If I delete a photo vault app, do I lose my photos?

By The StrongRoom team · Published 2026-10-30 · Updated 2026-10-30 · Last verified on iOS 26.x on 2026-10-30

Usually yes, for the photos kept inside the vault. A vault app stores its files in the app's own private storage, and deleting the app removes that storage. Photos you left in your Photos library are not part of the vault, so they stay. Before you delete StrongRoom, make an Export Package of every Vault you want to keep.

Why

A vault app is not a folder in your Photos library. Whatever you add to it is copied into space that belongs to the app, and iOS removes that space with the app. StrongRoom is built this way on purpose: it keeps no copy in iCloud, and its data is excluded from iCloud and computer backups, so there is nothing for a restore to bring back. Photos that you imported and then chose to delete from your library exist only in the Vault. If you deleted them from Photos with iCloud Photos on, Apple says they are deleted everywhere you use iCloud Photos, and you can recover them from Recently Deleted for 30 days.

What to do

1. Open each Vault you want to keep and check what is in it.
2. Write down the Recovery Phrase for each Vault. You need it to open the Export Package later.
3. Make an Export Package for each Vault and save it somewhere you control, such as Files or another device.
4. Test it if you can: restore it into StrongRoom on another iPhone, or after reinstalling.
5. Only then delete the app.

If you reinstall without an Export Package, the old Vault does not come back, even with the Recovery Phrase, because the Recovery Phrase on its own opens nothing.

What this does not cover

This is about StrongRoom; other vault apps may store files differently, so check what each one says before you delete it. See also what StrongRoom cannot do.

• what StrongRoom cannot do

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Set up and use iCloud Photos (Apple Support), https://support.apple.com/en-us/108782, checked on 2026-10-30.