StrongRoom
Coming soon to iPhone
Menu

How to store important documents on iPhone securely

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

Scan the paper with StrongRoom's Scan a document, which saves the pages as one encrypted PDF in your Vault, or with the Files or Notes scanner and then import the file. Either way, keep the scan somewhere you control the key. iCloud Drive is convenient, but it is a copy held in an account. An encrypted vault keeps the scan encrypted on the phone and organised in folders. Whatever you pick, keep a second copy, because a lost phone takes a single copy with it.

What counts as important

Start by deciding what you are protecting. A rough list, from most to least damaging if it leaks:

  • Identity papers: passport, driving licence or ID card, birth and marriage certificates.
  • Account access: two-factor recovery codes and similar one-time keys.
  • Money papers: tax returns, payslips, bank letters, loan and mortgage documents.
  • Insurance policies, tenancy and property papers, contracts.
  • Medical letters, test results and prescriptions.

Not everything needs the same care. A gym receipt can sit in a normal folder. A passport scan is enough for someone to start an identity fraud attempt, so it deserves more than a camera-roll photo that also feeds Memories, shared albums and chat apps.

Four places compared

PlaceWhat it does wellWhat it does not do
Files and iCloud DriveEasy, searchable, on all your Apple devicesThe files sit in an account. With standard protection Apple holds the keys; Advanced Data Protection changes that for iCloud Drive, with exceptions. Anyone who has your passcode can open Files.
A locked noteQuick to lock; Face ID or Touch IDApple lists notes with PDFs, audio and video among those that cannot be locked, and a forgotten Notes password cannot be recovered by Apple.
A password managerGood for passwords, codes and short textBuilt for credentials, not for a folder of scans.
An encrypted vaultScans encrypted on the phone, folders, own credentialDoes nothing in the cloud, so it needs a second copy that you make yourself.

Files and iCloud Drive

Apple says that under standard data protection iCloud Drive is encrypted in transit and on the server, and Apple holds the keys. With Advanced Data Protection turned on, the keys live only on your trusted devices, and iCloud Drive is end-to-end encrypted. Apple notes exceptions: file metadata such as dates and sizes stays under standard protection, shared folders are end-to-end encrypted only when every participant has it turned on, and Pages, Numbers and Keynote documents that are shared for collaboration are an exception too. Advanced Data Protection also needs a recovery contact or recovery key, because Apple cannot help you recover your data without one.

None of that stops a person who knows your iPhone passcode from opening Files. If your threat is someone holding your unlocked phone, Files alone is not enough.

Locked notes

Notes can lock a note with your iPhone passcode or a Notes-only password. The catch for documents is Apple's own list: notes that contain PDFs, audio, video or Keynote, Pages or Numbers documents cannot be locked, and Apple says it cannot help if you forget your Notes password. Use Notes to scan, not to keep.

Password managers

A password manager is the right home for passwords and for the short codes that go with them. It is not designed for a scan of a passport. See where to store 2FA recovery codes for the one document-like case where it fits.

An encrypted vault

A vault encrypts each file before it is stored and asks for its own pattern or passphrase. StrongRoom imports any file from Files, including PDFs, and organises them in folders one level deep. Its limits matter as much as its strengths: it has no cloud copy, so the vault is never the only place a document lives. See folders, search and filters.

How to scan

The direct way is inside StrongRoom: unlock the Vault, tap the add button and choose Scan a document. Apple's document scanner finds the page edges and captures the pages; StrongRoom makes them one PDF Item and encrypts it into the Vault. The scan is never written to Photos or the camera roll, it is free (one Item toward the free limit of 10), and it needs an iPhone with a camera. Results depend on the light and on Apple's scanner. Check the pages are readable, then move the Item into a folder.

If you prefer another route, Apple documents two scanners. In Notes, open or create a note, tap the paperclip Attachment button, then tap Scan Documents. In Files, tap the More (three dots) button, tap Scan Documents, and choose where to save. In both, Auto mode scans by itself, or you tap the shutter button or press a Volume button, drag the corners to fit the page and tap Keep Scan. On iOS 26 you can also pick flash or an image filter.

A scan in Notes is an attachment to a note, and one in Files is saved to the place you choose. For those routes, prefer Files: you end up with a plain file you can import. Then:

  1. Scan in Files and save it in On My iPhone, not iCloud Drive, if you do not want a copy in the account.
  2. In StrongRoom, import the file from Files. See import photos, videos and files.
  3. Open it in the Vault to check every page is readable.
  4. Delete the original scan from Files, then empty Recently Deleted. Apple says files deleted from Files stay in Recently Deleted for 30 days unless you remove them there.

Naming and folders

Name files so you can find them without opening them: 2026-passport-photo-page, 2025-tax-return-final, home-insurance-policy-2026. Dates first sorts well. In a Vault, make one folder per area: Identity, Tax, Insurance, Medical. Folder names live inside the encrypted Vault, so they are not readable from outside. Folders are one level deep, so choose broad names rather than trying to nest. Search finds items by name across all folders.

Keeping a second copy

StrongRoom keeps nothing in the cloud and cannot restore a Vault for you. That is the price of keeping the keys with you. Two habits cover it:

  • Write the 12-word Recovery Phrase on paper when you create the Vault, and keep it apart from the phone.
  • Make an Export Package now and then, and store the file somewhere other than the phone. It is a whole Vault in one encrypted file, opened with the Recovery Phrase.

For papers that are hard to replace, keep the paper original too. A scan is a convenience, not a substitute for the document.

What not to store digitally

Do not make a scan of a document unless you need one. Do not keep the only copy of anything in any single place, including a vault. Do not photograph a document into the same library that syncs, shares and feeds widgets. Do not store an account recovery key where you would need that account to read it: Apple tells people to keep the Apple Account recovery key out of Passwords, iCloud Photos, Notes and iCloud Drive for exactly that reason. This page is not legal, tax or medical advice; for how long to keep a paper, ask the authority that issued it.

Frequently asked questions

Is it safe to keep a photo of my passport on my phone?

It is safer as a scan in an encrypted place than as a camera-roll photo, but it is still a copy that can leak if your phone is unlocked or the file is shared. Keep it only if you need it. See store a passport copy.

Can I lock a PDF inside Notes?

Apple lists notes that contain PDFs among those that cannot be locked, so do not rely on it.

Is iCloud Drive enough?

For convenience, yes. It is a copy held in an account, protected according to your account settings, and anyone with your iPhone passcode can open Files.

What if I lose my phone?

Without an Export Package and the Recovery Phrase, a Vault cannot be rebuilt on a new phone. See what happens if I lose my phone.

Sources

StrongRoom is a free iPhone app, coming to the App Store.

Free for iPhone. Pro is optional. What Pro changes.

Coming to the App Store. See what version 1.0 includes.