Every feature explained

1 Setting up the vault

The very first time you launch the app, a short introduction walks you through the essentials. Then you set up your vault:

1. Choose a password. It's the key to your vault.
2. Optional: enable Face ID / Touch ID for convenient unlocking.
3. Write down the recovery code that's shown, and keep it somewhere safe.

2 Unlocking & security

Every time you launch the app (and after locking it), the vault is locked. You unlock it with Face ID / Touch ID or your password.

PIN as a convenience lock

You can also set a PIN in the settings. It's a quick convenience lock for everyday use – the actual encryption still depends on your password/biometrics.

Recovery code

If you forget your password, you can reopen the vault with the recovery code. Without either of the two, there is no way in.

Locking

The lock icon lets you lock the vault instantly at any time. When the app moves to the background, a privacy screen also covers it automatically.

3 Home screen & overview

After unlocking, you land on the Overview screen – the entry point to your vault. At the top you'll see the date and time in your chosen app language, along with a personal greeting.

Personal greeting

Under Appearance → Greeting name in the settings, you can enter your name; the overview then greets you depending on the time of day, e.g. "Good evening, Kai". Leave the field empty to skip the name.

The tiles

Large tiles take you straight to each area: Photos, Albums, Documents, Audio, Contacts, Search/Favorites, and the security of your credentials. A subtle slideshow of your photos plays in the background.

Upcoming birthdays Pro

If one of your contacts has a birthday coming up within the next 14 days, the Contacts tile shows it as a small pill in the top right: name and days remaining. That way you never miss one. This display is a Pro feature and can be turned off in settings under Appearance.

4 Adding media & camera

There are several ways to bring content into the vault:

• From the Photos library: use the + in the header to select photos/videos (including Live Photos).
• From Files: Menu → Add → Import from Files (iCloud Drive, Downloads, …).
• Camera: use the built-in camera to capture directly into the vault – no detour through the Photos app.
• Scan a document: Menu → Add → Scan document turns several pages into a single PDF (with edge detection).
• Import shared items: read in content securely transferred from another device via a code.

The camera

At the bottom you switch capture mode: Photo, Live Pro (a Live Photo with a short moment of motion), and Video. The shutter button stays fixed in place; the mode selector and controls rotate as you tilt the device.

Captures are always saved upright – no matter how you're holding the iPhone. Photos and videos shot in landscape land the right way up in the vault, just like with Apple's Camera app.

5 Managing originals

Removing originals from the Photos app

After importing from the library, the app asks whether the originals in the Photos app should be removed. You choose per image which ones get deleted and which stay in the library. Deleted originals stay in the Photos app's "Recently Deleted" album for 30 days and can be restored from there.

Saving back to the Photos app

Conversely, you can put content from the vault back into the library: in the detail view via More → Save to Photos, or several items at once via the selection bar. The original capture date is preserved.

PDFs can't be saved back to the Photos app; Live Photos are saved as a still image.

6 Organizing: albums & keywords

Albums & sub-albums

Create albums via Add → New album. Albums can contain sub-albums – open an album and create another one inside it. This lets you build any structure you like.

Cover image & mosaic

You can set a custom cover image for each album from its contents (otherwise the newest item is shown automatically). Parent albums that only contain sub-albums automatically show a 2×2 mosaic of their sub-albums' cover images as their tile – so you can see what's inside at a glance.

Album menu

Inside an open album, the menu lists actions as an icon row: rename, slideshow, sort order, share, plus hide, cover image, and delete. Use Show in Photos to also display the album's contents in the Photos tab.

Moving items

Select items (selection mode) and move them into an album via the menu. In the picker, "New album" sits right at the top; your albums appear below it, with sub-albums indented under their parent album – so you hit the right target even in nested structures.

Favorites & keywords

Mark items as a favorite (heart) and assign keywords Pro. You can assign keywords one at a time or add them to several items at once (batch) via the selection bar.

7 Hidden albums Pro

You can hide particularly sensitive albums: they then disappear, contents and all, from the gallery and the "All" view. If you hide an album, all of its sub-albums automatically count as hidden too.

