Privacy, on your device.

Data processed inside PVC

“No data sent to Arkavix” does not mean the app stores nothing. PVC needs the following local information to provide its features:

Photos, videos, documents, and the vault catalog

Media you capture or import, files you import, and the local catalog used to display your library and albums are stored in the app’s sandbox. Sound recorded with a video you choose to capture is stored as part of that video. PVC does not send these files to a developer server or automatically sync them to a cloud account. You can manually export media or an encrypted archive containing media, documents, and albums to a destination you choose.

PIN and recovery verifiers

Authentication verifiers and settings are used locally to check your six-digit PIN and recovery code and manage access to your main or separate decoy gallery. Credentials stored on disk remain verifiers. The active vault PIN is retained only in revocable unlocked-session memory for export and import operations and is cleared on lock. Arkavix does not receive your PIN, recovery code, or their verifiers.

Optional Face ID authentication

If enabled, PVC asks iOS to authenticate you using Face ID when you hold the equals key. This does not send authentication data to Arkavix.

Wrong-PIN events and optional camera photos

Attempt events are kept locally. If you enable break-in photos and grant camera permission, PVC can take a front-camera photo after each group of three wrong PIN attempts. iOS shows its camera-use indicator. This feature never uses the microphone or records audio, and neither the photos nor the events are sent to Arkavix.

Camera, microphone, Photos, and Files access

The top + button opens Apple’s native action sheet with Camera, Photo Library, and Choose Files. These open Apple’s native camera, native Photos picker, and system document picker respectively.

When you choose Camera, PVC uses camera permission to take photos or record videos. Microphone permission is used only for video with sound that you choose to record. Captures save directly to the vault, not to Apple Photos, so there is no original in Photos to delete. iOS shows camera and microphone indicators while those sensors are in use.

Quick camera requires an existing vault. By default, two quick taps on the calculator’s percent key within 10 seconds after the app gains focus, while it is idle at zero, open Apple’s native camera for photos only, subject to camera permission. The shortcut saves only the new photo to the real vault’s All Media without unlocking the vault or reading or displaying existing media. It is not added to Photos, and the shortcut does not use the microphone.

You can choose the shortcut key and tap count, or disable quick camera, in the real vault’s Settings. Backgrounding the app cancels the trigger and any pending quick capture. These photos remain local and are not sent to Arkavix; your choices to export media or archives still apply.

Camera permission also supports the separately enabled optional break-in photo feature, which does not use the microphone or record audio. Face ID is optional. You can manage camera, microphone, and Face ID permissions in iOS Settings.

Photo Library uses Apple’s native Photos picker for the media you select. PVC requests Photos access as needed to save exports or request removal of eligible originals. iOS controls these permissions and the confirmation needed to delete originals.

Photos and videos imported from Apple Photos are verified using SHA-256 before PVC commits them to its local catalog. PVC then automatically requests removal of eligible verified originals from Apple Photos. Removal requires Photos permission and your confirmation in the iOS Delete dialog.

Failed, edited, burst, compound, changed, or inaccessible originals are retained. Live Photos are flattened to still images on import; their motion component is not kept in PVC.

Photos can retain deleted originals in Recently Deleted for up to 30 days. If you use iCloud Photos, deletion can propagate to other synced devices. The viewer share icon and the bottom share icon for selected items open the native iOS share sheet. Nothing is automatically saved to Photos. If you choose a Photos save action, copies follow your Apple Photos and iCloud settings; other destinations follow their own settings. Photos export is separate from encrypted vault export; PVC itself has no automatic cloud sync.

The iOS Files picker lets you choose supported documents to copy into the vault: PDF, text/Markdown, CSV, RTF, doc, docx, xls, xlsx, ppt, pptx, odt, ods, and odp. Imported files are stored in Albums and can be previewed using PDF preview or system Quick Look. They are included in manual encrypted vault archives.

Files imports save and verify the selected files, then automatically remove their source originals from Files. Sources that changed or cannot be deleted are kept and reported inline. Deletion may propagate to devices using the same file provider. Files imports do not use the Apple Photos deletion flow. If you select a file from iCloud Drive or another provider, iOS and that provider handle access and any transfer under their own settings and policies; this is a file access you initiate, not automatic vault sync.

Import feedback appears on the device: a brief inline saved status automatically disappears; warnings about failed imports or originals retained and retry controls appear inline. Details open only at your request. These messages do not send an automatic report to Arkavix or replace the required iOS deletion confirmation.

