# Everything SecretGrid does

> Everything SecretGrid does: pattern-key encryption, hidden vaults, a duress pattern, shake to decoy, a working calculator disguise, encrypted Drive backup and sync, secure cards, disappearing items and more.

Canonical: https://trysecretgrid.com/features
Last updated: 2026-11-06

Real encryption underneath all of it, then protections for the moments that matter. Pro features are marked; everything else is free.

## Encryption and unlocking

The pattern is the key, not a lock screen in front of plain files.

### Your pattern is the key (Free)

The pattern you draw is stretched with Argon2id into the key that unlocks your files. It isn't a lock screen in front of plain files.

- A 5×5 grid: at least 6 dots and one change of direction.
- Argon2id cost is tuned to each phone, so guessing stays slow everywhere.
- A strength meter helps you pick a pattern that's hard to guess.

### Hidden vaults (Free)

Every pattern opens its own vault. A wrong pattern looks exactly like an empty one, so no one can tell how many you have.

- The app never lists vaults; you reach each one by drawing its pattern.
- Decoy files pad the storage, so its size doesn't give the count away.
- Up to 3 vaults on the free plan, unlimited with Pro.

### Recovery phrase (Free)

Every vault gets its own 9 words. They're the only way back in if you forget the pattern.

- Works on any phone, so it also restores a vault from backup.
- Set a new pattern straight after recovering.
- We never see the phrase; nobody can reset it for you.

### Hide the pattern trace (Free)

Draw without lines or highlighted dots, so someone looking over your shoulder learns nothing.

- Haptics still confirm each dot.
- Only the result shows: the whole grid turns green or red.

### Security checkup (Free)

One screen that grades your setup: pattern strength, saved phrase, decoy vault, duress pattern and backup.

- Each check explains why it matters.
- One tap fixes most of them.

## When someone has your phone

Ways out that look like nothing at all, for the moments a locked folder would give you away.

### Duress pattern (Pro)

A second pattern that opens a harmless vault and quietly deletes the others from the phone.

- Looks exactly like a normal unlock to whoever is watching.
- Backup pauses first, so the deletion never reaches your Drive copy.
- The vault's own settings never reveal that a duress pattern exists.

### Shake to decoy (Free)

Shake the phone in any vault to switch straight to your decoy. Turn it face down to lock instantly.

- Mark any vault as the decoy from inside it.
- A vault opened this way never shows that it's the decoy.
- Without a decoy set, a shake simply locks.

### Disguise as a calculator (Pro)

Change the app's icon and name to Calculator, Notes or Clock. The calculator really works; your code reveals the vault.

- Disguise names follow the phone's language.
- Type your code and press = to reach the pattern screen.
- The share sheet shows the disguise too, never the real name.

### Folder PIN lock (Free)

Give one folder its own PIN on top of the vault, for when you hand someone your phone.

- A locked folder shows no item count, and search skips it.
- It stays open until the vault locks, then closes again.
- Forgot the PIN? Draw the vault's pattern to remove it.

### Screenshot blocking (Free)

Screenshots and screen recordings are blocked, and the app switcher shows a blank screen.

- Leaving the app locks the vault and wipes its keys from memory.
- Dialogs are covered too, not just the main screens.
- Decrypted copies for viewing are deleted as soon as you're done.

### Quick lock tile (Free)

Add a tile to Android's Quick Settings that locks SecretGrid from anywhere.

- The tile is labelled “Quick lock”, not with the app's name.
- Works alongside shake and face-down locking.

## Inside your vault

A private gallery, notebook and wallet, organised the way you want.

### Disappearing items (Free)

Set a photo or folder to delete itself after 24 hours, 7 days or 30 days.

- A timer badge shows what's set to disappear.
- A whole folder can disappear, with everything inside it.
- Deletions reach your other phones through sync.

### Secure cards (Free)

Keep IDs, bank cards, logins and Wi-Fi passwords as tidy encrypted cards, with secret fields masked.

