security model
How Hidey protects you, and where the limits are.
Plain answers about encryption, backups, recovery and what the app collects, including the trade-offs.
Encrypted on your phone
Every photo, video and file you hide is encrypted on your phone with AES-256-GCM before it is stored or backed up. Thumbnails and file details are encrypted too.
Files are encrypted in chunks, so videos can stream and seek inside Hidey without an unencrypted copy ever being written to storage.
- Each vault has its own random 256-bit key.
- The originals are deleted only after the encrypted copy has been checked.
- The vault folder is hidden from galleries and uses opaque file names.
Your PIN, password and fingerprint
Your PIN (at least six digits) or password never leaves your phone. It is stretched with Argon2id and combined with a hardware-backed Android Keystore key to protect the vault key.
Fingerprint unlock uses a key that only Android’s secure hardware can release after a successful fingerprint check. If you add a new fingerprint, Android invalidates that key and Hidey asks for your PIN again.
Backups live in storage you own
Backups go to a hidden app folder in your own Google Drive. Everything is encrypted on your phone before upload, and we don’t run a server that receives your files.
With Pro you can sync to S3-compatible storage you control, such as AWS S3, Cloudflare R2, Backblaze B2, Wasabi, MinIO or MEGA S4.
Recovery, honestly
New phone: install Hidey, sign in with the same Google account and enter your PIN. The vault downloads and decrypts on the new phone.
Forgot your PIN: if you signed in with Google, you can reset it through Google. The reset only completes after a 24-hour wait, measured by Google’s servers, and entering your correct PIN on any device cancels it.
That convenience has a cost: whoever controls your Google account could start the same reset. Turn on 2-step verification for your Google account. If you want nobody else to ever be able to reset it, Pro’s zero-knowledge mode replaces Google reset with a recovery key that only you hold.
- Without Google sign-in, a forgotten PIN cannot be recovered. Export a local backup file.
- Each hidden vault has its own recovery key, so it never appears in Google-based recovery.
- Self-destruct (Pro) wipes this phone only. Your backups stay safe.
What the app collects
Hidey never collects your files, file names, thumbnails, PIN or password. Here is what does leave your phone, and why.
- Google AdMob (free plan only): ad requests and the data AdMob uses to show ads. Users in the EEA and UK are asked for consent first.
- Firebase Crashlytics and Analytics: crash reports and anonymous usage events, so we can find bugs.
- Google Play and RevenueCat: purchase and subscription status, tied to an anonymous ID.
- Google Sign-In and Drive: only when you turn on backup, and only to reach Hidey’s own hidden Drive folder.
Permissions and why they’re needed
All files access lets Hidey remove originals from wherever they are stored and keep the encrypted vault in a folder that survives a reinstall. Google Play allows this permission for file encryption apps.
The camera is only used for the secure camera and intruder selfies, both Pro features you turn on yourself.
What Hidey can’t protect against
No app can promise everything. These are the limits worth knowing.
- Copies made before you hid something, such as photos already backed up to Google Photos, stay where they are. Delete them there too.
- Even with the calculator disguise, Android’s Settings app still lists the app as Hidey.
- On the free plan, screenshots of the vault are possible. Pro blocks them.
- A phone that is rooted or infected with malware can be watched while the vault is open.
Nothing to see here. Keep it that way.
Hidey is coming to Google Play for Android 11 and later.