Built so only you can open it
Encrypted before it's saved. Arca encrypts each file on your device, with its own unique key, before anything is written to disk. The contents of your vault are never stored in readable form — not on your device, not in iCloud.
Your password is never stored. Not by Arca, not by us, not by Apple. It's used on your device to unlock your vault, then forgotten.
No accounts. No tracking. Nothing sent to us. There's nothing to sign up for. Arca contains no analytics, no advertising and no third-party code, and it never sends your data to us or anyone else.
Names are private too. It isn't only file contents that are encrypted: file names, folders and thumbnail previews are as well.
Everyday use
Unlock with Face ID or Touch ID
Turn it on in Settings and unlock with a glance or a touch. It's always your choice to use it: Arca shows an unlock button and waits for you, and never unlocks on its own when the app opens. Each device is set up separately, and if you add or change a face or fingerprint, Arca asks for your password again.
Locks itself
Arca locks after a minute without use — or anywhere from 15 seconds to 10 minutes, if you prefer. It locks when you leave the app on iPhone and iPad, and when you quit or hide it on Mac. It can also lock when your Mac sleeps or its screen locks. It won't lock for inactivity while you're reading a file or while files are still being added.
Syncs across your devices
Keep your vault in iCloud Drive and it's available on every Mac, iPhone and iPad signed into your Apple Account. Or keep it on a single device.
Browse without filling your storage
Your vault's file list is always available on every device, but the files themselves download only when you open them. Thumbnails and full-screen previews let you look through photos, videos and PDFs without downloading the originals. Choose Keep on Device for files you want available offline, and Remove Download to free up the space again.
Add files however suits you
- Add Files and Add Photos from the toolbar — photos arrive exactly as they are in your library, in their original format
- Drag and drop onto the window, including straight out of Photos
- Send to Arca from the right-click menu in Finder, on Mac
- Copy to Arca from the share sheet, on iPhone and iPad
Arca encrypts its own copy. Your originals are never changed or deleted.
Organize it your way
Folders, drag-and-drop filing, copy and paste, list or thumbnail views, and sorting by name, date or size. When you need a file outside the vault, Export saves a copy wherever you choose.
Your safety net: the recovery key
When you create a vault, Arca shows you a recovery key — once. It's the only way back into your vault if you forget your password, so keep it somewhere safe: printed out, or in a password manager.
- You can change your password at any time, and your recovery key keeps working.
- You can generate a new recovery key in Settings, which retires the old one.
We can't reset your password, and we can't recover your files. There is no back door — not for us, not for anyone. That's what makes the vault yours.
Protection against guessing
Five wrong passwords locks Arca for five minutes. Ten locks it for an hour, and each wrong password after that adds another hour. Behind the lock screen, every password guess is deliberately slow to check, so even someone with a copy of your vault's files can't try passwords quickly.
What Arca can't protect against
A vault that overstates itself is worse than one that doesn't, so here are the limits:
- If you lose both your password and your recovery key, your files are gone for good. Nobody can recover them.
- Anyone who has your recovery key can open your vault. Guard it like a master key, because it is one.
- A compromised device while your vault is unlocked. Malicious software running on your device while you're using Arca could see what you see.
- What the files reveal from the outside. Someone with access to your vault's stored files can't read names or contents, but can see roughly how many items there are, how large they are, and when they changed.
- Copies you take out. An exported file, or a recovery key saved to a file or copied to the clipboard, isn't protected by Arca.
- A weak password. Guessing is slow, but a short or common password is still the easiest way in. Choose a strong one.
Frequently asked questions
Can you see my files?
No. Your files are encrypted on your device with keys that never leave your devices. We don't receive your files, your file names, your password or your recovery key.
I forgot my password. Can you help?
Only your recovery key can get you back in. We have no way to reset your password or open your vault — by design.
If my vault is in iCloud, can Apple read it?
Apple stores and syncs your vault's files, but everything Arca puts in iCloud is already encrypted, and the keys to decrypt it never leave your devices.
Does Arca need an internet connection?
No. Arca itself never uses the network, and anything already on your device opens offline. If your vault is in iCloud, iCloud uses your connection to sync it and to download the files you open.
Will every file download to every device?
No. The list of files is on every device, but a file's contents download only when you open it or choose Keep on Device.
What happens if I delete the app?
A vault stored in iCloud stays in your iCloud storage until you delete it there. On iPhone and iPad, a vault kept on that device only is deleted along with the app — export anything you want to keep first.
