Pattern or password unlock, with automatic locking
A different secret from the one that unlocks your phone.
In short
Each Latent vault opens with its own 5×5 pattern or password, independent from your iPhone passcode. The vault locks itself again immediately, after 30 seconds, after a minute, or when you leave the app — your choice.
Key takeaways
- Independent from the iPhone passcode.
- 5×5 grid: far more combinations than the usual 3×3.
- Guided creation with a strength indicator.
Why not just Face ID or the iPhone passcode
Anyone who knows your iPhone passcode — a partner, a family member, someone who watched you type it — can open everything that relies on it, including the Hidden album of the Photos app. A vault that opens with the same secret protects nothing from those people.
Why a 5×5 grid
A 3×3 pattern has few enough combinations, and leaves visible enough smudges, to be guessed. A 5×5 grid multiplies the possibilities and makes a pattern much harder to read from a glance or from the screen.
Choosing a good pattern
When you create a vault, Latent shows a live strength indicator as you draw. Long patterns that change direction and do not start in a corner are the hardest to guess.
Automatic locking
- Immediately, as soon as the app leaves the screen.
- After 30 seconds or one minute, for quick back-and-forth.
- When you close the app.