Disclosure. We make Paperlock, and it appears in the table below. Several of the other six options are the better choice for some readers, and we say which.
What "private" means for a document on your phone
A passport scan in your camera roll is already encrypted, in the sense that your iPhone is. The problem is what happens when the phone is unlocked: you hand it over to show someone a photo, they swipe once, and there's your passport. So "private" breaks down into three plain questions:
- Where does the file live? On the phone, in your iCloud, or on a company's servers.
- Who can read it there? End-to-end encrypted means only your devices hold the keys. Otherwise the provider can technically read it, even if it promises not to.
- Does it lock on its own? A second lock, with Face ID, protects the document while the phone itself is unlocked. Our guide to Face ID and document security explains why that matters more than it sounds.
Then there's the practical question nobody asks until the day they need the insurance card: can you find it again in under a minute?
Seven options at a glance
| Where the file lives | Who can read it | Locks on open | Finding it later | Expiry reminders | Account | Cost | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Locked notes (Notes) | Phone, plus iCloud if Notes syncs there | End-to-end encrypted for iCloud accounts | Yes, Face ID or a password | Note titles you write | No | Apple ID for iCloud | Free |
| Files app (iCloud Drive) | Phone and iCloud | Apple holds the keys unless Advanced Data Protection is on | Only if you lock the Files app itself | File names and folders you keep | No | Apple ID | Free, iCloud storage plans |
| Hidden album (Photos) | Phone, plus iCloud Photos if on | Same as iCloud Drive | Yes, by default | Scroll the album | No | Apple ID for iCloud | Free |
| Password manager (1Password, Bitwarden) | The provider's servers, synced to your devices | End-to-end encrypted | Yes, with the app | Item names you type | No | Yes | Subscription; attachments are paid on Bitwarden |
| Encrypted cloud drive (Proton Drive) | The provider's servers | End-to-end encrypted | Check the app's settings | Folders and file names | No | Yes | Free tier, paid plans |
| Scanner apps | Phone, often the provider's cloud | Varies; often uploaded for text recognition | Rarely by default | Search a word; your folders | No | Often | Free tier, then subscription |
| Reading vault (Paperlock) | Encrypted on the phone; optional copy in your own iCloud | You. Pages are sent to Paperlock's servers only to be read or answered, and not kept | Yes, Face ID on open and after about a minute away | Ask in plain English | Yes, opt-in | None | Free for 25 documents and 5 questions a month; Plus $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year |
The free options already on your iPhone
Locked notes are the most underrated vault on the phone. Scan a document straight into a note, then lock it with your iPhone passcode or a separate Notes password, and Face ID opens it. Apple says locked notes are end-to-end encrypted for iCloud accounts, so Apple can't read them. The catches: you can't lock a note that holds an attached PDF, tags, audio or video, or one you've shared, and if you choose a separate Notes password and forget it, Apple can't get your notes back. Finding things means remembering what you titled the note.
The Files app is where PDFs naturally land. It is fine storage, but it doesn't lock by itself. On recent versions of iOS you can lock almost any app: touch and hold the icon and choose Require Face ID. A locked app needs Face ID or your passcode to open, and its content stays out of notifications and search. The lock lives on that one iPhone and doesn't sync to your other devices.
The Hidden album in Photos is locked by default on iOS 16 and later and opens with Face ID. It's the fastest fix for an ID photo sitting in the camera roll: select it, choose Hide, done. It's also a pile of pictures with no names, so it works for five documents and gets painful at fifty.
One thing to know about all three: by default, iCloud encrypts Notes (unlocked ones), iCloud Drive and Photos with keys Apple holds. Turning on Advanced Data Protection makes them end-to-end encrypted, with the keys only on your trusted devices.
Password managers that hold documents
If you already use 1Password, it is a strong home for a passport scan. It stores files as Document items or attachments, and 1Password says everything in an account is end-to-end encrypted so that only you can read it. Bitwarden offers file attachments to Premium users and paid organizations, encrypted and decrypted on your device.
What they do better than anything else here: your scans sync to your laptop and your partner's phone (if you share a vault), with real end-to-end encryption. What they don't do: read the document. A password manager knows the file is called "passport.jpg" and nothing more, and file storage is a side feature with its own limits. Recommend it for: people who already pay for one and keep a short list of documents. We compare the two approaches in more depth in password manager vs. document vault.
Encrypted cloud drives, and the end of Dropbox Vault
Proton Drive says files are encrypted on your device before upload, so no one but you and the people you choose can read them. It has a free tier, an iPhone app, and apps for Windows, Mac, Android and the web. If your priority is a private copy that you can open from any computer, this is the strongest option on the page, and Paperlock can't match it: we have no Android or web version.
Dropbox users may remember Vault, a PIN-protected folder inside Dropbox. Dropbox discontinued it in 2025; former Vault folders became ordinary Dropbox folders without the PIN. If you were relying on it, see Dropbox Vault alternatives.
Scanner apps
Scanner apps make the cleanest copy of a document, and some are excellent at it. Privacy varies a lot: many upload pages to their own servers to recognize the text, many want an account, and few lock on open by default. Are scanner apps safe? has a checklist for judging any one of them. If you use one, treat it as the camera, then move the finished PDF somewhere that locks.
A reading vault: Paperlock
Paperlock is built for exactly this list of documents. It stores them encrypted on your iPhone, locks with Face ID when you open it and again after about a minute in the background, and hides its contents in the app switcher. IDs, passports and medical papers show blurred thumbnails until you confirm with Face ID again. There's no account and no email.
The difference from everything above is that it reads each document: what it is, who it's from, the dates, the expiry. So you find the insurance card by asking "what's my policy number?" instead of remembering a file name, and the answer comes with the document attached. If you turn on reminders, you get alerts 30 and 7 days before anything expires, plus six months ahead for passports and IDs. How it works has the details.
The trade-offs, plainly: reading and answering questions need internet and run partly on our servers, where pages are processed to answer and not stored. It doesn't share between users, has no folders, and runs only on iPhone. Sync to a new phone is iCloud, a Plus feature that is off until you turn it on, so a backup plan matters; see backing up important documents.
Which one to pick
- Five documents and no new app: locked notes, or the Hidden album for photos of IDs.
- You already pay for a password manager: put the scans there.
- You need the files on a computer or another platform: Proton Drive.
- Dozens of documents you'll need to find, with expiry dates you'd rather not track: a reading vault. Paperlock is free for the first 25.
Whichever you choose, do two more things: get the passport photo out of your main camera roll today, and read how to share documents securely before you next email a scan. For a lighter take on the built-in options alone, see ways to lock documents on iPhone.