Vault · Reference · Free
Everything you keep, and where to find it.
Keep the things you own, notes, links, and small tables in one searchable place, with warranty dates and a lock for sensitive items.
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One list for four kinds of thingThings you own, notes, links and small tables share one list, the most recently changed first, with chips for each kind and one search across all of them.
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Warranties that speak upGive a thing its expiry date and its row counts down the days. A banner names the next one to run out, as far ahead as you choose.
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A lock for what is private“Mark as sensitive” takes an item’s name off the list and keeps it behind Face ID or your passcode until you unlock it.
Your first item
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Tap “+” and pick a kind
“Physical” for something you own, “Note”, “Link” or “Table” for something to keep, or “Scan” to keep a piece of paper.
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Say where it is
For a physical thing, choose “Where is it?” from your saved locations, and add the warranty’s “Expiry date” if it has one.
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Tag it and save
A first tag of home, work, health or finance files a note in that folder. Turn on “Mark as sensitive” for anything private, then tap “Save”.
Every step, in detail
- 1 Tap "+" and pick a type, either "Physical" ("Object you own"), "Note" ("Text to keep"), "Link" ("URL to save"), or "Table" ("Structured data").
- 2 For a physical item, enter the name, choose "Where is it?" from your saved locations, and add an "Expiry date" for a warranty if it has one.
- 3 Add "Tags" and photos if they help, and turn on "Mark as sensitive" for anything you want behind Face ID.
- 4 Tap "Save". The item appears under "ALL", and you can pin it from its "..." menu to keep it at the top.
One list for everything you keep
Things you own, notes, links and small tables share one list, the most recently changed first. Pinned items sit above it, and a banner names the next warranty to run out. Filter by kind, search, open a row, and try searching for “passport”: the sensitive one stays hidden.
Sample · eleven items, two pinned and one sensitive, on Tuesday, October 20
Vault
Your things, notes and reference.
“ALL” shows four rows and folds the rest under “Show N more ›”, but that, like “View all”, opens All Items, which lists physical things only. A note, link or table past the first four is found with its chip or by searching. Search for “dishwasher”: a match that is pinned shows under PINNED alone, and the warranty banner steps aside while you search. The badge on a row reads EXP and the days for a warranty inside 90 days, and WARRANTY and the months for one further off.
What Save writes
“+” offers Physical, Note, Link and Table, and Scan where the device has a document camera. A physical item becomes a thing with a place and a warranty date; the other four become notes, filed in a folder chosen from their first tag. Fill the form and read the record.
Sample · the saved locations of the list above
Add Physical
In the list
What Save writes
Editing a note’s tags later does not move it: the folder is chosen once, at Save. A scan is kept as a note with the pages attached, so it can be renamed, tagged and opened like any other.
One date, four windows
A physical item’s expiry date is read in four places, and they do not look the same distance ahead. The banner and Insights use the Warning threshold in Settings. The row badge, the item’s “Exp in N days” and the Today card look 90 days ahead whatever it says. All Items calls a year away “expiring soon”. Let the days pass and move the threshold.
Sample · the six dated things in the list, from October 20
The banner names one thing, the soonest. Once a date has passed, the badge, the banner and Today let go of it, but Insights keeps counting it under “expiry attention” until you change the date or archive the thing. The Expires row on its page still reads “N days”, with no “ago”.
What Insights counts
Insights, in the ⋯ menu, opens on one line about the whole Vault, then three cards. Here they are for the sample, at the default 90 days.
Sample · the eleven items in the list
3 items need your attention.
1 sensitive, 2 pinned.
Collection
A clear mix of physical things and saved reference.
Physical status
6 owned items.
Every thing you add is owned. The app keeps room for lent and stored, but no screen sets them yet.
Care & security
1 warranty is already past its date.
Expiry attention uses your 90-day warning window.
The total counts every item, the sensitive passport included; the bars and the warranty counts leave it out. One expired printer is enough to turn the headline from “in good standing” to needing attention, and “expire soon” only shows when nothing has expired.
What “sensitive” hides, and what it doesn’t
“Mark as sensitive” puts an item behind Face ID or your passcode and takes its name off the list. It is a lock on the screen, not encryption: the item syncs with iCloud like the rest of your Vault. Turn it on for the car battery and see which places change.
