Paperlock · Private, encrypted, offline

What it does

A drawer with a lock on it

Your iPhone can already scan a page. Paperlock is where the scan goes afterwards, when it is something you would not leave lying around.

Scan or import

Scan paper with the camera, and several pages become one PDF. Or import a PDF you already have.

Name it and find it

Give each document a name and a note, such as an expiry date or where the original is kept. Search looks through both.

Share when you choose

Open the PDF, or send a copy with the share sheet. Nothing leaves the vault unless you send it.

Back up to one file

A backup is a single encrypted file with its own password. You decide where it goes. Paperlock does not upload it.

How it is locked

Locked, and encrypted underneath

A lock screen alone only hides things. Paperlock also encrypts them, so the files are unreadable without the key.

Face ID every time. Paperlock locks as soon as you leave it. Face ID, Touch ID or your iPhone passcode opens it again.
Every file is encrypted. Scans, PDFs, previews, names and notes are sealed with AES-256 before they are stored.
The key stays in the iPhone's Keychain, on this device only, and is released only after Face ID or your passcode.
A vault password for a new phone. You choose it once. If you move to a new iPhone, it opens your documents there.
Nothing leaves the phone. There is no account, no cloud, no server and no analytics. The app makes no network requests at all.

What to know

Honest about the trade

Keeping everything on your phone and under your own password has a cost. It is better to know it now.

There is no password reset. Nobody else holds your key, so nobody can recover it for you. If you forget the vault password, Face ID still opens Paperlock on this phone, but a new phone cannot.
There is no sync. Your documents are on one phone. A backup file is how you move them or keep a second copy.
A copy you share is no longer protected. Once a PDF is sent to another app or person, Paperlock cannot protect that copy.
With no iPhone passcode, there is no lock. The files are still encrypted, but the app cannot ask for Face ID on a phone that has no passcode set.

Download

Coming to the App Store

Free on the App Store

Paperlock is free for iPhone and needs iOS 18.5 or later. It replaces the app that was called Secure Document Vault. If you have that app, the update keeps your documents and encrypts them the first time you open it.

Support

Questions and help

Write to john@jjlarson.com. I cannot see or recover your documents or your passwords, but I can help with how the app works.