How can we help?
Email is the way to reach us. We read every message and reply by email. Most questions are answered below, and the app's own Vault Health screen tells you where your library stands at any moment.
Write to [email protected]. To help us answer first time, include your iPhone model, your iOS version, the app version shown in Dearkept's Settings, and what you saw on screen.
Common questions
I forgot my Vault Code. Can you reset it?
No. The Vault Code is created on your iPhone and never sent to us, so there is nothing we can reset. It is not your iPhone passcode. If you saved your 12 recovery words and have a backup, you can restore the library: delete and reinstall Dearkept, pick the backup in Files, enter your words and choose a new Vault Code. If you have neither the code nor the words, the photos stay encrypted and nobody can open them, including us. That is the whole design, and it is also the risk you take.
Where are my recovery words, and do I have to save them?
Vault Health shows whether your words are Not saved, Saved or Verified, and offers to show them again. Saving them is optional and you can do it whenever you are ready, but until they are saved outside this iPhone, a lost Vault Code means a lost library.
How do I back up?
In Vault Health, choose a backup folder in Files. iCloud Drive is recommended and Dearkept asks for it first; a folder on this iPhone is allowed and is labelled as being on this iPhone only. Dearkept writes one encrypted archive there and checks it. Backups do not happen on their own, so make a new one after adding photos you care about.
How do I restore after a reinstall?
Install Dearkept, choose Restore, pick the backup in Files, enter your 12 recovery words and your Vault Code, and read the restore report. The report lists how many photos came back and whether each one was verified.
If I delete the app, are my photos gone?
The encrypted library lives inside the app on your iPhone. Deleting the app deletes the library. Your originals in the Photos app are untouched, and a backup you made earlier can be restored as described above. Without a backup there is nothing to restore.
What does "waiting for attention" mean?
A photo that could not be verified after import, for example because the import was interrupted, waits for attention instead of being quietly counted as saved. Vault Health and the Library both show it. Open the entry to retry or remove it. It counts towards the free limit until you deal with it.
Can I get my photos out?
Yes, always. Select one or several photos and export them to a folder in Files or back to your Photos library. Export is never locked and never watermarked, on every plan and in every subscription state.
What counts towards the free 100 photos?
Photos in the Library, photos in Trash and photos waiting for attention. Empty Trash or remove attention entries to free up room. Dearkept Pro removes the limit. Photos added before the limit stay readable, exportable and in every backup whether or not you subscribe.
Subscriptions: cancelling, refunds, restoring
Dearkept Pro is USD 19.99 a year, with 7 days free on the annual plan, or USD 3.99 a month, shown in your own currency in the app. It is billed by Apple. Manage or cancel it in the iPhone Settings app under your name, then Subscriptions. Cancelling stops the next renewal and does not refund the period you are in. Refund requests go to Apple at reportaproblem.apple.com. If Pro does not show after a reinstall or on a replacement iPhone signed in to the same Apple Account, tap Restore purchases on the Pro screen or in Settings.
Does Dearkept need an internet connection?
No. The app contains no networking code and never talks to a server of ours. Purchases and iCloud Drive backups use Apple's services, which need a connection at that moment.
Which iPhones does it run on?
Any iPhone running iOS 17 or later. Dearkept is made for iPhone only.
Report a problem
If something looks wrong, especially anything Vault Health reports that you did not expect, email [email protected] with what you did, what you expected and what happened. A screenshot of the screen helps. Please do not send your Vault Code or recovery words to anyone, including us; we never need them and will never ask.