How to Share Private Photos Securely from iPhone

Strip the location before you send

Photos taken with Location Services on record precise GPS coordinates. Send one of home and you may be sending your address with it.

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   Step 1: Open the share sheet

   Select the photo and tap Share.

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   Step 2: Tap Options at the top

   It sits just under the number of selected items.

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   Step 3: Turn off Location

   Optionally turn off All Photos Data as well, to strip the remaining metadata. The setting applies to this share only.

Pick an end-to-end encrypted channel

• AirDrop sends directly between devices with an encrypted connection. Set it to Contacts Only, or use Everyone for 10 Minutes and let it lapse back automatically.
• iMessage, FaceTime, WhatsApp and Signal are end-to-end encrypted. Check that an iMessage thread is blue rather than green — green is SMS/MMS and is not.
• Avoid email and MMS for anything sensitive. Both can be stored unencrypted on servers along the way.

Share straight from the vault

The usual way to share a protected photo — export it to the camera roll, send it, then forget to delete it — leaves an unprotected copy behind. Sharing directly from the vault avoids that step.

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   Step 1: Unlock SnapLockr and open the album

   Select one or more items, or open a single photo in the viewer.

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   Step 2: Tap Share

   Choose AirDrop, Messages or another end-to-end encrypted app from the iOS share sheet. Use Options to remove location first.

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   Step 3: Lock the vault when you are done

   Switching away from the app locks it and clears the temporary copy.

Receive private photos privately, too

Photos sent to you can end up in your camera roll automatically — Messages' Shared with You, WhatsApp's Save to Photos, a tap on Save Image. Move them into the vault from the app they arrived in instead.