A small eye icon on the album tile shows that an album is hidden – visible only once you've revealed hidden albums.

To reveal them, you confirm your identity; after that you can see hidden albums normally again and unhide them if you want.

8 Finding: search, sorting, filters

• Search: Pull the view down to search for albums or media (including by keyword) – across all levels.
• Sorting: Menu → View → Sort order (e.g. newest/oldest first, by capture date).
• Filter: Menu → View → Filter shows only photos, videos, documents, or favorites.
• Group by date: groups media by month instead of an endless grid.

9 Viewing & editing

Tap an item to open it in the detail view. There you can zoom, browse, and access further actions via the More menu:

• Add a note and view info (format, size, capture date, location if available).
• Edit image: rotate, flip, and crop – save as a new copy or replace the original.
• Trim video: set the start and end point on the timeline (also operable via VoiceOver) and save as a copy or a replacement.

Slideshow Pro

Start a slideshow with a gentle zoom/pan motion (Ken Burns effect). You set the duration per image and random order in the settings. Tapping the image or swiping left to right ends the slideshow.

10 Documents, notes & scans

The Documents tab brings together everything that isn't a photo or video – split into Notes, Files, and PDFs.

Notes Pro

Write notes directly into the vault: password hints, serial numbers, anything that shouldn't sit in a regular notes app. Notes stay encrypted at all times and are only decrypted in memory for reading – never stored as a file.

Scanning documents Pro

Via Add → Scan document you capture several pages in a row. The app detects the edges automatically and corrects the perspective; the result is a single PDF.

While scanning, the app also reads the text on the page and suggests a title from it – usually the document's heading. The recognized text also makes the scan searchable: you can find an invoice later by a word inside it, without opening it. Text recognition follows your chosen app language and runs entirely on the device.

Files Pro

Any file can be imported from the Files app. The app opens Office documents via the iOS preview; the file is briefly decrypted for that and removed again immediately afterward.

11 Voice recordings & transcription

In the Audio tab you record voice memos directly into the vault. While recording you see a waveform, then duration and date in the list.

Managing several at once

Use Select in the header to mark several recordings and move them into an album or delete them together.

Trimming Pro

Open a recording and trim it down to the relevant part using the timeline – you set the start and end yourself. Save the result as a new recording or replace the original.

Convert to text Pro

Every recording can be converted to text. Open the recording and tap Transcribe. Recognition runs entirely on the device – no audio data is sent anywhere. You can edit and copy the result, and find it again via search.

The app inserts paragraph breaks at pauses in speech; you set how long a pause needs to be for that yourself. You choose the recognition language per recording – the languages offered are the ones installed on your iPhone.

Converting to text is an optional feature. Transcripts you've already created always remain readable and editable.

12 Contacts

In the Contacts tab you keep addresses that shouldn't be in your regular address book – encrypted like everything else in the vault.

Import or create new

You can bring in contacts from your iPhone's address book – choosing exactly which ones. The app doesn't read any other contacts. You can just as easily create new contacts directly in the vault.

Fields

The same fields as in Apple's Contacts are supported: prefix, title, first and last name, birth name, nickname, company and department, multiple phone numbers and email addresses with type, addresses, websites, messenger services, social profiles, related people, plus birthday and other date fields. The birthday is displayed in the contact using your app language.

Sorting

Above the list you choose the sort order: by first name, last name, or days until birthday (the next upcoming one first).

Birthdays in the list Pro

If a contact has an upcoming birthday, the list shows it on the right as an orange pill with the days remaining. This display is a Pro feature and can be turned on or off in settings under Appearance → Show birthdays in the contact list.

Take action directly

From within a contact you can call, write a message or email, open the address in the Maps app, or start a WhatsApp chat if it's installed.

13 Passwords & AutoFill

The Passwords tab keeps your credentials: title, username, password, website address, note, and custom fields. Known services automatically get a brand icon in the right color – with no network requests at all: no web favicon is ever loaded (that would reveal which services you have saved). Unknown services get a colored tile with an initial letter instead.

