Get UniVault

macOS 14 and later on the Mac, iOS 17 and later on iPhone and iPad. Free for your first 50 items, then one purchase.

Two Mac editions, one of them not a tier

The encryption is identical in both — the same key hierarchy, the same ciphers, the same tests. The direct build adds two things the App Store build cannot contain, because a sandboxed app is not allowed to mount a disk image or disguise itself. That is a sandbox rule, not a difference in how your files are protected.

The UniVault X unlock screen on macOS: a padlock, the name UniVault, the line "Unlock with your passphrase and Touch ID", a passphrase field, an Unlock button and a "Can't get in?" link. The window title reads UniVault X. — The same screen, twice: on the one that decides whether your files open, the title bar is the only difference. What the direct build adds is elsewhere — and is about hiding the vault, not about protecting it.

The same unlock screen in the App Store edition of UniVault, identical in every element; only the window title differs, reading UniVault. — The same screen, twice: on the one that decides whether your files open, the title bar is the only difference. What the direct build adds is elsewhere — and is about hiding the vault, not about protecting it.

Direct download

UniVault X

A signed and notarised disk image, one universal build for Apple silicon and Intel.

Encrypted disk image mode — when locked, there is no vault folder to find
A working calculator that reveals the unlock screen only on a code you choose
Everything the App Store edition does, with the same encryption

Not published yet

The disk image goes up here the day it is notarised, with its SHA-256 alongside it. Nothing is offered before then.

App Store

UniVault

The sandboxed edition, reviewed by Apple and updated through the App Store like anything else you have installed.

Same encryption, same recovery key, same threat model
One purchase covers Mac, iPhone and iPad on one Apple Account
No disk image mode and no calculator — the sandbox forbids both

Not on the store yet

Submitted and waiting on review. This becomes a link the moment it is approved.

On iPhone and iPad

iOS 17 or later, from the App Store — there is no other way to install an app on iOS, so there is no direct edition and no second set of trade-offs to weigh. Capture straight into the vault and the photo never enters your library at all.

Each device holds its own vault, and its own key. Nothing moves between them by itself — which is the same design choice that means no server has ever held your files.

The first five minutes matter more than usual

Most apps let you postpone the housekeeping. This one does not, and the reason is the same reason to trust it: there is nobody holding a copy of your key, so there is nobody who can put things right later.

Put the recovery key somewhere real

It is shown once, when the vault is created. Put it in a password manager or on paper, somewhere that is not the Mac holding the vault — the clipboard is the easiest destination and the worst one. You will need your passphrase as well; the key on its own does not open anything.

Export an encrypted backup yourself

Nothing copies your vault anywhere. No server holds it, Time Machine is excluded from it deliberately, and iCloud never sees it — so the only copy that exists is the one you export. Exporting is free at any number of items, including past the free ceiling.

Choose a passphrase you will still know in a year

There is no reset and no backdoor, because there is nobody holding a copy to reset it against. The recovery key rescues you from a fingerprint or face change. Nothing rescues a forgotten passphrase except a backup you exported earlier. Read the rest of what it does not do.

Checking that what you downloaded is ours

Only relevant to the direct download — an App Store install is verified by the store before it reaches you. macOS already refuses to open a notarised app that has been altered, so this is not the only thing standing between you and a tampered copy. It is the part you can check for yourself, which is a different and better kind of assurance.

In Terminal

Confirm the signature and the notarisation:

spctl -a -vvv -t install "/Applications/UniVault X.app"
codesign -dv --verbose=4 "/Applications/UniVault X.app"

The first should say accepted and source=Notarized Developer ID. The second should name UniAuth Inc. as the authority.

Confirm the disk image is byte-for-byte the one we published:

shasum -a 256 ~/Downloads/UniVaultX.dmg

The digest to compare against is published beside the disk image, and appears here, once there is a release.

Artefacts are served from https://vault.uniauth.id/vault-dl as static files.

Read the limits before you rely on it

The honest list of what this cannot protect you from is a better guide to whether it suits you than anything on this page.