2023. Last updated August 12, 2026.
Competitor details checked against public sources in September 2026.
The four apps
Calculator#
On the App Store since 2016
Backs up to your own iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive. Free with ads; the full version is $4.99 a year, and there's also a $4.99 Premium Features Pack.
Calculator Lock
On the App Store since 2023
Free with ads. Pro is $1.99 a week, $14.99 a year or $29.99 once. Cloud backup needs a paid plan.
Locxafe
On the App Store since 2023
Paid plans are subscriptions only, from $2.99 a week up to $99.99 a year. The calculator screen is a setting you switch on.
Common questions
How do you get into the hidden gallery?
In Calculator Lock, enter your code and press =. Locxafe works the same way when its calculator mode is on. Calculator# opens once you type your secret code into its calculator. Secure Folder's calculator works differently: you don't type your code into it. Tap the gear at the top right and enter your PIN on the pad that opens. If you use Face ID, it works there too.
Is a calculator app to hide photos safe?
It depends on the app: check where it keeps your photos, whether it needs an account, and what its App Store privacy label says. Calculator# lists Contact Info under "Data Used to Track You", and Calculator Lock lists Identifiers there. Locxafe has nothing in that section, but lists Photos or Videos, Email Address and more under "Data Linked to You". Ours lists nothing under "Data Used to Track You" or "Data Linked to You".
Which of these apps has a decoy PIN?
Locxafe has a decoy PIN. Calculator# and Calculator Lock don't list one on iPhone. Secure Folder has a decoy vault that opens with a second PIN, available with Premium.
Sources
- Calculator# Hide Photos Videos, App Store listing (US), NewSoftwares product page and Google Play listing, checked September 23, 2026
- Calculator# App Store reviews, via justuseapp.com, checked September 23, 2026
- "Hack Attempt Feature in Calculator# - Vault", NewSoftwares' Folder Lock channel on YouTube, January 1, 2025
- Calculator Lock - Secure Vault, App Store listing (US), checked September 23, 2026
- Hidden Photos Vault: Locxafe, App Store listing (US) and Mappvate privacy policy, checked September 23, 2026
- Secure Folder: Privacy Vault, App Store listing (US) and app source (version 1.2.4), checked September 23, 2026
- Google search results for "calculator app to hide photos" (US, desktop), September 21, 2026