Generating passwords

When creating an entry, the app can generate a password for you on request – either random (length and character types configurable) or memorable, built from real words, e.g. calm-salty-House-Keeper. A bar shows the strength.

Verification codes (two-factor)

You can store a one-time code key for any entry – by scanning a QR code or entering it as text. The app then shows the current six-digit code along with the time remaining.

Filling in Safari and apps

For MyMediaVault to offer suggestions when you sign in, enable it once under Settings → General → AutoFill & Passwords and select MyMediaVault there.

After that, it appears above the keyboard as soon as you tap a login field. Every access requires Face ID or Touch ID – even if the app itself is currently closed. Only the single entry you choose is ever handed over.

New credentials while signing up

When creating an account on a website, choose Generate new in the same view: you set the length or word count, optionally enter a username – or type your own password. The credential is inserted into the form and moves into the vault automatically the next time you unlock the app.

14 Trash & duplicates

Trash

Deleted items move to the Trash and can be restored from there. You set the retention period in the settings (7, 30, or 90 days); after that they're permanently removed. Alongside the item count, the Trash row also shows the storage space used, so you can see how much emptying it will free up.

Find duplicates Pro

Under Settings → Maintenance → Find duplicates, the app tracks down byte-identical copies in your library and moves all but one copy per group to the Trash (recoverable).

Check integrity

Also under Maintenance: integrity check makes sure every encrypted file can be decrypted without errors, catching silent corruption.

15 Sharing & export

• Export / Share: pass content on via the system share sheet (e.g. AirDrop).
• Save to Photos: back into the library (see section 5).
• Share encrypted (code): transfer content securely to another device – the recipient needs the code to import it.

16 Backup & restore

Under Settings → Backup you create an encrypted backup of your entire vault as a file, which you store somewhere safe (e.g. in Files/iCloud Drive or on other storage).

If you lose your device or switch to a new one, you restore the backup and regain access to all your content with your credentials. Without a backup and without your password/recovery code, there is no way back.

When restoring, you can also just add content – items that already exist and are identical won't be imported twice.

17 Settings

In the Settings area (menu) you'll find, among other things:

Settings are organized into sections; at the top there's a search field if you want to jump straight to an option.

• Security & access: change password, PIN, biometrics, recovery code, auto-lock, wipe after ten failed attempts.
• Appearance: language (German, English, French, Spanish, or System), greeting name for the home screen, show birthdays in the contact list Pro, app icon Pro, haptics.
• Capture & media: default camera mode, import behavior, slideshow – and audio transcription Pro with a display of which recognition method is currently running.
• Privacy: remove metadata when sharing, watermark Pro, show hidden albums.
• AutoFill: enablement status, appearance of the AutoFill view (light, dark, or match system), suggestions above the keyboard.
• Smart search Pro: turn on-device analysis on or off.
• Data & storage: trash retention (7/30/90 days), backup, check integrity, find duplicates.

18 Security & privacy

MyMediaVault is built for maximum privacy:

• All content is encrypted with AES-256 and stored exclusively locally on the device – photos and videos as well as documents, notes, contacts, voice recordings, and credentials.
• The app works entirely offline – no network, no cloud, no analytics, no ads, no tracking. Even the credential brand icons work without any network access.
• No data is collected or transmitted, and there is no user account.
• Face ID / Touch ID are managed by the operating system; the app never gets access to your biometric data.
• Plaintext is never stored permanently on disk – content is only decrypted in memory when needed.
• Contacts are only imported when you select them individually. The app doesn't read any other entries in your address book.
• Speech recognition explicitly runs on the device; no audio data is sent to Apple or to us.
• AutoFill only hands over a credential after a successful Face ID or Touch ID check – and always only the one you select.
• Location is only attached to a recording at your explicit request, and stays encrypted on the device.
• The vault is excluded from iCloud backup – for backups, you create your own encrypted backup.

Details in the Privacy Policy.