Sample · the car battery, in the garage, 62 days left on its warranty
For a passport scan or an account number you want encrypted, the app points you to Secure Box, which keeps its records on this device alone.
Where Vault reaches
Vault mostly waits to be asked, but other parts of the app read it.
Weekly review
REFERENCE — STALE LOCATIONS 2
- Old printerplace set Sep 2025
- Road Bikeplace set Feb 2026
Quick scan — update locations or mark as unknown
The review lists things whose place was last set more than six months ago: the first five by name, with the count beside the heading. Sensitive things are left out, and so are the headphones, which have no place at all. The dates here are for this page; the review shows names only.
Saved locations
- KitchenDishwasher
- GarageRoad BikeCar batteryTask · Replace car battery
- OfficeOld printer
- Desk drawer
- Camera shelfSony A7 IV
Vault and Tasks share one list of places. A task can say where it happens, and a place set up for one is there for the other.
Today
The Vault card, “Expiring and recent items”, is off until you add it. It shows three rows: warranties within 90 days first, then what you pinned or changed last.
Search and Recently Deleted
Vault items turn up in the app’s search. Delete moves an item to Recently Deleted, where it can be restored for 30 days; Archive puts it away without deleting it.
Settings
Vault Settings, in the ⋯ menu, has five rows under Security, Display and Defaults.
Require authentication
On by default. Off, a sensitive item opens without Face ID, though its row in the list still reads “Sensitive item”.
Expiry warning banner
The banner at the top of the list. Off, nothing else changes: badges, Today and Insights carry on.
Warning threshold 7 to 365 days, a week at a time, 90 by default
How far ahead the banner and Insights look. The badges and the Today card keep to 90 days.
Show photo thumbnails
A thing with a photo shows its first photo in the list instead of its emoji.
Default folder Other by default
Where a note, link, table or scan goes when its first tag is not home, work, health or finance.
Tips
- Pin the items you open most. They sit under “PINNED” above everything else, and when everything is pinned, “ALL” goes away.
- "View all" opens All Items, which lists physical things only, grouped by category, location, or expiry. Find notes, links and tables with their chips or by searching.
- In "Settings", change the expiry "Warning threshold" (90 days by default), show photo thumbnails, or turn off "Require authentication" for sensitive items.
- Deleting an item moves it to Recently Deleted, where you can restore it for 30 days. Use "Archive" to put it away without deleting it.
Questions
About Vault day to day.
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Is a sensitive item encrypted?
No. It is hidden until you unlock it with Face ID or your passcode, but it syncs with iCloud like the rest of your Vault. For encrypted storage the app points you to Secure Box, which keeps its records on your device.
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Can I open sensitive items without Face ID?
Yes. Turn off “Require authentication” in Vault’s Settings. Their rows still read “Sensitive item” in the list, but they open at once.
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How far ahead does Vault warn about a warranty?
The banner and Insights look as far ahead as the “Warning threshold” in Settings: 90 days by default, anywhere from 7 to 365. The badge on a row and the Today card always look 90 days ahead.
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Can a note have an expiry date?
No. The form offers the field for every kind, but only a physical thing keeps it. Notes, links, tables and scans are saved without one.
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What happens when I delete an item?
It moves to Recently Deleted, where you can restore it for 30 days. “Archive” puts it away without deleting it, and Archived in the ⋯ menu brings it back.
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Why does my weekly review ask about a bike?
Under “REFERENCE — STALE LOCATIONS”, the weekly review lists things whose place was last set more than six months ago, so you can check they are still there. Setting the location again takes them off the list.
Works with
Where Vault hands off to the rest of HourLife.
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Today
The "Vault" widget on Today ("Expiring and recent items") shows what is about to expire and what you pinned or changed recently. It is off until you turn it on. The weekly review lists things whose location was set more than six months ago under "STALE LOCATIONS".
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Tasks
Physical items use the same saved locations picker as Tasks, so a place you set up once works in both.
Read and try
Books from the library that Vault puts into practice.
Already have HourLife?
Vault is under Reference in the module list, and it is free. The “+” adds an item; the ⋯ menu holds “Insights”, “Archived” and “Settings”. “View all” beside “ALL” opens All Items, grouped by category, location or expiry.
Vault is in the Library, under Reference. If it isn’t there, turn it on in Settings → Look & Feel → Modules.
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