ZeroBox and cloud vaults with an account
Short answer. A vault with an account and sync gives you something ZeroBox does not: your files can come back on a new phone after you sign in. The price is a copy on a server, and what that copy exposes depends on how the service encrypts it. ZeroBox makes the opposite trade: no account, no copy anywhere, and you carry your own file. This page compares the two approaches, not particular products.
| Question | Account and cloud sync | ZeroBox |
|---|---|---|
| New phone, or a lost one | With cloud backup on, Google says you can reach your Locked Folder from other devices signed in to your Google Account. Without it, items stay on that phone Google Photos Help. · 2026-10-31 | Nothing syncs. You save a transfer pack, carry it over, and open it with your PIN or recovery key. A lost phone without a pack is a lost vault. |
| Who holds a copy | A copy sits on the provider's servers. Whether the provider can read it depends on the service, so ask whether only you hold the key. The Data safety section describes what an app collects and shares, as stated by its developer Google Play Help. · 2026-10-31 | Nothing leaves the phone. We hold no copy and no key, so we cannot read your files or restore them. |
| The account and deleting it | Google Play asks apps that let you create an account to offer a way to delete the account and its data Google Play Help. · 2026-10-31 | No account, so nothing to delete on a server. Removing the app removes the vault from the phone, so export or keep a transfer pack first. |
| Storage and cost | For example, Locked Folder backup counts toward your Google storage Google Photos Help. · 2026-10-31 | The files use your phone's storage. Adding new files needs a subscription after a 30-day trial. Viewing and exporting stay free. |
| What the store listing tells you | The Data safety summary comes from the developer, so read the app's privacy policy too Google Play Help. · 2026-10-31 | No internet permission and no account. How to check: our guide. |
Where cloud vaults are stronger
- Your files can reach a new phone, or a second device, without you carrying a file.
- A copy off the phone survives a lost or broken phone. In ZeroBox only your own transfer pack does that.
Where ZeroBox asks more of you
- You must make and keep the transfer pack and the recovery key. If you lose both along with the phone, nobody can help.
- ZeroBox moves a vault between phones. It does not keep two phones in sync.
- Anyone who has the transfer pack and your PIN or recovery key can open the vault. Keep the file somewhere safe.
Which one fits
If getting your files back on any phone matters most, a service with an account may suit you. Read how it encrypts before you trust it. If you do not want a copy on anyone's server, ZeroBox is built for that, and you take on the backup yourself. More on the move: Forgot your vault PIN or got a new phone?
