A calculator vault app hides a photo vault behind a working calculator: you type a code, press equals, and the vault opens. Bunker takes the opposite approach. It doesn’t pretend to be anything else; instead, each vault is encrypted under a Pattern only you know, and you can keep separate vaults so that even someone who makes you open the app sees only the one you choose.
This page compares the category, not any one app. Calculator vaults vary a lot, so check the specific listing before you trust one with private photos.
The short verdict
- A calculator vault fits if your main worry is someone glancing at your Home Screen or app list and asking what a vault app is for.
- Bunker fits if your worry is what happens once someone knows there’s something there: they hold your phone, they ask you to open it, or they copy its files.
- You can get much of both with Bunker: hide it with iOS’s own Hide feature, or pick the Calc icon with Bunker Pro.
Side by side
| Bunker | Typical calculator vault app | |
|---|---|---|
| Encryption model | Every item encrypted on your device; the key comes from your Pattern through Argon2id | Varies by app; check the listing |
| Account required | No account, no email | Varies; some offer cloud backup with an account |
| Unlock method | Pattern on a 5 × 5 dial, optional Passphrase | A numeric code typed into the calculator, then equals |
| Backup | Encrypted Backup to your own iCloud, free | Varies; some keep files on the device only, some offer cloud backup |
| Multiple vaults / decoy | Unlimited Hidden Vaults, each with its own Pattern | Some offer a fake PIN that opens a decoy vault |
| Duress | Duress Vault (Bunker Pro) | Check the listing |
| Family access / legacy | Legacy Vaults (Bunker Pro) | Check the listing |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad and Mac | iPhone and iPad; some run on Apple silicon Macs as iPad apps |
| Price model | Free; Bunker Pro weekly, yearly with a free trial, or lifetime | Free to download; many add in-app purchases |
The description of calculator vault apps comes from current US App Store listings in the category, checked Oct 24, 2026. Apple’s Hide feature is described on Apple Support’s page Lock or hide an app on iPhone.
How calculator vaults work
The app’s icon and first screen are a real calculator. Typing your passcode and pressing the equals key opens the vault, where you import photos and videos. Extras you’ll see in the category include a fake PIN that opens a decoy vault, intruder photos taken after a wrong code, and a private browser. Some listings ask you not to uninstall the app if your files are stored only inside it, because uninstalling removes them.
The idea is concealment: if nobody suspects a vault, nobody asks you to open it.
Where Bunker is different
Encryption instead of a disguise. Bunker doesn’t rely on looking like something else. Your Pattern becomes the key, and every item is encrypted with AES-256-GCM before it’s stored. Someone who knows Bunker is a vault, or copies its files, still sees nothing without the Pattern.
A plan for when you’re asked to open it. A disguise stops working once someone sees through it. Bunker’s Hidden Vaults are all equal, each with its own Pattern, and there’s no list of them on any screen. You can open the vault you’re comfortable showing. With Bunker Pro, a Duress Vault goes further: it opens normally and clears your other vaults from this device. Your iCloud backup still keeps them, and each comes back with its Recovery Phrase.
No “wrong code” moment. Bunker never says a Pattern is wrong. A Pattern that opens nothing shows “No vault opened”, exactly as a brand-new Pattern does. That’s also why it takes no intruder photos: there’s no wrong attempt to record, and nothing confirms that more vaults exist.
Free encrypted backup. Encrypted Backup to your own iCloud is free for everyone, so deleting the app or losing your phone doesn’t mean losing a backed-up vault, as long as you have its Recovery Phrase (or its Pattern, with iCloud Keychain on).
Documents and family. Scan & Search reads text from scans on your device so you can search them, and Legacy Vaults let trusted contacts you choose open a read-only copy of one vault together.
Making Bunker less visible
If you want Bunker out of sight too, you have two options:
- Hide it with iOS. On iOS 18 and later, touch and hold the Bunker icon, tap Require Face ID (or Touch ID or Passcode), then Hide and Require Face ID, authenticate, and tap Hide App. Bunker leaves your Home Screen, App Library and search results and moves to the Hidden folder at the bottom of App Library, which needs Face ID to open. Apple notes that the hidden status stays on that iPhone only. Your hidden apps are still listed in Settings → Apps → Hidden Apps.
- Change its icon. With Bunker Pro, App Settings → App Icon offers 7 alternate icons: Calc, Units, Level, Tides, Metronome, Ruler and Night. They open Bunker’s normal unlock screen. iOS keeps the name “Bunker” under the icon and shows its own alert when you change it; neither can be turned off.
Choose a calculator vault app if…
- Disguise matters more to you than anything else. A working calculator that hides a vault is better camouflage than an app called Bunker, even with a Calc icon, because iOS still shows the Bunker name.
- You want intruder photos. Some calculator vaults take one after a wrong code. Bunker never does.
- You prefer a numeric code to drawing a Pattern.
- You want a free app with a short setup and only plan to keep a few photos on this one phone.
Read the listing first: look for how files are encrypted, whether backup exists, what the privacy label says, and what happens to your files if you delete the app.
Choose Bunker if…
- You want protection that still holds when someone knows the app is a vault.
- You want separate vaults, or a Duress Vault, for when you’re asked to open it.
- You want free encrypted backup to your own iCloud.
- You keep documents as well as photos, or want a plan for your family.
Bunker’s Free plan holds 3 Vaults, with 100 photos, 10 videos and 20 documents and notes in total. Bunker Pro is $19.99 a year with a 7-day free trial, $1.99 a week, or $39.99 once.
Limits of Bunker
Someone who holds your unlocked phone and knows your Pattern sees that vault, and someone who watched you draw it can repeat it. If you forget a Pattern and lose its Recovery Phrase, nobody can open that vault, including us. Bunker can’t protect a phone that’s already compromised.
Related
- Bunker vs Apple’s Hidden album and Bunker vs Keepsafe
- Pattern strength checker
- Security and limits
- Guides: how to hide apps on iPhone and how to choose a photo vault app
Questions
How do calculator vault apps work?
The app looks and works like a calculator. When you type your secret code and press the equals key, the hidden vault opens. Some also offer intruder photos and a fake PIN that opens a decoy vault.
Can Bunker look like a calculator?
With Bunker Pro you can choose the Calc icon, one of 7 alternate icons. It opens Bunker's normal unlock screen, not a working calculator, and iOS keeps the name Bunker under the icon and shows its own alert when you change it.
How do I hide Bunker from my Home Screen?
On iOS 18 and later, touch and hold the Bunker icon, tap Require Face ID, then Hide and Require Face ID, and tap Hide App. Bunker moves to the Hidden folder at the bottom of App Library, and opening it then needs Face ID and your Pattern.
Is a disguise safer than encryption?
They protect against different things. A disguise helps against a quick glance at your Home Screen. Encryption protects what's inside when someone knows the app is there, has the phone, or copies its files.