Your photos, encrypted. Not just hidden.
SecretGrid locks photos, videos, notes and files behind a pattern that is the key. Everything is encrypted on your phone before it’s saved. No account, no sign-up, and hidden vaults no one can prove exist.
- AES-256-GCM
- Argon2id
- No account
- Works offline
Everything a vault should do, and a few things none do
Real encryption first. Then the protections that matter when someone else is holding your phone.
Three steps, then it stays out of the way
- 01
Draw a pattern
Connect at least 6 dots on the 5×5 grid, with one change of direction. That pattern becomes the key, and you get a 9-word recovery phrase to keep somewhere safe.
- 02
Add your files
Pick photos and videos, scan documents, write notes or save cards. Each item is encrypted on your phone, and location data is stripped as it comes in.
- 03
Leave, and it locks
Switching to another app locks the vault and wipes its keys from memory. Shake the phone or turn it face down to lock it instantly.
Built so that we couldn't open your vault even if we wanted to
No servers hold your files. No account links them to you. The only key is the pattern in your head.
Every file has its own key
Random AES-256-GCM keys per photo, video and thumbnail, sealed in chunks so large videos are protected all the way through.
Your pattern, stretched
Argon2id turns the pattern into a key, tuned to each phone so guessing patterns stays slow on any hardware.
Nothing to count
Files have random names, and decoy files pad the storage, so a copy of the phone doesn't reveal how many vaults it holds.
Encrypted before backup
Drive receives the same ciphertext that's on your phone. Your pattern and phrase never leave it.
cipher AES-256-GCM, a fresh key per filekdf Argon2id, tuned per devicepattern 5×5 grid, 6+ dots, 1+ turnrecovery 9-word phraselocator HKDF(pattern) → random file namewrong pattern indistinguishable from emptyvault count padded with decoy filesbackup ciphertext only, your own Driveaccount noneOpen a vault. Just not that one.
A locked folder announces that something is inside. SecretGrid gives you vaults that look ordinary when opened, and ways out that look like nothing at all.
Hidden isn't the same as encrypted
Most vault apps put a PIN screen in front of ordinary files. Here's how the common approaches compare.
A dash means it varies by app. Categories, not specific products.
Full comparisonGenerous for free. Everything with Pro.
Encryption and backup are never behind a paywall. Pro adds the extra protections and removes ads.
US prices shown. Google Play charges in your local currency, and you can cancel any time in Play Store subscriptions.
Questions, answered
An encrypted vault for photos, videos, notes, cards and files on Android. You open it by drawing a pattern, and that pattern is the encryption key: nothing on the phone can open your files without it.
Encrypted. Each file gets its own random AES-256-GCM key before it is written to storage, and your pattern is stretched with Argon2id into the key that protects those keys. A copy of the phone's storage shows only random-looking data.
Use the 9-word recovery phrase you saved when you created the vault, then set a new pattern. Nobody, including us, can reset a pattern or recover a vault without the phrase.
No. There is no SecretGrid account, no email and no sign-in. Your vaults live on your phone, and backup goes to your own Google Drive, encrypted.
No. Every pattern opens its own vault, a wrong pattern looks exactly like an unused one, and SecretGrid keeps decoy files on disk so storage doesn't reveal how many real vaults exist.
Give them a decoy vault. With Pro you can also set a duress pattern: it opens a harmless vault and quietly deletes the others from the phone. Shaking the phone in any vault can also switch straight to your decoy.
Yes. Files are encrypted on your phone before upload and stay encrypted in Drive's hidden app folder. Google sees file sizes, not contents. Backup is free and off until you turn it on.
No. We never receive your files, patterns or recovery phrase. Encryption and decryption happen only on your phone.
Yes, an occasional full-screen ad at a natural pause, such as closing a photo. Never in the first day, never more than one per unlock, and ads never see what's in your vault. Pro removes them.
Not yet. SecretGrid is available for Android on Google Play.