How to back up a photo vault without the cloud
Make an Export Package in StrongRoom's Settings and save it to Files, an external drive or a computer you own. Do it again after every big change. The file is useless without the Recovery Phrase, so store the phrase separately. StrongRoom does not copy anything off your phone by itself, so this routine is the only protection against losing the phone.
What you are protecting against
Three things can take a Vault away: losing or breaking the phone, deleting the app by mistake, and forgetting your credential with no phrase. An Export Package answers the first two. It is one encrypted file holding a whole Vault: Items, thumbnails, folders and the keys that go with them. The Recovery Phrase turns it back into a Vault on any iPhone.
It is a snapshot, not a sync. It holds what the Vault held at the moment you made it. Anything you add afterwards is not in it.
Make the package
- Unlock the Vault.
- Open Settings and choose Export Package.
- Type the Recovery Phrase of this Vault. The app needs it because it keeps no copy, and it checks the phrase is right before making a file nothing could open. If you have lost the words, go back and choose New Recovery Phrase, then try again.
- Tap Make Export Package and keep the screen open while it works. A progress indicator shows it is working.
- When the share sheet opens, save or send the file. The app tells you when it was saved or sent.
Each Vault has its own package, so make one for every Vault you want to be able to restore.
Where to keep it
Anywhere that is not only this phone. Good choices are a computer you own, an external drive, or Files with a place you control. You may also put it in a cloud account of your own if you like. The package is encrypted and means nothing without the phrase, so that does not hand your photos to anyone. What it does mean is that the package and the phrase must not be kept together: if both sit in one email account, anyone who gets into the account has both.
Keep at least two copies in two places. A file on a drive in a drawer can fail quietly.
Where to keep the phrase
On paper, away from the phone and away from the package. The phrase is 12 words and the app shows it only once. If you wrote it down at set-up and did the check the app offers, you already have it. If not, you can make a new phrase in Settings; the old one stops working for that Vault, so make a new package afterward. A package made under the old phrase still needs the old phrase.
A routine that works
- Make a package when you set up, once you have a few Items.
- Make another after every large import, or at a regular time such as the start of each month.
- Replace the old copy, but keep the previous one until the new one has been checked.
- Once in a while, prove it. Try a restore on a spare iPhone or after a reinstall, using a throwaway Vault. An Export Package you have never opened is a hope, not a plan.
StrongRoom reminds you about the Recovery Phrase. It does not remind you to export, so put the date in your calendar.
What a package does not do
- It does not include the Recovery PIN, which is tied to the old phone.
- It does not include your app settings.
- It does not hide that it is an Export Package, or roughly how big the Vault is.
- It cannot tell that an older package is older. If you restore an old one, you get the older Vault.
- It is not a Duress safety net. If you use a Duress Vault, it erases the other Vaults for good, and an Export Package you saved earlier is the only way back.
Why StrongRoom has no automatic copy: nothing in the app is allowed to leave the phone unless you send it. The trade-off is yours, not ours. See what the app does not protect against
How to restore a package on a new phone
Frequently asked questions
Is an Export Package safe to keep in a cloud account or email?
It is encrypted and opens only with the Vault's Recovery Phrase. Keep the phrase somewhere else.
How often should I export?
After any large change, and on a routine you will keep. The package holds only what the Vault held when you made it.
Does one package cover every Vault?
No. Make one per Vault.
Does StrongRoom remind me to export?
It reminds you about the Recovery Phrase, not about exporting. Set your own reminder.
Sources
- None needed: this page states no Apple platform behaviour.