Encrypted iCloud backup & sync · Premium
In your iCloud. Unreadable there.
With Premium, Sealby backs your vaults up to your own private iCloud and syncs the vaults you choose to your other devices. Only sealed, fixed-size blocks leave the phone: no names, no sizes, no file counts.
Premium
Can I back up a private photo vault to iCloud without Apple seeing it?
Yes, if the app encrypts on your device first. Sealby encrypts every vault into fixed-size, random-named blocks before upload, and the keys never leave your devices. Apple stores the blocks in your private iCloud but cannot read them, count your vaults or see file names. Backup is off until you turn it on.
At a glance
- Encrypted on the iPhone before anything is uploaded
- Fixed-size, random-named blocks: no names, sizes or counts
- Sync is per vault and off by default
- Restore any vault with its recovery phrase
Backup and sync, step by step.
- 1
Turn on backup
Settings → iCloud Sync & Backup. Your vaults start backing up in the background. This alone does not sync anything.
- 2
Pair your devices
On both devices, signed in to the same iCloud: Settings → Synced Devices. Confirm that the six-digit codes match.
- 3
Choose which vaults sync
In a vault’s settings, turn on “Sync this vault”. Each vault is off until you choose.
- 4
Open it on the other device
Enter the same PIN there. The first open may wait while the encrypted data downloads.
What Apple can and cannot see
iCloud holds an opaque pool of identical-looking blocks. It cannot see your files, names, sizes, or how many vaults you have, and decoy blocks are mirrored too.
One honest trade-off: once backup is on, encrypted data exists in iCloud under your Apple ID. It reveals nothing about what is inside, but it does show that encrypted data exists. That is why backup is off by default, and why the free encrypted export is there for people who want nothing in the cloud.
If you lose every device
Install Sealby on a new iPhone signed in to the same iCloud, and restore each vault with its own 12-word recovery phrase. Day to day, a paired device just needs the PIN.
Sealby backup versus a typical vault cloud
Good to know
Sync converges when you open the app and periodically in the background, not instantly. If two offline devices edit the same vault, one edit wins by a fixed rule and the other is kept aside for you to redo. Turning sync off later is not retroactive: a device that already has a vault keeps it until you remove it there.
Common questions
Can Apple or Sealby read my backups?
No. Only encrypted blocks reach iCloud, and the keys never leave your devices. Sealby runs no servers.
Is backup free?
Encrypted iCloud backup and sync are Premium. On the free tier you can save an encrypted export of any vault to Files or a drive.
I turned backup on, but my iPad does not show my vault.
Backup and sync are separate. Pair the devices, turn on “Sync this vault”, then enter that vault’s PIN on the iPad.
Related: Encrypted export (free) · Duress PIN · The security architecture · Pricing
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iPhone & iPad · iOS 17+ · Free