Frequently Asked Questions

What is Photok?

Photok is a private vault app for your photos and videos. Everything you add is encrypted and stored only on your device. There is no account to create, nothing is uploaded to a cloud, and there are no ads.

You can get Photok on Google Play. It is also available on F-Droid and GitHub.

How do I hide photos and videos?

• Import: tap Import in Photok, choose Import new files and select your photos and videos. If you do this inside an album, the files go straight into that album.
• Share: in any other app, tap Share and choose Photok. The files are added after you unlock your vault.

Photok saves an encrypted copy of each file in its own private storage. Other apps, including your regular gallery, can't see or open these copies.

Your original files stay where they are, unless you turn on Delete imported files in the settings. Then Photok removes the originals after a successful import.

Photok supports common photo and video formats such as JPEG, PNG, GIF, WEBP, HEIC, MP4, MOV, MKV and WEBM.

To be even more discreet, you can hide the Photok icon itself with Hide App in the settings. Photok then opens from your phone's dial pad with a secret code. If that doesn't work on your phone, see how to open a hidden Photok.

Can I organize private photos into albums?

Yes. In Photok you can:

• Create, rename and delete albums.
• Add photos and videos to albums, or remove them again.
• Import new files directly into an album.
• Pin items to the top of an album.
• Sort by date, name or size, in either direction. Each album remembers its own sorting.
• Show your albums as a grid or a list.

Can I recover my photos if I lose access to Photok?

When you set up Photok, you get a recovery phrase of 12 or 24 words. Keep it somewhere safe and away from your phone. You can write it down, copy it, save it as a file or save it as a QR code.

If you forget your password, tap Forgot password on the unlock screen and enter your recovery phrase. Photok unlocks, and you can then set a new password. Under Settings → Recovery Phrase you can view your phrase again or create a new one. A new phrase replaces the old one.

There are some limits to keep in mind:

• If you lose both your password and your recovery phrase, your files cannot be recovered. Photok has no server and no master key, so nobody can unlock your vault for you, not even the developers.
• The recovery phrase only unlocks Photok on the device where it was created. A backup always needs the password that was set when the backup was created.
• If your phone is lost or broken, only a backup that you stored somewhere else can bring your files back.
• If you change your phone's biometrics (for example, add a new fingerprint), biometric unlock stops working. You can still unlock with your password and turn biometric unlock on again.

I hid Photok and now I can't open it. What can I do?

When Photok is hidden, its icon is replaced by an icon called Phone, and Photok normally opens when you dial your secret launch code. On some phones the dial code doesn't work. You can still open Photok like this:

1. Turn on airplane mode.
2. Tap the Phone icon that replaced Photok. Your regular phone app opens.
3. Go back and tap the Phone icon again within 5 seconds.

Photok now opens. Your files are not affected by any of this.

To get the Photok icon back, go to Settings → Hide App and choose Show Photok.

Are my photos uploaded to the cloud?

No. Your photos and videos are stored only on your device, and Photok does not sync them anywhere.

Backups are different from cloud sync. When you create a backup, Photok saves one file wherever you choose. If you choose a cloud folder, the backup ends up there, but your photos inside it stay encrypted. Photok never uploads backups on its own.

Photok uses anonymous usage statistics to improve the app. These never include your photos, videos or file names. Read the Privacy Policy for details.

Does Photok encrypt photos with AES-256?

Yes. Every photo, video and thumbnail is encrypted with AES-256 before it is saved. This is how it works:

• Your vault has its own random encryption key. All your files are encrypted with this key.
• This key is protected by your password. Photok strengthens your password with PBKDF2, which makes guessing it much slower. Your recovery phrase and biometric unlock protect the same key in the same way.
• Your password itself is never stored, not even as a hash. Photok only checks whether it can unlock the vault key.
• Files are decrypted in memory only while you view them. Unencrypted copies are never saved to storage.
• Changing your password is instant, because only the vault key needs to be protected again. Your files are not re-encrypted.

The encryption is only as strong as your password. A long, unique password matters more than anything else. For the technical details, see ENCRYPTION.md on GitHub.

Is Photok open source?

The core of the Photok Android app is open source under the Apache License 2.0. You can read, verify and contribute to the code on GitHub.

The Google Play version uses the same core and also includes the optional Photok Pro features. Those features are not open source. A fully open-source version without Photok Pro is available on F-Droid and GitHub.

Can someone access my photos if they steal my phone?

Photok is built for exactly this situation:

• Your files are encrypted and can't be read without your password or recovery phrase.
• Your files are kept in Photok's private storage, where other apps can't reach them.
• Photok locks itself after it has been in the background for a while. You choose how long under Automatic Lock Timeout.
• Screenshots and screen recordings of Photok are blocked by default.

With Photok Pro you get more protection: you can limit wrong password attempts, lock the vault instantly by shaking or flipping your phone, and take a photo of anyone who enters a wrong password.

Still, no app can promise absolute security. Your protection is weaker if your password is easy to guess, if someone takes your phone while the vault is unlocked, or if automatic lock is set to Never. Malware on a compromised device is also a risk. Use a strong password, keep the lock timeout short, and keep a backup.

How do I back up and restore my Photok vault?

Create a backup

1. Open Photok and go to Settings → Advanced → Backup.
2. Confirm your password.
3. Choose where to save the backup file.
4. Copy the file to a safe place outside your phone, for example a computer or a USB drive.

Restore a backup

1. Install Photok and set up your vault, or open your existing vault.
2. Tap Import and choose Restore a backup.
3. Select your backup file. Photok shows what the backup contains.
4. Enter the password that was set when the backup was created.
5. Choose what should happen to photos that are already in your vault: Skip them or Import them again.

Good to know:

• Restoring adds the files to your vault. Nothing that is already there gets deleted.
• Your photos and videos are encrypted inside the backup. File names, album names and dates are not, so store your backup somewhere you trust.
• A backup can only be opened with Photok, not with a gallery app.
• Photok does not create backups automatically. Make a new one from time to time.
• Backups from older versions of Photok can still be restored.

Is Photok Pro a subscription?

No. Photok Pro is a one-time purchase in the Google Play version. You pay once and keep it. The price is shown in the app before you buy. Photok Pro includes:

• Brute-force Protection: choose how many wrong password attempts are allowed. After that, Photok either locks for 30 minutes or erases all files.
• Panic Lock: lock Photok instantly by shaking your phone or turning it face down.
• Intruder Warnings: Photok takes a photo with the front camera when someone enters a wrong password. These photos stay on your device.
• All future Pro features at no extra cost.

Payments and refunds are handled by Google Play. See the Terms of Use for details.

What is the difference between Photok Pro and the FOSS version?

Both use the same core app, with the same encryption, albums, backups, recovery phrase and biometric unlock.

Photok on Google Play is the main version. It also lets you unlock Photok Pro for extra security features.

The FOSS version on F-Droid and GitHub is built only from the open-source code. It does not include Photok Pro.