Keeping medical records and care documents private
Keep medical and care paperwork in one place with its own lock, sorted so you can find a letter when a clinic asks for it. A Vault with a folder for each person does that on your iPhone: scans and PDFs stay encrypted, apart from your photo library. This page is about organising paperwork. It gives no medical advice, and your health provider or health service decides what you may request and share.
What this page is for
Many people end up holding someone else's health paperwork: a parent's discharge letters, a partner's test results, a child's vaccination record, an appointment sheet for a person you care for. It tends to live in the camera roll between holiday photos and screenshots, which makes it easy to lose and awkward to hand a phone to anyone. The aim is simple: one place, named folders, a lock, and a second copy you control.
Get the documents in the first place
Records usually come from the provider. In the United States, the Department of Health and Human Services explains the right of individuals to see and receive copies of their health information, and that you can ask for copies to be sent to someone you name. Other countries have their own rules, and who may act for another adult or a child differs, so ask the provider or your health service what they need from you, such as consent or proof of your role. Treat this page as organising advice only.
Set up a Vault for paperwork
- Scan paper with Scan a document in StrongRoom's add menu (Apple's scanner; one encrypted PDF per scan, never in Photos, one Item toward the free limit of 10), or scan with Files (More button, then Scan Documents) and import it, or import PDFs you already have. StrongRoom imports any file from Files, including PDFs and documents.
- Make one folder per person, such as "Mum", "Sam" or "Me". Folders are one level deep, and their names are encrypted with everything else.
- Use clear names. Imported photos are named by date and time and files keep their names, and the app has no rename for items yet, so name the file before you import it, for example "2026-03-14 blood test result.pdf". Dates at the front keep the list in order.
- Use the filter chips and search when you need a document in a hurry, for example at an appointment.
- Delete any scans made in Files and any originals in the photo library once you have checked they imported. The app asks every time whether to delete originals after an import.
The free limit and how many documents fit
The free app has one Vault with up to 10 items in total. Documents count the same as photos. A year of care paperwork for one person can pass that quickly, and Pro removes the limit. Items already in a Vault stay open, exportable and deletable if you stop paying; you just cannot add more until you are under the limit or subscribed.
Opening documents with others in the room
PDFs, photos and videos open inside the Vault with the built-in viewer, so you do not need to share them to read them. By default the Vault locks as soon as you leave the app, and the app switcher shows a blank screen. This helps when you show a clinician a letter and then hand the phone back.
Sharing a document with a professional
First ask the recipient what they accept. Many clinics and care providers have a patient portal or a secure form; use it. If both of you use StrongRoom, a Share Package sends chosen items as an encrypted file, opened with six words or a QR code that you send separately. You can limit how many times it opens and set an expiry. Those limits are enforced only by the app on the recipient's phone, a file once sent cannot be taken back, and a recipient can photograph their screen. Share only with people you trust. Folders do not travel in a Share Package.
A second copy, and the person who may need it
Paperwork for another person matters most when you are not there. Make an Export Package, which is an encrypted copy of the whole Vault, and keep it off the phone, for example on a computer or drive. It needs the Recovery Phrase to open, so decide who else should know where the phrase is. Do not tell someone the pattern or passphrase unless you mean them to have access; the Recovery Phrase and Export Package are the route that works if you are not available. A Recovery Phrase alone opens nothing on a phone that does not hold the Export Package. Getting back in: Recovery Phrase and Recovery PIN
Where StrongRoom does not help
- It gives no medical, legal or financial advice and does not tell you what you are entitled to.
- It does not remove metadata from photos you import.
- It is not a health record system. It does not read, tag or sort the contents of documents.
- It cannot be opened by anyone else for you if you lose the pattern or passphrase and the Recovery Phrase.
- It keeps no copy off your phone. Without an Export Package, a lost phone means lost documents; keep the originals.
- It is not a safe place for a shared login or a fixed copy that someone else is expected to keep up to date.
Frequently asked questions
Is it safe to store medical records on my iPhone?
Nothing is risk free. A Vault keeps documents encrypted behind a pattern or passphrase of its own, separate from your phone passcode, but it cannot protect against someone who watches you unlock it or a compromised phone.
Can I keep documents for someone I look after?
You can keep them in a folder named for that person. Check with the provider what you may request and hold on their behalf.
How do I share a document with a doctor?
Use the doctor's secure portal if there is one. A Share Package works between StrongRoom users and its limits depend on the recipient's app.
What if I lose my phone?
Restore from an Export Package using the Recovery Phrase. Without both, the Vault cannot be recovered.
Sources
- How to scan documents on your iPhone or iPad (Apple Support), checked on 2026-10-30.
- Your Medical Records (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services), checked on 2026-10-30.