Support, within reach.

Set up your vault

1. Open PVC. On first setup, enter 000000 on the calculator, then tap =.
2. Complete setup with your own six-digit PIN. Keep your recovery code somewhere safe, separate from the phone.
3. To open the vault later, enter your six-digit PIN and tap =. You will see the Albums listing. Tap an album to view its media, or choose the All Media album tile to browse your full library. The calculator also supports backspace for correcting input.

PVC does not require an account, internet connection, or cloud sign-in.

PIN, Face ID, and recovery

I forgot my PIN

Press and hold AC on the calculator to open recovery, then use your recovery code. Arkavix does not receive your PIN or recovery code and cannot retrieve them for you.

Can I use Face ID?

Face ID is optional. Once enabled in PVC, press and hold = on the calculator to authenticate with Face ID.

What is the decoy PIN?

A separate decoy PIN opens a separate gallery. If you see that gallery, open PVC using your main vault PIN to access your main library.

Choose how to add to the vault

Tap the top + button. Apple’s native action sheet offers three choices:

• Camera: Apple’s native camera for taking photos or recording videos.
• Photo Library: Apple’s native Photos picker for selecting existing photos and videos.
• Choose Files: the system document picker for selecting supported files.

Where do Camera captures go?

Photos and videos captured through Camera save directly to your vault, not to Apple Photos. There is no original in Photos to remove, so the Photos deletion flow does not apply to these captures.

Why are camera and microphone permissions requested?

Camera permission lets you take a photo or record a video when you choose Camera. Microphone permission is used only for video with sound that you choose to record. The recorded sound is part of that video in your local vault. iOS shows its camera and microphone indicators while those sensors are in use.

You can manage camera and microphone permissions in iOS Settings. The separate optional break-in photo feature uses the camera only; it never uses the microphone or records audio.

Quick camera from the calculator

1. Set up a vault first. Quick camera requires an existing vault.
2. Bring PVC into focus with the calculator idle at 0.
3. With the default shortcut, tap % twice quickly within 10 seconds after the app gains focus.
4. Allow camera access if requested, then take a photo using Apple’s native camera.

The shortcut saves only the new photo to the real vault’s All Media. It does not unlock the vault or read or display existing media. It is photos only, does not use the microphone, and does not add the photo to Apple Photos.

Open the real vault’s Settings to choose the shortcut key and tap count, or disable quick camera. If it does not open, check that it is enabled, the vault already exists, the calculator is idle at zero, and you are within the 10-second window after focus.

Backgrounding the app cancels the trigger and any pending quick capture. Photos stay local under the same vault storage and privacy practices; the shortcut sends no data to Arkavix.

Import from and export to Photos

What happens when I import from Photos?

Choose Photo Library from the top + menu to open Apple’s native Photos picker. PVC copies selected photos or videos into its local vault and verifies the imported files with SHA-256 before committing them to its catalog. After verification, it automatically asks Apple Photos to remove eligible originals. iOS requires Photos permission and your confirmation in a system Delete dialog; verification does not bypass that dialog.

Why are originals still in Photos?

If you decline deletion or the required Photos permission is unavailable, originals remain. PVC also retains failed, edited, burst, compound, changed, or inaccessible originals rather than treating them as eligible for automatic removal.

Check your vault copy before manually removing anything from Photos. A Live Photo imports as a flattened still image only; its motion component is not kept in PVC.

Are deleted originals immediately gone everywhere?

No. Apple Photos can keep deleted items in Recently Deleted for up to 30 days. If iCloud Photos is enabled, deleting originals can propagate to your other synced devices. PVC has no automatic cloud sync; saving a manual encrypted backup to iCloud Drive is a separate choice you can make.

How do I export to Photos?

Tap the share icon while viewing an item, or select items and use the bottom share icon. Both open Apple’s native iOS share sheet for photos, videos and documents. Choose Save Image or Save Video when offered to save to Photos, Save to Files, or another available destination. PVC does not automatically save to Photos when you tap Share. Allow any permission requested for the action you choose. Shared copies are outside PVC and follow the destination’s settings; your vault copies remain. Use an encrypted archive to back up files and albums together.

An item will not import or export

Check PVC’s Photos access in iOS Settings, available device storage, and whether the original is accessible in Photos. PVC itself has no network feature to retrieve unavailable originals. Keep the original while an import is incomplete. If the issue continues, contact support with the steps and any error text.

How do I know an import was saved?

A brief inline saved status appears and automatically disappears. Warnings about failed imports or originals retained, along with retry controls, appear inline. Details open only if you choose to view them; PVC does not automatically open an Import complete page. The Photos permission and iOS deletion confirmation are still required to remove eligible originals.

Import files and documents

Tap Choose Files in the top + menu to open the system document picker. Select supported documents to copy into your vault. They are stored in Albums alongside photos and videos.

