Compare
Silo vs vault apps that need an online account
| Silo | Vault apps that need an online account | |
|---|---|---|
| Where your files live | On your phone, encrypted before they are written. Nothing is uploaded unless you turn on backup, which arrives with launch. | Usually on the company's servers, with a copy on each signed-in device.How to check: Switch on airplane mode and see whether items you haven't opened recently still open. |
| Where encryption happens | On the phone, before anything is stored. | Varies. Some encrypt on the phone, some only encrypt while data travels and sits on their servers.How to check: Look for the words end-to-end or zero-knowledge in the company's own security page, then for how the key is made. |
| Files encrypted at rest | Yes. XChaCha20-Poly1305 with 256-bit keys. | Usually yes on the server. Who holds the key varies.How to check: Ask support in writing whether staff can open your files. |
| What opens it | A PIN of 6 or more digits, or a passphrase (Pro), plus optional face or fingerprint unlock. | Usually your account password, often with face or fingerprint unlock on the phone.How to check: Sign out and see what is needed to sign back in. |
| Account needed | No. There is no sign-up, no email and no server account. | Yes. An email address and password at minimum.How to check: Try setup without an internet connection. |
| Works offline | Yes. Everything runs on the phone. | Varies. Often only items already downloaded.How to check: Open a few items in airplane mode. |
| If you forget the password | Your recovery phrase brings you back. Nobody at Silo can reset it, so keep the phrase safe. | Usually an email reset. That is convenient, and it means whoever controls the account or the email can also get in. In some apps, a reset can also mean the old files are lost.How to check: Read the reset page and see what it says happens to existing files. |
| Verified import | Yes. Each item is read back and compared before Silo offers to remove the original. | Varies. Uploads are often confirmed by the server, and your phone may remove the original soon after.How to check: Upload a test photo, open it from a second device, then remove the original. |
| Export everything | Yes, on any plan, including after a plan ends. | Varies. Some offer bulk export, and some limit it or tie it to a paid plan.How to check: Try exporting everything in one go, and see if file names and quality survive. |
| Published format and decrypt tool | Yes. The format is public, with a free independent decrypt tool. | Usually no. Files are read through the company's service. |
| Backup and who holds the keys | Arriving with launch: encrypted on the phone, then sent to your own cloud storage. Silo's developer cannot read it. | The service is the backup. Who holds the key varies.How to check: Ask what happens to your files if the company closes. |
| Cloud exposure | Nothing is on Silo's servers, because there are none. Backup, once available, goes to your own account. | Your files sit on a server that can be breached, and the company may have to hand over anything it can read. |
| What happens on uninstall | The vault lives inside the app, so removing the app removes it. Export first, or keep a backup. | Usually your files stay in your account and come back when you reinstall and sign in.How to check: Uninstall, reinstall and sign in, and see what returns. |
| Ads and tracking | No ads. Diagnostics are off unless you agree in setup. | Varies. An account tends to mean more data about you.How to check: Read the privacy label in the store listing. |
| Price | Free for up to 100 photos and 10 videos. Pro from $1.99 a week, $19.99 a year or $39.99 once. | Often a subscription tied to storage size. Varies. |
Some vault apps work like a webmail account for your photos. You sign up with an email, your files are uploaded, and you can open them from any phone or a browser. For many people that is exactly what they want.
Why people choose account-based vaults
- Many devices. Open the same files on your phone, a tablet and a computer.
- Easy reset. Forget your password and you get an email, not a locked-out vault.
- A built-in copy. Lose your phone and your files are still there.
- Sharing. Some let you send items to other people from the service.
Where an account-based vault is the better choice
If you need the same files on several devices, or you share them with family or a team, an account vault does something Silo doesn’t. Silo has no sync between devices. If you also know you will forget a password, or you want somebody to be able to help you get back in, a reset flow is a feature, not a flaw. Choose one if the convenience matters most, and make sure it is end-to-end encrypted.
The trade-off
The company holds your files. Even encrypted, they sit on servers you don’t control. Servers can be breached, and companies can be compelled to hand over what they can read.
The reset button is also a way in. If a company can restore your access without your password, it either holds your key or can get it. In a truly end-to-end design, a reset can’t bring old files back. It is worth reading exactly what a reset does in the app you are considering.
An account is a thing to protect. Anyone who gets into your email can start a reset.
You rely on the company continuing. If it closes or changes terms, you need a way to leave with your files.
More data about you. Accounts tend to come with analytics, and a record of who you are.
How to decide
Start with convenience and exposure. If many devices matter, accept an account and check that the encryption is end-to-end and what a reset actually does. If you want the files to stay with you, on the phone, with nobody able to reset them, pick a vault with no account and keep your recovery phrase safe.
Whichever you pick, test the exit. Export everything, uninstall, reinstall and see what comes back.
A middle path
You don’t have to pick all or nothing. Some people keep a vault with no account for the files that matter most, and use a normal cloud album for everything else. Others use an account vault but keep their own export copy somewhere offline. Either way, the aim is the same: know where every copy of your files lives, and who could open each one.
What Silo does differently
Silo has no account, so there is nothing on a server to breach or reset. Encryption happens on the phone, your recovery phrase is the only way back, and the format is public. When backup arrives with launch, it goes to your own cloud storage, encrypted on the phone first, and Silo’s developer cannot read it.
Questions
Are cloud vault apps safe?
It depends on who holds the key. If the app is end-to-end encrypted, the company can't read your files. If it can reset your password and keep the files, it can also open them.
Can Silo sync my vault between two phones?
No. Silo doesn't sync between devices. With encrypted backup, arriving with launch, you restore your vault on a new phone with your recovery phrase.
Why does Silo not have a password reset?
Because a reset needs someone other than you to hold a way in. Silo has no account and never holds your key, so your recovery phrase is the way back.
What if the company behind a cloud vault shuts down?
Your files may become unreachable unless you exported them first. That is why export, and a published format that doesn't need the company, matter.