AlbumVault vs Calculator#

Calculator# and AlbumVault both offer a calculator disguise (in AlbumVault, a Pro feature), but they put it in different places. Calculator# is built around its disguise and adds more tricks to it. The two apps also publish very different amounts about encryption.

What Calculator# does well

Calculator# is made by NewSoftwares LLC; the App Store lists the seller as Salman Ashraf. As seen on 24 October 2026, it was rated 4.4 from about 29,000 ratings in the US App Store and 4.5 from 4,233 reviews on Google Play.

• Disguise by default. The app icon looks like a calculator from the start, and typing a secret code launches the vault.
• More ways to throw off a snooper. A Panic Switch jumps to another app, and Disguise Mode shows a fake crash message.
• Many ways to unlock. A calculator code, PIN, password, pattern, or Touch ID and Face ID.
• Backup where you already keep files. On iOS, backup to iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive. On Android, Dropbox.
• Easy transfers. Import from your gallery or camera, with an option to delete originals from the gallery, and Wi-⁠Fi transfer from a PC, Mac or other device.
• A watch on wrong guesses. On iOS, Hack Monitor logs invalid password attempts and shows them to you. On Android, the hack-⁠attempt option captures an image of the person.
• A low price. $4.99 a year removes the ads and limits.
• Apple devices. It runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac with M1 or later and Apple Vision.

What is published about encryption

The NewSoftwares product page says Calculator# “hides your photos, protects your videos and encrypts your documents with cloud support.” The App Store description talks about password protection and hiding. Neither names an algorithm, and neither says photos and videos are encrypted. That does not mean they are stored in the clear. It means the vendor does not say, so you can’t check. Who holds the keys for cloud backups is not stated either.

AlbumVault Every photo and video is encrypted on your phone before it is saved. Files are encrypted in 1 MB pieces with AES-⁠256-⁠GCM; each file gets its own key, and every piece is checked so a changed or reordered piece is refused.

The store privacy labels are worth a look. Calculator#‘s Google Play Data safety section says the app may share photos and videos with third parties, that data can’t be deleted, and “Data isn’t encrypted.” Google defines that last line as encryption of data in transit, not files stored on the phone. On the US App Store, the label lists Email Address as data used to track you.

Where they differ

How the disguise works

Calculator# looks like a calculator by default, with a Panic Switch and a fake crash screen on top.

AlbumVault Icon disguise (Pro): make the app look like a calculator. A code you choose on the calculator brings up the unlock screen; it is a gate, not your key, so a vault still needs its pattern.

Unlocking

Calculator# accepts a calculator code, PIN, password, pattern, Touch ID or Face ID.

AlbumVault Unlock by drawing a pattern on a 5×5 grid of dots, using at least 6 dots. Prefer numbers? A PIN of 6 to 12 digits works too. Face ID or fingerprint can open at most one vault. Your other vaults always need their pattern.

Decoys and wrong guesses

On Android, Calculator# has a Decoy Mode with a fake username and password; the iOS description does not list one. On iOS, Hack Monitor logs wrong password attempts.

AlbumVault Every pattern or PIN leads to exactly one vault, and a vault can have more than one way in. A pattern that belongs to no vault opens nothing. Break-⁠in photos (Pro): after 3 wrong tries AlbumVault can take a front-⁠camera photo, encrypted so only your vault can open it.

Recovery

Calculator# lets you retrieve a lost password through your registered email.

AlbumVault Each vault has its own 12-⁠word recovery phrase (BIP-⁠39), shown once. We never see it and cannot reset it. If you forget your pattern, the phrase gets you back in.

Backup

On iOS, Calculator# backs up to iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive.

AlbumVault Save an encrypted backup file of a vault to Files, a computer or a drive you trust. Only its 12-⁠word recovery phrase opens it.

The Android app

Calculator#‘s Google Play listing was last updated on September 24, 2021, and its features differ from the current iOS listing: Android lists Decoy Mode and an intruder photo, while iOS lists the Hack Monitor log and Disguise Mode.

AlbumVault AlbumVault is built for iPhone and Android. Move a vault between them with an encrypted transfer file and its recovery phrase.

Prices and ratings

As seen on 24 October 2026 in the US stores:

• App Store: free with ads and limitations. Listed purchases: Yearly Subscription $4.99 and Premium Features Pack $4.99. Age rating 16+. Rating 4.4 from about 29,000 ratings.
• Google Play: contains ads and in-⁠app purchases. The web listing does not show prices. Rating 4.5 from 4,233 reviews, with more than 100,000 downloads.

AlbumVault Free: 1 vault, up to 100 photos and 10 videos, encrypted backup file included. Pro: as many vaults as you want, including the guest vault, with no limit on photos and videos.

Which to choose

Pick Calculator# if:

1. A convincing disguise is your main goal and you want it on from the first launch.
2. You want a panic switch or a fake crash screen.
3. You want backup to Dropbox, OneDrive or Google Drive from an iPhone.
4. You want a low yearly price and Wi-⁠Fi transfer from a computer.

Pick AlbumVault if:

1. You want published details of how your files are encrypted.
2. You want to move a vault between iPhone and Android.
3. You want several vaults (a Pro feature), each opened by its own pattern.
4. You want a recovery phrase rather than an email address as your way back in.

If you only want photos out of your main camera roll, check the free options first. On iPhone, Apple’s Hidden album keeps hidden items out of your Library and other albums and is locked by default since iOS 16. On Android, Google Photos’ Locked Folder keeps items out of the photo grid and away from other apps.

Limits to know on the AlbumVault side

AlbumVault does not hide that some private data exists: your phone’s storage settings, and a forensic examiner, can still show that. Deleting is not shredding: a lab that images the phone may recover deleted bytes. Use AlbumVault to keep people out of your photos, not to beat a forensics lab.

Break-⁠in photos: The phone’s camera indicator still lights up when the photo is taken, so the person may notice.

AlbumVault cannot protect against malware or a jailbroken or rooted phone running code while the vault is open, against what is on screen or shared out once decrypted, or against someone deleting files they can reach (they can destroy data, not read it).