Local-only or cloud-backup vault?
The short answer
If your biggest fear is losing the phone, you want a copy off the phone, and an encrypted cloud backup is a reasonable one. If your biggest fear is that a copy exists somewhere you do not control, you want no cloud at all. StrongRoom chose the second, and says so.
What cloud backup protects against
A lost, broken or stolen phone. A new-phone upgrade done in a hurry. Forgetting to make a copy. Many people lose photos far more often than they are targeted by anyone, so this is a real benefit and not a small one.
What it costs
There is now a second copy off your device, tied to an account, held by a company and reachable with legal process or by anyone who gets into that account. It must be restored with a credential, which creates its own recovery questions. If a vault offers a duress wipe, a cloud copy can undo it. Any sync feature has a surface that fails: restore bugs, merge conflicts, storage-full errors.
What local-only protects against
There is no off-device copy to subpoena, hack, restore against your wishes or leak metadata from. Nothing needs an account. A Duress wipe is final.
What it costs
If you lose the phone and have no copy, the data is gone. Nobody can recover it for you. You have to make your own copy and keep it somewhere safe.
Side by side
| Cloud-backup vault | Local-only vault (StrongRoom) | |
|---|---|---|
| Lost phone | Restore from backup | Restore only from an Export Package |
| Off-device copy | Yes, encrypted | None unless you make one |
| Account needed | Often a cloud sign-in | None |
| Second device | Possible | Not possible |
| Duress wipe | Can be undone from backup | Final |
| Who can be compelled | Account holder and provider | You, for your files |
| Effort | Low | You make the copy |
A middle path: the Export Package
StrongRoom lets you make an encrypted file of a whole Vault and keep it where you choose, even in a cloud account of your own. It is unreadable without the Recovery Phrase. You get the safety of a copy without a copy that the app itself manages.
Which one is for you
Choose cloud backup if you value never losing photos and trust your cloud account. Choose local-only if you value having no off-device copy and are willing to make your own Export Package (an encrypted file you save yourself, not an automatic backup).
Frequently asked questions
Does StrongRoom back up to iCloud?
No.
Is a cloud backup unsafe?
Not necessarily. It is a different trade-off, listed above.
Can I still have a copy?
Yes, an Export Package you keep yourself.
What if I lose my phone?
Restore from the Export Package with the Recovery Phrase.
Which is more private?
Local-only leaves no off-device copy; cloud backup leaves an encrypted one.