Does deleting a photo vault app delete your photos?
Deleting StrongRoom deletes its data, including every Vault in it, unless you made an Export Package first. Originals you left in your Photos library are untouched. Apple says deleting an app removes the app and its related data, and that is true of most vault apps, so export what you need before deleting any of them.
What iOS says happens
Apple's storage page gives two options for an app you no longer want taking up space. Offloading "frees up storage used by the app, but keeps its documents and data", and deleting the app "removes the app and its related data." Those are Apple's words for apps in general. A vault app keeps your files inside the app's own storage, so deleting the app is deleting the vault.
Offloading is the safer of the two. It removes the app itself and keeps the data, so installing the app again brings your files back to where they were. Be careful, though, because the two options sit next to each other, and an app that you offload is not the same as one you delete.
What this means for StrongRoom
- Deleting StrongRoom deletes every Vault in it. There is no cloud copy to bring them back, because the app makes none. Nothing is stored on any server and nothing is held in an account.
- Originals in Photos are untouched. If you imported a photo and chose to keep the original in your photo library, that copy stays where it is. If you chose to delete originals after import, Apple keeps deleted photos in Recently Deleted for 30 days, so they may still be there for a while, and the Vault holds the only other copy.
- An Export Package survives. It is a separate file that you saved or sent yourself. Installing StrongRoom again on the same phone and choosing "Restore from an Export Package" on the first screen brings the Vault back, with its 12-word Recovery Phrase.
- The Recovery Phrase alone does not bring anything back. It needs the package.
Before you delete a vault app
- Find out whether the photos in it exist anywhere else. For StrongRoom, the answer is only if you exported them.
- Make an Export Package for each Vault (Settings, Export Package) and save it somewhere that is not this phone.
- Check that the package opens: this is the step people skip. If you can, restore it on a spare phone or after the deletion on this one and look at a few items. Keep the Recovery Phrase of each Vault with it, stored separately.
- If you need plain photos back in Photos or Files instead, see how to get photos out of a vault app How to get photos out of a vault app on iPhone
- Delete the app only after that.
Making the package also covers the opposite case, an accidental delete. Exporting is free; it is never behind Pro.
Other vault apps
Do not assume the same of every app. Some keep their data out of device backups, some include it, and some sync to their own cloud. Before deleting one, open its settings and look for an export, a backup or an account. Whatever it says, ask what you would need to open the result on a clean phone. For the iCloud side of this question, see do vault apps back up to iCloud Do photo vault apps back up to iCloud?
For the short version of this page, see the answer
Frequently asked questions
If I delete StrongRoom and install it again, are my Vaults back?
No, unless you restore an Export Package. The data is removed with the app.
Does deleting the app delete the photos in my Photos library?
No. Only copies inside the app are removed.
Does offloading the app delete my Vaults?
Apple says offloading keeps an app's documents and data. We recommend exporting first anyway, because you cannot undo a deletion.
Can I recover a deleted Vault with my Recovery Phrase?
No. The phrase opens an Export Package; it does not contain your photos.
Sources
- How to check the storage on your iPhone and iPad (Apple Support), checked on 2026-10-30.
- Delete photos on your iPhone or iPad (Apple Support), checked on 2026-10-30.