Sanctum Support & Help

Last updated: 2026-06-15

About Sanctum

Sanctum is an encrypted photo and video vault for iPhone and iPad. Your photos and videos are protected with AES-256-GCM encryption on your device before they leave. You can organize media into albums, and optionally share albums with friends and family — all while maintaining end-to-end encryption.

Key features:

• Personal vault: Encrypted photos and videos synced across your Apple devices via iCloud.
• Shared albums: Invite others to view (or edit) your albums. Only invited members can access your content.
• Reactions & comments: Share emoji reactions and comments with other members (self-erasing comments available).
• Recovery phrase: A base64 recovery code to unlock your vault if you forget your biometric or password.
• Editing & censoring: Redact sensitive details with blur, pixelate, or black bars before sharing.
• Built-in capture: Take photos and videos directly into your encrypted vault — no plaintext temporary files.

Getting Started

iCloud Account Required

Sanctum requires an active iCloud account to sync your vault. When you first open the app, you’ll be asked to sign in with your Apple ID. Sanctum does not create a separate username or password — it uses your iCloud identity.

Setting Your Recovery Phrase

On your first use, Sanctum generates a base64 recovery phrase that you can use to unlock your vault if you forget your biometric or password. Store this phrase in a safe place. You can view it anytime in Settings > Recovery Phrase.

Reporting Abusive Content or Users

Sanctum’s shared-album features are designed for trusted groups. If you encounter objectionable content or are harassed by another member, we provide reporting and blocking tools.

Report a Comment or Reaction

1. Open a shared album and find the problematic comment or emoji reaction.
2. Long-press (or tap) the comment/reaction.
3. Select “Report” from the menu.
4. Choose a reason (abusive language, harassment, inappropriate content, spam, illegal content).
5. Optionally add a note explaining the issue.
6. Tap “Send Report.”

We review all reports within 24 hours and take action on substantiated violations (content removal, user suspension, or permanent ban).

Report a Photo or Video

1. Open a shared album and find the problematic photo or video.
2. Long-press (or tap) the media item.
3. Select “Report.”
4. Choose a reason and add context if needed.
5. Tap “Send Report.”

Block a User

1. Open a shared album that includes the user you wish to block.
2. Tap “Members” (or the members icon).
3. Find the user in the members list.
4. Long-press (or tap) their name.
5. Select “Block User.”

A blocked user: - Cannot access any of your albums or see your content. - Cannot send you new invites. - Will not be notified that you’ve blocked them.

To unblock a user, go to Settings > Blocked Users and select “Unblock.”

Deleting Your Data

You have two options to delete your Sanctum data:

Option 1: Erase All Data Within the App (Recommended)

This removes all your data from your device and iCloud while keeping the app installed.

1. Open Sanctum.
2. Go to Settings > Advanced > Erase All Data.
3. You’ll see a warning: “This will permanently delete all photos, videos, albums, and your encryption key from this device and iCloud.”
4. Confirm by entering your password or using Face ID/Touch ID.
5. Tap “Erase.”

Your data is permanently deleted from both your device and iCloud within minutes.

Option 2: Uninstall the App

Uninstalling the app does NOT automatically delete your data from iCloud. To remove all data:

1. First, use Option 1 above to erase all data from within the app.
2. Then delete the app from your home screen (press and hold, select “Remove App” → “Delete App”).

Note: If you uninstall without erasing first, your encrypted vault will remain in iCloud. You can recover it by reinstalling the app and signing in with the same Apple ID.

Understanding Encryption and Recovery

How Encryption Works

• Your media: Each photo and video is encrypted with AES-256-GCM using a unique key before it reaches iCloud. Apple can see the encrypted data but not the plaintext photos or videos.
• Shared albums: Album metadata (member list, permissions, timestamps) is encrypted in iCloud to prevent unauthorized access.
• Comments & reactions: Self-erasing comments are end-to-end encrypted and deleted after their retention period expires.
• Your recovery phrase: The base64 recovery phrase is your master key. Never share it.

If You Forget Your Biometric or Password

1. On the lock screen, tap “Can’t access your vault?”
2. Select “Use Recovery Phrase.”
3. Paste or type your recovery phrase.
4. Sanctum verifies the phrase against your existing vault. If it matches, you’ll be unlocked.

Important: A typo in your recovery phrase won’t silently unlock with the wrong key — verification fails if the phrase doesn’t match exactly.

Backup Your Recovery Phrase

Store your recovery phrase: - In a password manager (1Password, Bitwarden, etc.). - Written down and stored in a safe location. - Do not screenshot it, email it, or text it.

Data Deletion & Privacy

When you delete a photo, video, album, or comment:

• The item is removed from your device and iCloud.
• Shared-album members no longer see it (it’s deleted from their view within 5 minutes).
• Self-erasing comments: Comments with a retention setting (12h, 24h, 48h, 7d, or Forever) are automatically deleted after the set duration.

Note: Because Sanctum uses end-to-end encryption, we cannot see or permanently delete content on your behalf. Deletion requests are honored by the app; once deleted, data is removed from iCloud and unrecoverable.

Troubleshooting

Sync is Slow or Stuck

1. Open Settings > CloudKit Sync Status to check sync health.
2. If a sync is stuck, tap “Reset CloudKit Sync” to restart.
3. Ensure you have a stable internet connection (Wi-Fi or cellular).
4. Check that you’re signed into iCloud (Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud).

I Can’t See a Shared Album

• Confirm you accepted the invite from the album owner.
• Ask the owner to check that your account is still an invited member.
• If you were removed, you’ll need a new invite to regain access.

Photos Won’t Upload to a Shared Album

• Check your iCloud storage. If full, free up space in Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Manage Storage.
• Confirm the album owner granted you write (edit) permission.
• Try refreshing the app by closing and reopening it.

I Forgot My Recovery Phrase

If you’ve lost your recovery phrase and can still use biometrics or your password to unlock Sanctum, you can view your recovery phrase anytime in Settings > Recovery Phrase and store it securely.

If you’ve lost both your password and recovery phrase, you’ll need to erase your vault and start fresh — there is no recovery path without one of these credentials.

Contact & Support

Use this form for technical issues, privacy questions, data-deletion requests, content-removal requests, or anything else that needs a reply from Sanctum support.

You can also write to support@sanctum.photos directly if the form is unavailable.

For privacy questions or data-deletion requests:

See our Privacy Policy or use the form above.

Legal Documents

• Privacy Policy — how we handle your data, what we collect, and your rights.
• End-User License Agreement (EULA) — terms of use, restrictions, and our zero-tolerance policy for abusive content.

Reporting a Violation

If you believe someone is using Sanctum to share illegal content, harass others, or violate our zero-tolerance policy, please report it in-app using the report tools described above, or contact support@sanctum.photos with details.

We take all reports seriously and investigate substantiated violations promptly.

Sanctum is developed by Armlab BV (enterprise no. BE0899277201), Belgium. For more information, visit https://sanctum.photos.