What happens if you delete a photo vault app?

Deleting a vault app deletes the vault on that phone. Here is what survives, what does not, and the two things to check first.

iOS deletes an app’s files with the app. For a vault with no account, that is the vault.

What survives

An encrypted backup in your own iCloud, if backup was on, plus your recovery phrase. Reinstall, restore, type the phrase, and the files are back. Purchases survive too: Lifetime and subscriptions restore from your Apple ID.

What does not

Anything only on the phone. If backup was off, or paused because iCloud was full, the files that never uploaded are gone with the app.

Check two things first

Open Backup: it should say On with a recent time, and Test restore should pass with your phrase. Then you can delete with a clear head. Or export everything to the Files app first; export is free.

“Offload App” is different

iOS’s Offload keeps the app’s documents and data and removes only the app. A vault survives an offload. It does not survive a delete.