Show the vault lock on the main screen
By default, Home has a small round lock button at the top, next to your avatar, that opens Private vaults. If you’d rather it wasn’t on view, turn off Show the vault lock on the main screen and open your vaults from Account instead.
What it is
Show the vault lock on the main screen is a switch in Account → Lock and privacy.
| On | Off | |
|---|---|---|
| Home | A round lock button left of your avatar, with no count | No lock button. Nothing on Home shows that vaults exist |
| iPad sidebar | Private vaults listed, and ⌘4 opens it |
Not listed, and ⌘4 does nothing |
| How to open your vaults | Tap the lock on Home | Account → Lock and privacy → Open Private vaults |
The app says: “With this off, nothing on the main screen shows that vaults exist. Open them from Account, Lock and privacy.”
The switch only changes where the way in is shown. It doesn’t lock, unlock, move or change anything inside your vaults. A vault always needs Face ID and its pattern, whichever way you open it. The bottom bar (Home · Tools · Scan · + · Account) never has a vaults button.
When to use it
Turn it off if you’d rather people glancing at Home didn’t see that Private vaults exist, for example when you hand your iPhone to someone to look at a document.
Step by step
Turn off the lock button
- Tap Account in the bottom bar (or your avatar on Home).
- Tap Lock and privacy.
- Turn off Show the vault lock on the main screen.
The lock disappears from Home, and a new row, Open Private vaults (“Asks for Face ID and a pattern”), appears below the switch.
Open your vaults while the button is off
Account → Lock and privacy → Open Private vaults.
Bring the button back
Turn Show the vault lock on the main screen on again.
Free and Pro
Free.
Privacy
- The lock button never shows a count, so it doesn’t tell anyone how many vaults you have, or whether you have any.
- Vault items never appear on Home, in Recent, All items, folders, shelves or search, with the switch on or off.
- With the switch off, Home’s search doesn’t mention vaults either.
- The switch is a convenience, not a lock. Anyone who knows where to look can find Open Private vaults in Account; what protects your vaults is Face ID and each vault’s pattern.
Tips
- For a stronger disguise, combine this with the disguised icon (Pro).
- After you move a document into a vault, Paperwise tells you where to find it: “the lock on Home” with the button on, “Private vaults in the sidebar” on iPad, or “Account → Lock and privacy → Open Private vaults” with it off.
What if…
What if the lock disappeared from Home?
Someone (maybe you) turned off Show the vault lock on the main screen. Open your vaults from Account → Lock and privacy → Open Private vaults, or turn the switch back on. Your vaults are still there.
What if I turn it off while a vault is open?
Nothing inside the vault changes. Next time, open it from Account.
Related
Still stuck? Write to support@paperwise.app.