sigil. vs Calculator# (calculator photo vault)

Short answer: choose Calculator# if your main goal is an app that looks like a working calculator, with cloud backup to the storage service you already use. Choose sigil. if you want the files themselves encrypted with a key nobody else can recover — with a low-profile icon as an option, not as the line of defense.

There are many "secret calculator" vaults on the App Store. For this comparison we picked the most prominent one on the US store at the time of writing: Calculator# Hide Photos Videos by NewSoftwares.net.

sigil.

Calculator# Hide Photos Videos

Price

Free · Pro €39.99 once or €19.99/yrUS App Store IAPs: Yearly Subscription $4.99, Premium Features Pack $4.99

Lifetime option

€39.99 once, no subscription—

Free tier

100 photos and documents + 10 videos per vault, 1 vault + decoy vaultFree with ads and limitations

Account required

No account at all—

Encryption

256-bit encryption; key unlocked by your sign (Argon2id, bound to the secure chip)—

Zero-knowledge

Yes — no server, we never see anything—

Multiple vaults

Up to 7 vaults with Pro, one sign each; the app never lists them—

Decoy vault

Free: a decoy pattern opens a decoy vault with harmless photos and erases nothingNo decoy vault listed; 'Disguise Mode' shows a fake error message

Disguised icon

Neutral utility icons that don't say vault.Looks and works like a calculator

Private camera

Photos never touch the Camera RollTake photos and videos inside the app

EXIF / location removal

Location/EXIF stripped on import and export—

Cloud sync

No — local-first, no cloud backup yetBackup to iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive

Unlock

Only the sign you draw — no Face ID or Touch ID, by designCalculator code, PIN, password, pattern, Touch ID / Face ID

Break-in alerts

No intruder photos; optional self-destruct after too many wrong signsHack Monitor logs invalid password attempts

Platforms

iPhone onlyiOS, iPadOS, macOS (Apple silicon), visionOS

sigil. compared with Calculator# Hide Photos Videos

Feature	sigil.	Calculator# Hide Photos Videos
Price	Free · Pro €39.99 once or €19.99/yr	US App Store IAPs: Yearly Subscription $4.99, Premium Features Pack $4.99
Lifetime option	€39.99 once, no subscription	—
Free tier	100 photos and documents + 10 videos per vault, 1 vault + decoy vault	Free with ads and limitations
Account required	No account at all	—
Encryption	256-bit encryption; key unlocked by your sign (Argon2id, bound to the secure chip)	—
Zero-knowledge	Yes — no server, we never see anything	—
Multiple vaults	Up to 7 vaults with Pro, one sign each; the app never lists them	—
Decoy vault	Free: a decoy pattern opens a decoy vault with harmless photos and erases nothing	No decoy vault listed; 'Disguise Mode' shows a fake error message
Disguised icon	Neutral utility icons that don't say vault.	Looks and works like a calculator
Private camera	Photos never touch the Camera Roll	Take photos and videos inside the app
EXIF / location removal	Location/EXIF stripped on import and export	—
Cloud sync	No — local-first, no cloud backup yet	Backup to iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive
Unlock	Only the sign you draw — no Face ID or Touch ID, by design	Calculator code, PIN, password, pattern, Touch ID / Face ID
Break-in alerts	No intruder photos; optional self-destruct after too many wrong signs	Hack Monitor logs invalid password attempts
Platforms	iPhone only	iOS, iPadOS, macOS (Apple silicon), visionOS

Security model

Calculator# is built around disguise: Looks and works like a calculator. You type a code into the calculator to get in.

What we could not find is an explicit statement about how the stored files are protected. The App Store listing does not describe encryption, so the "Encryption" row above stays empty. That does not prove the files are unencrypted — it means the vendor does not say, and we will not guess. Our general take on this category is in are calculator vault apps safe?

The listing does describe password recovery: Lost password recovery through your registered email. Convenient, but worth thinking about: if access can be restored through email, then access is not bound only to something you know.

sigil. encrypts every item with a 256-bit key. The key is unlocked by a sign you draw on a dot grid, hardened with Argon2id and bound to the phone's secure chip, and the sign is never stored (pattern encryption). There is no email reset. If you forget the sign, your recovery phrase is the only way back.

Privacy: account and backup

Calculator# supports cloud backup: Backup to iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive. That is useful protection against losing your phone. It also means copies may live in a third-party cloud account, and the listing does not say whether those copies are encrypted before upload.

sigil. has no account, no server and no cloud backup yet. Nothing leaves the phone unless you export it, and if you export to plaintext, the app warns you first.

Features

Disguise. Calculator# hides behind a working calculator. sigil. doesn't imitate other apps; it offers neutral utility icons that don't say vault (disguised icon). For hiding the app itself, see how to hide apps on iPhone.

Decoy. Calculator# lists: No decoy vault listed; 'Disguise Mode' shows a fake error message. sigil. has a real decoy: each pattern opens its own vault, and the decoy pattern opens a decoy vault while the others stay hidden.

Multiple vaults. In sigil., each sign is a separate vault, with no list showing how many exist (multiple hidden vaults).

Camera. Calculator#: Take photos and videos inside the app. sigil.'s private camera writes only into the encrypted vault.

Metadata. sigil. strips EXIF and location data on import and export. Check what your photos reveal with the photo metadata viewer.

Price

Calculator# on the US App Store: US App Store IAPs: Yearly Subscription $4.99, Premium Features Pack $4.99. Free version: Free with ads and limitations.

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.

On price alone, Calculator# is cheaper per year. sigil.'s features, encryption included, are free; Pro only pays for unlimited space.

Where Calculator# is better

• Cloud backup. Backup to iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive. sigil. has no cloud backup yet.
• Email recovery. Forgetting your code is less final.
• Platforms. iOS, iPadOS, macOS (Apple silicon), visionOS. sigil. is iPhone-only.
• Cost. A lower yearly price.
• Familiar unlock. A numeric code typed into a calculator is easy to remember.

How to switch to sigil.

1. In Calculator#, open your hidden folders and export the items to Photos or Files.
2. Install sigil., draw a sign, and write down the 12-word recovery phrase on paper.
3. Import the items into your vault; location and EXIF are stripped automatically.
4. Confirm they open, then delete the exported copies from Photos and empty Recently Deleted (guide).
5. Remove any cloud backups Calculator# made, in the cloud service itself.

How we checked

Every fact about Calculator# on this page comes from its US App Store listing, checked on October 30, 2026, and is shown with its source in the table. Where the vendor does not say something — for example, how files are encrypted — we leave the cell empty instead of guessing. Prices differ between regions and change often, so confirm the current price on the purchase screen before you pay. If you spot something out of date, tell us and we will correct it.

Verdict

A calculator disguise answers the question "will someone notice this app?" Encryption answers "what happens if they open it anyway?" Calculator# is good at the first. sigil. keeps a low profile and focuses on the second, at the cost of no cloud backup and no email reset. If you only need to keep a curious person from spotting the app, Calculator# is fine. If the contents must stay private even when found, use sigil.

See our full Calculator# review or compare with Best Secret Folder.