sigil. vs LockMyPix

Short answer: choose LockMyPix if you want one vault app on Android, iPhone and iPad, unlock with Face ID or fingerprint, and an intruder selfie on wrong attempts. Choose sigil. if you want a vault on iPhone with no account and no server, unlocked only by a sign you draw, with the decoy vault included for free.

Both apps encrypt on the device by their own description. The differences are in how you unlock, what is free, and what the App Store privacy label says.

sigil.

LockMyPix

Price

Free · Pro €39.99 once or €19.99/yrUS App Store 'Premium' items from $3.99 to $29.99 (incl. 1 year $29.99)

Lifetime option

€39.99 once, no subscription—

Free tier

100 photos and documents + 10 videos per vault, 1 vault + decoy vaultFree download with ads; Fake Vault and disguise are Premium

Account required

No account at all—

Encryption

256-bit encryption; key unlocked by your sign (Argon2id, bound to the secure chip)AES in CTR mode (vendor-stated)

Zero-knowledge

Yes — no server, we never see anythingData stays on your device (vendor-stated)

Multiple vaults

Up to 7 vaults with Pro, one sign each; the app never lists themAlbums and sub-albums behind one lock

Decoy vault

Free: a decoy pattern opens a decoy vault with harmless photos and erases nothingFake Vault with a separate code (Premium)

Disguised icon

Neutral utility icons that don't say vault.Can look like another app, e.g. a calculator (Premium)

Private camera

Photos never touch the Camera Roll—

EXIF / location removal

Location/EXIF stripped on import and export—

Cloud sync

No — local-first, no cloud backup yet—

Unlock

Only the sign you draw — no Face ID or Touch ID, by designPIN, password, Face ID, fingerprint, pattern (Android)

Break-in alerts

No intruder photos; optional self-destruct after too many wrong signsIntruder selfie on failed attempts

Platforms

iPhone onlyAndroid, iPhone, iPad

sigil. compared with LockMyPix

Feature	sigil.	LockMyPix
Price	Free · Pro €39.99 once or €19.99/yr	US App Store 'Premium' items from $3.99 to $29.99 (incl. 1 year $29.99)
Lifetime option	€39.99 once, no subscription	—
Free tier	100 photos and documents + 10 videos per vault, 1 vault + decoy vault	Free download with ads; Fake Vault and disguise are Premium
Account required	No account at all	—
Encryption	256-bit encryption; key unlocked by your sign (Argon2id, bound to the secure chip)	AES in CTR mode (vendor-stated)
Zero-knowledge	Yes — no server, we never see anything	Data stays on your device (vendor-stated)
Multiple vaults	Up to 7 vaults with Pro, one sign each; the app never lists them	Albums and sub-albums behind one lock
Decoy vault	Free: a decoy pattern opens a decoy vault with harmless photos and erases nothing	Fake Vault with a separate code (Premium)
Disguised icon	Neutral utility icons that don't say vault.	Can look like another app, e.g. a calculator (Premium)
Private camera	Photos never touch the Camera Roll	—
EXIF / location removal	Location/EXIF stripped on import and export	—
Cloud sync	No — local-first, no cloud backup yet	—
Unlock	Only the sign you draw — no Face ID or Touch ID, by design	PIN, password, Face ID, fingerprint, pattern (Android)
Break-in alerts	No intruder photos; optional self-destruct after too many wrong signs	Intruder selfie on failed attempts
Platforms	iPhone only	Android, iPhone, iPad

Security model

LockMyPix says it encrypts your files with AES in CTR mode (vendor-stated). You unlock it with PIN, password, Face ID, fingerprint, pattern (Android). We could not find public details on how the key is derived from your PIN or protected on the phone.

sigil. has one way in: a sign drawn on a 5×5 dot grid. The sign is hardened with Argon2id and bound to the phone's secure chip, and only that combination unlocks the vault's 256-bit key. Nothing is compared against a stored PIN; a wrong sign opens nothing. See pattern encryption, and pattern lock vs PIN vs password for how a sign compares with a PIN.

If you forget your sign, the only way back is your recovery phrase. We cannot reset anything for you.

Privacy

On data, LockMyPix says: Data stays on your device (vendor-stated). Its listing also carries this privacy label: App Store privacy label: Data Used to Track You (Identifiers). Apple's labels are self-reported by developers and describe the app as a whole, typically including advertising, not your vault contents. It is still worth knowing before you choose.

sigil. has no account, no server and no ads. Your vaults never leave the phone unless you export them. The app sends no usage statistics. We do not know who you are. Nobody has the key, not even us.

Features

Decoy vault. LockMyPix offers a Fake Vault with a separate code (Premium). In sigil. the decoy vault is free: its own decoy pattern opens it, while your other vaults stay hidden.

Multiple vaults. LockMyPix organises files as Albums and sub-albums behind one lock. In sigil. each sign opens a separate vault and the app never lists them, so nobody can tell how many there are (multiple hidden vaults).

Disguised icon. LockMyPix Can look like another app, e.g. a calculator (Premium). sigil. can show a neutral icon that doesn't say vault (disguised icon).

Wrong attempts. LockMyPix takes an Intruder selfie on failed attempts. sigil. takes no intruder photos. Its optional self-destruct, off by default, erases the vaults after too many wrong signs.

Unlock. LockMyPix supports Face ID and fingerprint. sigil. supports only the sign, by design: biometrics can be forced, a sign has to be given.

Camera and metadata. sigil.'s private camera writes straight into the encrypted vault, and EXIF and location are stripped on import and export. The LockMyPix listings we checked don't cover these points.

Price

LockMyPix on the US App Store: US App Store 'Premium' items from $3.99 to $29.99 (incl. 1 year $29.99). The free version: Free download with ads; Fake Vault and disguise are Premium.

sigil. is free with every feature included (decoy vault, self-destruct, disguised icon): 100 photos and documents plus 10 videos per vault, one vault plus the decoy vault. Pro lifts the photo and video limits and gives you up to 7 vaults, each opened by its own pattern: €39.99 once, lifetime, no subscription, or €19.99 per year. No free trial and no monthly plan. Over the free limit nothing is locked; you just can't add more. See pricing.

Where LockMyPix is better

• Platforms. Android, iPhone, iPad. sigil. is iPhone-only today; Android is planned, with no date.
• Biometric unlock. If you prefer Face ID or a fingerprint for speed, LockMyPix has it; sigil. leaves it out by design.
• Track record. 332K ratings on Google Play; 2.6K on the US App Store. sigil. is new.
• Backup. sigil. has no cloud backup yet, so you need your own plan (how to securely back up private photos).

How to switch from LockMyPix to sigil.

1. In LockMyPix, select the files you want to move and export them to the Photos library.
2. Install sigil., draw a sign, and write the 12-word recovery phrase on paper.
3. Import the files into your vault. sigil. strips location and EXIF data on import.
4. Open a few in sigil. to make sure they are readable.
5. Delete the exported copies from Photos, then empty Recently Deleted (how to delete Recently Deleted photos).
6. Once everything is in place, delete the files from LockMyPix and cancel any Premium subscription.

Verdict

LockMyPix is a well-established, cross-platform vault that says it encrypts locally, with biometrics and an intruder selfie; the fake vault and disguise sit behind Premium. sigil. is narrower: iPhone only, no cloud backup yet, sign-only unlock. In exchange you get no account, no server, no ads, a free decoy vault, and hidden vaults nobody can count. If you need Android or Face ID, pick LockMyPix. If you want the free tier to include the protections that matter under pressure, pick sigil.

More options: sigil. vs Gallery Vault and the best private photo vault apps for iPhone.