Zafe — Help & FAQ

What Zafe does

Zafe is an on-device private archive built around a verifiable custody lifecycle. Selected photos, videos, documents and notes are sealed with AES-256-GCM and assigned a SHA-256 fingerprint.

Before content opens or a copy leaves Zafe, the app recalculates the digest; any mismatch blocks the path. After private review, controlled export cryptographically re-verifies the output bytes and can include a JSON integrity record.

Zafe preserves the selected content as-is. It does not run OCR, detect sensitive text, redact or mask regions, remove metadata, or create a sanitized copy. That is the opposite job from Mask My File: Zafe proves sameness; Mask My File proves removal.

Media, file and note payloads, together with thumbnails, are encrypted on device with CryptoKit AES-GCM. SwiftData metadata—such as names, original filenames, dates and optional coordinates—is protected by iOS Data Protection and is not described as app-level AES encryption.

Free includes 1 album, up to 10 items, Secure Notes, auto-lock, and Face ID or a passcode.

Upgrade to Pro with a one-time purchase to unlock unlimited albums and items, a secondary safety vault (Decoy Vault) with its own passcode, Intruder Capture that is off by default and works only after explicit opt-in and camera permission—with time and optional location—and alternate icons that are clearly branded Zafe.

Frequently asked questions

Does Zafe work without an internet connection?

Yes. The App Store listing for Zafe states that its core processing happens on your device, so it keeps working in airplane mode or with no signal. Downloading the app itself and making a purchase still need a connection, because those go through the App Store.

Do I need to create an account?

No. The listing states there is no account, sign-up or login — you can start using the app straight after installing it.

Is this a subscription?

No. The listing describes a one-time purchase rather than a recurring subscription. You can always confirm what you are being charged for on the App Store product page before you buy, and review anything active under Settings → your name → Subscriptions.

The camera preview is black

Check Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera and make sure the app is switched on. If it is already on, close any other app that may still be holding the camera (Zoom, FaceTime, another scanner), then force quit and reopen the app.

Face ID isn't unlocking the app

Make sure Face ID is enabled for the app in Settings → Face ID & Passcode → Other Apps. If Face ID fails repeatedly, iOS falls back to your device passcode — that is an iOS behaviour, not an app setting.

Where do my exported files go?

Exports go through the iOS share sheet, so the destination is whatever you pick — Files (On My iPhone or iCloud Drive), Mail, Messages, or another app. If you can't find a file afterwards, open the Files app and check Recents.

I paid but the app still shows the locked version

One-time purchases are tied to the Apple Account that bought them. Sign in with that same account (Settings → your name → Media & Purchases), then use the app's restore option if it offers one, or reinstall the app from the App Store's Purchased list. Purchases made with a different Apple Account, including a family member's, will not appear.

I switched to a new iPhone — do I have to pay again?

No. Sign in to the new device with the same Apple Account and re-download the app; the purchase belongs to the account, not the handset.

How do I request a refund?

Refunds for anything bought on the App Store are handled by Apple, not by the developer. Go to reportaproblem.apple.com, sign in, find the purchase and choose "Request a refund". We can't issue, speed up or overturn an App Store refund decision, but do tell us what went wrong so we can fix it.

How do I delete the app and everything it stored?

Touch and hold the app icon → Remove App → Delete App. Deleting an iOS app removes its sandbox — the documents and settings it kept on the device go with it, so export anything you want to keep first. What the app stores and where is described in our privacy policy.

How do I make sure I'm on the latest version?

Open the App Store, tap your profile picture, and pull down to refresh the pending-updates list. If the app appears there, tap Update. Turning on Settings → App Store → App Updates keeps it automatic.

Troubleshooting

The app won't open, or closes straight away

Force quit it first: swipe up from the bottom of the screen and pause, then swipe the app's card away. Reopen it. If it still closes, restart the device — that clears the majority of one-off launch failures.

It feels slow, or freezes on a big job

Check free storage in Settings → General → iPhone Storage. iOS gets unpredictable below roughly 1 GB free, and anything that writes files (exports, scans, image processing) is the first thing to suffer. Also close other apps that are working in the background.

Something looks broken after an update

Update iOS itself (Settings → General → Software Update), then update the app. A mismatch between an old iOS and a new build is a common cause of layout or feature glitches.

Last resort: reinstall

Export anything you want to keep, delete the app, then reinstall it from the App Store's Purchased list. Paid unlocks belong to your Apple Account and survive a reinstall; data stored only on the device does not.

Still stuck? Email us

Write to hourstag.app@gmail.com. To get a useful answer on the first reply, include: your device model (Settings → General → About), your iOS version, the app version, and what you tapped right before the problem appeared. Screenshots or a screen recording help a lot.