Disguised icon: a neutral icon for your vaults

The disguised icon replaces the sigil. icon on your Home Screen with a neutral icon that doesn't say what the app is: a small utility-style glyph we drew on the same 5×5 dot grid as the sign, on a plain background. It doesn't imitate Calculator, Notes, or any other system app. It is a way to avoid attention, not a lock: what keeps your photos private is the encryption behind your sign. Below is exactly what the icon changes, what iOS still shows, and how to combine it with Apple's own app-hiding feature.

What it does

From the app's settings you pick one of the alternate glyphs. iOS replaces the icon on your Home Screen with the one you chose. Someone glancing at your phone, or scrolling through your pages while borrowing it, sees an anonymous icon among many: no padlock, no lettering, nothing that suggests private photos.

If they do open it, they see the 5×5 dot grid. Without a valid sign, nothing happens — no vault list, no hint of what the app is for. See pattern encryption for what happens behind the grid.

The disguised icon is free, like every other feature.

Why we don't imitate Apple's apps

Many apps in this category dress up as Calculator or Notes. We chose not to, for three reasons:

• It adds no protection. Anyone who knows what to look for spots a second "Calculator" right away. Anyone who doesn't won't look twice at a neutral icon either.
• It confuses people who use your phone. A relative who wants to do a quick sum opens the wrong app and finds a dot grid.
• It overpromises. An icon pretending to be a system app suggests more than it can deliver.

A neutral glyph does the useful part, going unnoticed, without pretending to be something else.

What it does not change (iOS behavior)

sigil. uses Apple's standard alternate icons mechanism, the same one many apps use for seasonal or themed icons. Here is what is generally true for it on iOS:

• The icon changes; the name does not. Alternate icons swap the image. The app's name is set when the app is built and is not changed by the icon switch, so it can still appear as the label under the icon.
• iOS confirms the change. When the icon switches, iOS shows a brief system message saying the icon was changed. Apps cannot suppress it.
• Other places use the name. Settings, Spotlight search, the App Library, storage and Screen Time lists, and the App Store identify the app by its real name.
• Notifications and sharing may also show the real name.

In short: the disguise holds up against a quick look at the Home Screen. It does not hold up against someone who goes looking. We would rather say that plainly than suggest otherwise.

Pairing it with iOS app hiding

Recent iOS versions let you lock and hide apps:

1. Long-press the app on your Home Screen.
2. Choose Require Face ID (or Touch ID / Passcode).
3. Choose Hide and Require Face ID to move it to the locked Hidden folder at the bottom of the App Library.

A hidden app disappears from the Home Screen and from search results, and opening the Hidden folder requires authentication. The trade-off: the Hidden folder itself is visible, and it opens with your device's biometrics or passcode, and biometrics can be forced (someone can hold the phone up to your face). That's why sigil., even inside the Hidden folder, opens only with a sign. Our guide to hiding apps on iPhone walks through the options and their limits.

Many people use one or the other:

• Disguised icon: the app stays on the Home Screen, one tap away, with an anonymous look.
• Hidden app: the app is gone from the Home Screen but sits behind the Hidden folder.

Why a disguise is not enough on its own

The "calculator vault" category exists because disguises work for casual cases. But many of those apps rely on the disguise and a PIN, with files that are not separately encrypted underneath. If someone gets past the PIN, or copies the files off the device, there is little protection. Our guide on whether calculator vault apps are safe explains what to check.

sigil. works the other way around. The disguise is optional polish; the real protection is that your photos are encrypted with a 256-bit key that only your sign can unlock, which is never stored. Even with the default icon, a person who opens the app doesn't get in without the sign. Nobody has the key, not even us.

When it is most useful

• Lending your phone to friends or colleagues — see lending your phone.
• Children who tap every colorful icon — see kids with your phone.
• Partners or family who would ask "what's that app?" and start a conversation you would rather not have.

Tips

• Put the disguised app in a folder with other utilities so it blends in.
• Pick the glyph and background that sit best with the rest of your Home Screen: the goal is that no icon stands out.
• Remember that the label under the icon may still show the app's name. On recent iOS versions, choosing the Large icon size when customizing the Home Screen hides labels for all apps.
• Keep the disguise and the encryption in perspective: the icon buys you inattention, the sign buys you security.