Manual encrypted vault archives

Open Settings → Export & Import Vault → Vault Backup and tap Export encrypted ZIP. The export is a standard .zip containing an encrypted .pvcvault payload with all photos, videos, documents, and albums in the currently open real or decoy vault, preserving the original file bytes stored there. You can export either vault by opening it first. The other gallery, the PIN itself, recovery codes, and security logs are excluded.

The inner .pvcvault payload uses AES-256-GCM encryption with a key derived from the current vault PIN using PBKDF2 and Apple cryptography APIs. The outer ZIP itself is not password-encrypted. New exports reuse the current PIN of the open vault; there is no separate backup PIN to choose.

After a PIN unlock, export needs no extra PIN field. After Face ID, PVC may ask for the current vault PIN once for that unlocked session because stored verifiers cannot recover it. The active PIN remains only in revocable unlocked-session memory and is cleared on lock. It is not included in the archive, and stored credentials remain verifiers.

You manually save or share the ZIP through iOS Files or the share sheet, including as an email attachment. You may choose local storage, iCloud Drive, or another provider. That destination receives the ZIP and its encrypted payload; the provider may process storage, transfers, and related account or technical data under its own policies and your settings. PVC does not automatically send archives to Arkavix or run a developer backup service.

On Vault Backup, tap Choose ZIP or vault file to select a ZIP or raw .pvcvault file, then tap Import vault. Import first tries the current vault PIN. If needed, you can enter the PIN used when exported for a different or older archive. Legacy backups made with a separate PIN still require that original separate PIN. Changing your vault PIN affects future exports, not existing archives.

Import verifies the media, documents, and albums and adds them to the current vault without replacing existing content. You can restore on another device after setting up PVC there. Importing from a file provider is an action you initiate, not automatic cloud sync.

An archive contains the vault at the time you export it; it does not update automatically. A copy stored outside PVC follows the retention and deletion behavior of the destination you chose. Deleting PVC does not remove an archive you saved separately.

Storage, protection, and recovery limits

PVC relies on the iOS app sandbox and Data Protection for live vault files, and uses Keychain for authentication-related storage. The app’s six-digit vault PIN is an access control and does not separately encrypt those live files. Exported .pvcvault payloads are encrypted using the vault PIN current at export time, as described above. These protections are not a guarantee against every form of device access or data loss.

Vault media and documents are excluded from automatic device backups. Deleting the app or losing your device loses vault content you have not backed up or exported. A saved ZIP or raw .pvcvault file and the PIN used for that export can restore the media, documents, and albums it contains. Legacy archives still need their original separate PIN. A recovery code only restores access to an existing vault; it cannot restore files or unlock an archive.

Save an archive or export media you need to keep before uninstalling PVC or replacing your phone. Keep the PIN needed for each archive safe and separate from that file, including any older PIN still needed. Arkavix cannot recover or reset an archive’s PIN, and the archive cannot be used to restore files without it.

The app gives Arkavix no remote access to your vault or backup files. We hold no developer backup copy from which we can restore your media.

Touch and hold selects an item without opening it. Select All covers the whole open album, including offscreen items. Delete removes the full selection only after explicit confirmation; unselected items are kept. Selection and deletion are local operations and do not send data to Arkavix.

Support messages and this website

Using PVC does not automatically create a support record or send diagnostics. If you manually email hello@arkavix.com, we receive the sender details, message, and attachments you choose to send. Email services also process the technical information needed to deliver your message. We use your correspondence to respond to your request.

If you use the Arkavix contact form, the website service stores your name, email address, selected service, and message, together with the submission time, IP address, browser user agent, and timezone and UTC offset when available. This information supports responses, operation of the form, and abuse prevention. Do not include your vault PIN, any PIN used for an older export, recovery code, private media or documents, or vault archive.

Visiting this website is separate from using the app. Hosting infrastructure may process technical request information, including your IP address, requested URL, browser details, and request time. These pages load fonts from Google Fonts, which receives the technical information required for those browser requests. PVC does not make these website requests.

For questions about information you sent to support, including requests to access, correct, or delete it, contact us using the details below. We have no copy of your on-device vault to search or recover.

Contact and policy changes

For PVC privacy questions, email hello@arkavix.com with “PVC privacy” in the subject, or visit Arkavix contact.

We will update this page and its “last updated” date when this policy changes.