Encryption protects your files while the vault is locked. The settings and behaviours in this guide decide how quickly it locks, what someone sees if they pick up your phone, and how hard it is to guess your way in.
Choose When the Vault Locks
Auto-Lock locks the vault the moment you leave the app. That's the default, and the safest choice. If you often switch away and come straight back, choose 30 seconds instead.
Keep the Vault Covered
- Whenever the app is in the background, a cover hides it, including in the app switcher.
- On Android, screenshots, screen recordings and casting of the app show black.
- On iPhone, iOS doesn't let apps block screenshots. HypaVault covers itself in the app switcher and while the screen is recorded or mirrored.
Slow Down Anyone Guessing
Each vault opens with a 6-digit passcode, and weak codes, like runs (123456) and repeats (111111), are refused when you choose one. Wrong guesses are slowed down too:
- After 5 wrong tries, the lock screen waits 30 seconds.
- Each further miss doubles the wait.
- The wait stops growing at 1 hour.
Your passcode is also combined with a device key kept in your phone's secure storage. That key isn't in iCloud, computer or Google backups, so a copy of the vault's files isn't enough to start guessing. For the exact settings and the standards behind them, see how HypaVault protects your files.
Recovery phrase tries are limited the same way, so the 12 words can't be guessed quickly either.
Keep Secrets Out of Sight
Seed phrase words show only while you press and hold, then hide again, and anything you copy clears from the clipboard after 60 seconds.
Know What It Can't Protect
- Copies you take out. Sharing a file out of the vault hands over a decrypted copy, and imported photos stay in your gallery until you delete them there.
- A compromised phone. Malware, or someone watching while the vault is open, can see what you see.
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About the Author
Siddharth Pereira · Co-Founder, Product
Siddharth Pereira co-founded the company behind HypaVault and runs its product roadmap. He has spent more than 18 years building digital products, with a focus on product strategy and product management. Here he writes about how phone privacy works in practice: encryption, backups and the settings that matter.
Next: Guide 6 of 11 · Staying Private
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