Supported formats include:

• PDF, text, and Markdown
• CSV and RTF
• Word documents: doc and docx
• Excel spreadsheets: xls and xlsx
• PowerPoint presentations: ppt and pptx
• OpenDocument files: odt, ods, and odp

Files originals are removed automatically after a verified vault copy. PVC checks that both the saved copy and source still match before deleting each successfully imported file. Failed imports, changed originals, and files a provider will not allow PVC to delete are kept and reported inline; remove those manually in Files if needed. No extra PVC confirmation is shown. Deletion may also affect other devices using the same file provider. Photos imports still require the iOS deletion confirmation.

Open a document using PDF preview or iOS Quick Look, depending on the file type. Swipe left to the next item or right to the previous one within the album, including files. Documents are also included when you open Settings → Export & Import Vault → Vault Backup and use the export section to create an encrypted backup.

Manual vault backup and restore

Create an encrypted backup

1. Open the real or decoy vault you want to back up. Go to Settings → Export & Import Vault → Vault Backup.
2. Tap Export encrypted ZIP. PVC uses the current PIN for the vault you have open. After unlocking with that PIN, there is no extra PIN field. If you unlocked with Face ID, PVC may ask for the current vault PIN once for that unlocked session; stored credential verifiers cannot recover it.
3. Save or share the resulting .zip file using iOS Files or the share sheet, including as an email attachment. Choose a destination you can access later, such as iCloud Drive, another file provider, or a location you manage.

The standard ZIP contains 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 in PVC. The inner payload uses AES-256-GCM with a key derived from the vault PIN using PBKDF2 and Apple cryptography APIs. The outer ZIP itself is not password-encrypted. Exporting preserves what is in the vault; it cannot recreate motion discarded when a Live Photo was imported as a still.

There is no separate PIN to choose for new exports. The active vault PIN is kept only in revocable unlocked-session memory and cleared when the vault locks. Credentials stored on disk remain verifiers; the PIN itself is not included in the archive.

Import on this device or another one

1. On another device, set up PVC first. On this device, open the vault you want to add the backup to.
2. Open Settings → Export & Import Vault → Vault Backup. Tap Choose ZIP or vault file and select the exported ZIP or a raw .pvcvault file.
3. Tap Import vault. PVC first tries the current vault PIN. If the archive uses a different or older PIN, enter the PIN used when exported. For legacy backups created with the separate-PIN flow, enter their original separate PIN.
4. PVC verifies the media, documents, and albums and adds them to the current vault without replacing existing content.

What if I change my vault PIN?

A PIN change affects future exports only. Existing archives still need the PIN used when they were exported. An older separate-PIN backup still needs its original separate PIN. Changing or recovering access to the current vault does not change the PIN required by an existing archive.

What is excluded?

Only the currently open real or decoy vault is exported. The other gallery is excluded, along with the PIN itself, recovery codes, and security logs. To export the other vault, open it first and create a separate archive. Importing an archive does not restore those credentials or settings.

Does PVC back up or sync automatically?

No. You create and save each archive yourself; it contains the vault at the time of export. Changes made later need a new export. PVC has no developer backend or automatic cloud sync. If you choose a cloud destination, the file provider handles storage and transfer under its own settings and policies.

View photos, videos, and files

The vault opens to the Albums listing, without a media grid on launch. Tap an album to see its corresponding photos, videos, and files. All Media is an explicit album tile you can choose to open; it is not the default view.

Open an item in the album you chose. Swipe left to move to the next item, or swipe right for the previous one. Pinch to zoom into a photo.

If a Live Photo appears as a still, that is expected: PVC keeps its still image only, without the motion component.

Select and delete items

1. Touch and hold a photo, video, or file to select it without opening it.
2. Use Select All to select the whole open album, including offscreen items.
3. Choose Delete and review the explicit confirmation. Confirming deletes the full selection, including selected items that are offscreen. Unselected items are kept.

Optional break-in photos

If you enable this feature and grant camera permission, PVC can take a front-camera photo after each group of three incorrect PIN attempts. iOS displays its camera-use indicator. Break-in photos never use the microphone or record audio; video sound is recorded only when you choose to capture a video through Camera.

Attempt events and any photos stay on your device; they are not sent to Arkavix. Camera access is optional and can be managed in iOS Settings.

Contact Arkavix

Email hello@arkavix.com with “PVC support” in the subject, or use the Arkavix contact form, choose “something else,” and mention PVC.

Include your iPhone model, iOS version, PVC version, what you expected, and what happened. Do not send your vault PIN, any PIN used for an older export, recovery code, private media or documents, or vault archive. If you choose to attach a screenshot, check it for personal information first.

The app sends us no diagnostics automatically. Contacting support shares only what you choose to send, along with the technical information processed by the email or website service. See the support and website privacy details.