- Templates for IDs and passports, bank cards, logins and Wi-Fi.
- Card numbers, CVVs, PINs and passwords stay hidden until you tap the eye.
- The keyboard's learning and autofill are off for card fields.

### Location removed (Free)

GPS coordinates are stripped from photos and videos (JPEG, HEIC, MP4, MOV) as they come in.

- Nothing is re-encoded: only the location data is blanked.
- Camera details and orientation are kept.
- On by default; switch it off in Settings if you want locations kept.

### Document scanner (Pro)

Scan passports, IDs and receipts straight into the vault. Scans never touch your photo gallery.

- Uses Google's on-device scanner, with edge detection and cropping.
- SecretGrid itself never needs the camera permission.
- Multi-page scans arrive together.

### Recycle bin (Free)

Deleted something by mistake? It waits 30 days in the bin before it's gone for good.

- Restore with a tap, or delete for good straight away.
- Items in the bin don't count towards the free plan's limit.
- Each item shows how many days it has left.

### Encrypted notes (Free)

Write notes that live inside the vault, encrypted like everything else.

- Kept out of the keyboard's learning and suggestions.
- Re-encrypted with a new key every time you save.

### PDFs and any file (Free)

Store documents of any type. PDFs open right inside the vault.

- Other files open in the app of your choice, then the copy is cleaned up.
- Share into SecretGrid from any app's share menu.

### Folders, search and favourites (Free)

Nested folders, search across the whole vault, favourites, filters and your own arrangement.

- Sort by date or name, or drag items into your own order.
- Star favourites and filter to them in one tap.

### Video player and slideshow (Free)

Play videos with speed control, pick up where you stopped, or run a slideshow.

- Playback speed from 0.5× to 2×.
- The screen stays on during a slideshow.

### Storage and duplicates (Free)

See the space each kind of item uses, and clear out exact duplicates.

- The oldest copy is kept; extras go to the recycle bin.
- Fingerprints are checked on the phone, never uploaded.

### Favourites (Free)

Star the photos you come back to and find them in one tap.

- A star badge on each favourite.
- Favourites have their own filter.

### Share into SecretGrid (Free)

Long-press a photo in any app, tap Share, then SecretGrid, and it's encrypted into the vault you open.

- You choose which vault it lands in by drawing its pattern.
- Shared copies are deleted from the app's cache after import.

## Backup, sync and sharing

Copies that stay encrypted wherever they go.

### Encrypted Drive backup (Free)

Back up to your own Google Drive, encrypted on your phone first. Free, and off until you turn it on.

- Stored in Drive's hidden app folder; the app can't see your other files.
- Optional Wi-Fi only, so it never uses mobile data.
- Restore on a new phone, then open each vault with its recovery phrase.

### Sync between phones (Pro)

Keep a vault in step across your Android phones through your own Drive. Edits merge; deletions follow.

- Each change carries its own time, so edits on two phones merge cleanly.
- Only the files a phone doesn't have yet are downloaded.
- Patterns stay per phone; each phone keeps its own.

### Share a vault (Pro)

Send a vault as one encrypted file that opens with a 9-word phrase. It can even hide inside an ordinary photo.

- Send it with any app; share the phrase separately.
- The recipient opens it as a new vault of their own.
- “Hide inside a photo” tucks the vault into a normal-looking landscape picture.

## Make it yours

Small things that make it feel like your app.

### Accent colours (Free)

Pick the app's highlight colour: lime, sky, lavender, pink, amber or mint.

- Changes instantly, everywhere in the app.

### Seven languages (Free)

English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Hindi and Indonesian.

- Follows the phone, or pick a language in Settings.

## Related

- [Security design](https://trysecretgrid.com/security)
- [Compare](https://trysecretgrid.com/compare)
- [Free private tools](https://trysecretgrid.com/tools)