How to get photos out of a vault app on iPhone
In StrongRoom, tap Select, choose the Items, open the More menu and choose "Send plain copies", then pick where the iPhone's share sheet should put them. The copies are ordinary files and no longer encrypted. The originals stay in the Vault until you delete them, and the app removes its own temporary copies when the sheet closes.
Two different buttons: do not mix them up
Inside a Vault, selecting Items shows a Share button. That makes a Share Package, an encrypted file for another person, opened with six words or a QR code. It is not what you want for getting photos back into Photos. For that, use the More menu (the circle with three dots) and choose "Send plain copies". The app then warns you: "These copies are not encrypted. Whoever you send them to, and any app you open them in, can keep them." Tap Make copies to go on.
Steps
- Unlock the Vault and tap Select.
- Tap each Item you want, or several.
- Tap More, then "Send plain copies".
- Read the warning, then tap Make copies. The app decrypts the chosen Items into a temporary area on your phone. A big selection takes a moment.
- In the share sheet, choose where the copies go. The sheet is the iPhone's own, so the choices are whatever your phone offers for those file types.
- When the sheet closes, the app deletes its temporary copies. What you saved or sent stays where you put it.
- Check the result in the place you chose, then decide whether to delete the Items from the Vault.
What quality you keep
The app writes out the file it stored, with the same file extension. It does not offer a quality setting and does not resize anything on the way out. Names are the one thing to expect to differ: photos picked from your library are given a generated name when they are imported, so the original file name is not kept. Photos you took with StrongRoom's own camera were saved as JPEG.
What it leaves behind
This is the part people forget. The moment a copy is saved outside the Vault, it is an ordinary file, and everything protecting the Vault stops covering it.
- The copy is where you put it. If it goes into Photos, it sits in your library with your other photos, and it is subject to whatever that library does, such as syncing to your other devices if you use iCloud Photos. Deleting it later puts it in Recently Deleted for 30 days, according to Apple.
- Other apps can keep it. Any app you open or send it with can keep its own copy.
- The Vault still holds the original. Exporting does not remove anything from the Vault. Delete the Item when you are sure.
If you are moving to a new phone and not just retrieving a few photos, a plain export is the wrong tool. An Export Package keeps everything encrypted and restores Vault and folders in one go How to transfer a photo vault to a new iPhone
If you are leaving a vault app that is not StrongRoom, look for its export or share option and check whether it offers the original file or a reduced copy. Test with one photo first and compare the sizes.
For why we do not make exporting out of the Vault automatic, see what StrongRoom does not protect against What StrongRoom does not protect against
Frequently asked questions
Can I get all my photos out at once?
You can select many Items and send plain copies together. For a whole Vault to a new iPhone, make an Export Package instead.
Does exporting remove the photos from the Vault?
No. The Item stays until you delete it.
Are exported photos still encrypted?
No. They are ordinary files.
Does exporting leave anything on my phone?
Only what you save. The app deletes its temporary copies when the share sheet closes, and it also empties that area when it locks or starts.
Sources
- Delete photos on your iPhone or iPad (Apple Support), checked on 2026-10-30.