Questions, answered.

A private vault for photos, videos and documents on iPhone. Files are encrypted on your device and open only with a pattern or passphrase you choose. There is no account and no Cipher server holding your vault.

Not yet. It is in final testing and has no App Store listing, so this site links to none. When it is released, the download button here will go to the official page.

Each file is encrypted with AES-256-GCM before it is stored. The keys are protected by your pattern or passphrase together with a key tied to your iPhone, which uses the Secure Enclave on devices that have one. See the security page for the details and for what this does not protect against.

Cipher does not need an account or a server to work, and the app does not upload the contents of your vaults to a Cipher server. Your vaults stay on your iPhone unless you choose to export a file or save a backup file yourself.

No. There is no sign-up and no login. You create a vault on your iPhone and choose how to unlock it.

Yes. Each vault has its own pattern or passphrase and opens directly from that credential. There is no list of vaults and no master password, so the lock screen does not show how many vaults exist.

When you create a vault, Cipher shows twelve words once. They are the only way to regain access if you forget your unlock or move to a new iPhone, because nobody at Cipher can reset it for you. Keep the words somewhere safe and separate from your phone.

The recovery phrase is a key. It does not contain your files. A backup file contains your encrypted files. To restore a vault on another device you need both the backup file and the phrase that vault had when the backup was made.

Your vault data is encrypted, so a lost locked phone does not hand over readable files by itself. To get your files back on a new iPhone you need a backup file you saved earlier plus the matching twelve words. Without a backup file, a recovery phrase alone cannot bring the files back.

Not at launch. Cipher can create an encrypted backup file for one vault that you save through the Files app, including to a place you choose such as iCloud Drive. Cipher does not run an automatic cloud backup or sync.

Optionally, for one vault that you designate. It is off by default. Face ID is a convenience for opening that vault; your pattern or passphrase and your recovery phrase remain the underlying credentials.

Cipher is free to download, and you can try the interactive demonstration without an account. There is no permanent free tier: after an optional seven-day trial, normal use needs Lifetime Pro, a one-time purchase. Your files are never deleted if you do not buy, and you can export them without paying.

Nothing is deleted. Your files stay encrypted on your iPhone but are locked: you cannot view, play, share or add files, or create vaults, until you unlock Lifetime Pro. You can always export your files without paying; an exported copy is no longer protected by Cipher. This describes how Cipher is designed to behave; it is pre-release.

It is a free in-app purchase that you confirm yourself, using the kind of trial Apple provides for apps that are not subscriptions. It costs nothing, lasts seven days from when Apple records it, and never charges or turns into a purchase automatically. It needs an Apple Account, can be used once per Apple Account, and is not available until Cipher is on the App Store.

Lifetime Pro is one payment with no subscription, at an intended UK price of £34.99, not final until confirmed in the App Store. Prices vary by country. Purchases are made in the app through Apple, never on this website. Pro removes the limits Cipher sets; it does not add cloud storage, and your iPhone’s storage still applies.

No. Cipher’s design has been reviewed internally and extensively tested, but no independent security audit has taken place. This site will say so plainly if that changes.

No, and nothing honestly is. Cipher uses standard, well-reviewed encryption, but it cannot protect a phone that is already unlocked or compromised, a recovery phrase someone else has seen, or a file you have exported out of the vault.