Sealed and Privault, side by side

Disclosure. Sealed is made by Loopware LLC. We read public pages only, and did not install Privault or contact its maker. Where it is ahead, this page says so.

How we compared them

Privault is sold by Binspir Technologies Co., Ltd. Its store record shows a first release on 3 January 2017 and its latest version, 10.2, on 28 February 2025 (store record). On 13 November 2026 we read its listing, its store page, its help page and its privacy policy. Prices are shown in US dollars and may vary by country.

Side by side

Where Privault is ahead

• A reset without a written key. If you have set up an email, the help page says a code sent there starts a passcode reset (help page). Without the recovery key the passcode can’t be reset, not by you and not by us, and the reset screen says so.
• A lower one-time price. Permanent Pro is $45.99 (store page). Sealed Pro Lifetime costs $79.99, paid once, with no subscription and nothing to renew.
• Much older iPhones. It asks for iOS 11 or later (store record). Sealed needs iOS 17.0 or later.
• Many video formats and a recorder. The listing names a player for about 150 media formats and a built-in voice recorder (listing). Voice memos record straight into the vault, and only while the recording screen is open.

What the email reset trades away

An email reset is easy to use, and that is its strength. It also means the passcode is not the only way in: the help page’s steps need the phone and a code from that inbox, nothing more (help page). If someone else can read your email, that matters.

Sealed makes the opposite trade. Anyone who has your recovery key and your iPhone or your iCloud backup can open your vault. Without the recovery key the passcode can’t be reset, not by you and not by us, and the reset screen says so. The key is the way back for a forgotten passcode and for a lost phone, because You can restore your vault on a new iPhone from your backup, with your recovery key. Keep it where the recovery key checklist says. For the move itself, read how to move a photo vault to a new iPhone.

An erase code is not the same as a duress code

Privault’s listing describes an erase-all passcode that removes every file (listing). Its help page names no cloud copy to restore from afterwards (help page).

Sealed’s duress code only works with a copy already safe elsewhere. Before a duress code can be turned on, Sealed needs a saved recovery key, a decoy vault with something in it, and an iCloud backup that it has just checked item by item. The duress code removes the vault from this iPhone only: it sends nothing to iCloud, your encrypted backup stays as it is, and Restore from iCloud brings everything back. It is also honest about its limits. Sealed says plainly that the duress code is not a forensic wipe, that anything not yet in iCloud is lost, and that anyone who can make you unlock with Face ID or Touch ID, or who knows your real passcode, still sees your real vault. Read how the duress code works before you turn one on.

Where Sealed helps, and where it doesn’t

It helps if you want a copy off the phone that is sealed before it leaves. Backup goes to your own iCloud account, not to a server of ours. Files, names, notes and record fields are encrypted on your iPhone before they are uploaded, so iCloud receives only ciphertext.

It helps if you want no ads and no ad tracking. Sealed has no ads and no tracking.

It helps if you want a second passcode with its own content. The decoy passcode opens a separate vault with its own content, and you fill it yourself: unlock with the decoy passcode and add items. The duress code is part of Sealed Pro. See how the decoy vault works.

It doesn’t reset a passcode by email. Without the recovery key the passcode can’t be reset, not by you and not by us, and the reset screen says so.

It doesn’t run on iPhones older than iOS 17. Sealed needs iOS 17.0 or later.

It doesn’t cost as little to own outright. Sealed Pro Lifetime costs $79.99, paid once, with no subscription and nothing to renew.