Does anything from the vault show up elsewhere in the app?

Short answer

Only as a masked row in playlists and recently played, and that can be switched off entirely. Library search, Spotlight, Wi-Fi Transfer, device-to-device sending and the share inbox never see the vault, and nothing we send in analytics carries a file name or a path.

Reviewed 30 July 2026

A file moved into the vault leaves the main library catalogue completely: the row that used to hold its name and path now holds an opaque identifier and a mask, so the real name is not in the main database at all.

What that looks like

  • Locked: a vault item in a playlist reads as “Hidden file” with a vault icon and a generic thumbnail. Tapping it asks for the passcode, and playback starts once the vault opens.
  • Unlocked: the real name and thumbnail appear, with the vault icon still on the row so you know where the file lives.
  • Switched off: a setting hides vault rows from those lists entirely. Camouflage turns it on for you, because a masked row is itself a hint that a vault exists.

Everything that reaches outside the app is blind to it: the library search index, Spotlight, the Wi-Fi Transfer page your computer sees, the device-to-device picker and the share inbox. Thumbnails live inside the vault rather than in the shared cache directory, and the lock screen shows a generic title while a vault item plays.

The exception no iOS app can close is screen capture: while you are looking at something, a screenshot or a screen recording still works. We would rather say that than imply otherwise.

The long version Hidden, locked, encrypted — three words that are sold as one What separates hiding from locking from encrypting, and why the recovery code is the whole thing.

Try it yourself

FoxDL is free to download. No account, no sign-up.

Download on the App Store