Backup, moving and export · iPhone and Android
How to move your photo vault to a new phone
New phones are exciting until you remember what is on the old one. For most of your apps, setup brings everything over without asking. A vault app is different, and it may be the one thing that doesn’t come along.
Why the usual transfer may skip your vault
Phones copy what each app lets them copy. Developers choose whether an app’s data is included in the system backup, and some opt out entirely. A vault app has a good reason to: if the phone’s backup copied the files into the cloud, it would put your private photos somewhere the app can’t control.
So when you set up the new phone and see your vault app, don’t assume the vault is inside. It may open empty. Check before you wipe or sell the old phone. If you are doing that next, see also does deleting a vault app delete photos.
Three ways to move a vault
1. The app’s own backup and restore
The best option, if the app has one. A good design encrypts the backup on the phone first, so the cloud only holds scrambled data. To restore on the new phone you sign in to the same storage and enter your secret, such as a recovery phrase. Ask before you rely on it: is the backup encrypted before upload? Do you need an account? What do you need to restore, and do you have it written down?
2. Export, then import
Works with any vault app that lets you export. On the old phone, export everything to a folder. Move that folder to the new phone, then import it into a vault app there. The steps are in export photos from a vault app.
The catch: exported files are not encrypted. They are as private as wherever you put them. Move them by cable, a direct connection between the two phones, or a computer you trust. Delete the exported folder once the import is done.
3. Both phones at once
If the app supports it, set up the new phone while the old one still works, and use whichever route above applies. This is the least stressful way, because nothing is lost until you choose.
A checklist for the day of the move
- Update the app on the old phone, so its backup and export tools are current.
- Find your recovery phrase. Without it, a restore can’t be rebuilt. See what is a recovery phrase.
- Take the backup or export now, not on the last day.
- Check the count. Note how many photos, videos and files are in the vault.
- Restore or import on the new phone. Compare the count.
- Open a sample. Check a few photos at full size and play a video.
- Keep the old phone as it is until you are sure. Do not reset it yet.
- Wipe the old phone last. Delete the vault app and any exported folders.
Moving between iPhone and Android
A backup from one platform may not restore on the other, because each platform has its own cloud. Export is the dependable route: exported photos and videos are ordinary files that any phone can open.
What Silo does today
Silo is coming soon. Backup to your own cloud storage and restore on a new phone with your recovery phrase are arriving with launch. Today, export is the way to move: it is free on every plan, writes full-quality files, and turns each album into a folder. The vault lives only in the app’s own storage, and the phone’s own backup doesn’t copy it, so export first or keep a backup.
Questions
Will my vault come across when I set up my new phone from a backup?
Not reliably. On Android, apps can opt out of the system backup entirely, and some vault apps leave themselves out on purpose. Treat the phone's transfer as a bonus, never as your plan.
Can I move a vault between iPhone and Android?
Only through export, or through a vault app that supports both and restores from a backup you hold. Files you export are ordinary photos and videos, so they move anywhere.
Do I need my old phone to restore?
It depends on the app. If the app restores from a backup and a recovery phrase, you don't. If it only lets you export, you need the old phone, so keep it until the move is done.
Is it safe to send exported photos through a messaging app?
Exported files are plain, so they are only as private as the route they take. A cable or a direct connection between the phones is safer than uploading them somewhere.
When can I wipe the old phone?
After you have opened a sample of everything on the new phone and, if you rely on a backup, confirmed it restored. If anything is missing, the old phone is your last copy.