We make Ephemeral Trace. This page compares it with seven other iPhone camera apps that keep temporary photos apart from your library or delete them on a timer. Every fact here comes from each app’s own App Store listing: its description, screenshots, version notes and the details Apple shows. We have not tested the other apps.
Listings read on October 11, 2026, in the U.S. App Store. Listings change, so check the current one before you choose.
The apps at a glance
| App | Price model | Timer options in the listing | Keeps media out of Photos? | iPad app | Minimum iOS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ephemeral Trace | Free, one-time Pro purchase, no ads | 30 s, 5 min, 1 h, 24 h. Pro: custom up to a year, or Keep Forever | Yes, unless you save a copy | No | 26.0 |
| SnapTemp | Free, one-time Pro purchase | 1 h to 30 days (screenshot). Pro: longer, or a set date | Yes. Also reviews and deletes photos in your library | No | 17.0 |
| TempCam | Free, contains ads, no purchases listed | 1 h, 12 h, 1 day, 7 days, 30 days (screenshot) | Yes | No | 18.0 |
| OneDayCam | Free, no purchases listed | 24 hours, 1 week, 1 month | Yes. Can also move screenshots out of your library | No | 17.6 |
| OutVault | Free, one-time Premium purchase, no ads | Auto-delete is a Premium feature. Durations not stated | Yes | No | 18.6 |
| StickyCamera | Free, contains ads, Remove Ads purchase | No auto-delete described | Yes | Yes | 26.0 |
| TempSnap | Free, Full Access purchase | An expiry date per item. Options not listed | Not stated for its camera. It sets expiry on photos in your library | No | 18.0 |
| SideCam | Free, contains ads, no purchases listed | Per shutter: 30 min to 30 days (screenshot) | Yes by default. A shutter can also save to Photos | Yes | 26.0 |
Privacy, upkeep and reach
| App | App Store privacy label | What the listing says about iCloud or backups | Languages | Last updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ephemeral Trace | Data Not Collected | Excluded from iCloud and iTunes backups | 11 | Oct 11, 2026 (1.4.0) |
| SnapTemp | Data Linked to You: Purchases | Not stated | 9 | Oct 5, 2026 (1.0.7) |
| TempCam | Data Used to Track You: Identifiers, Usage Data. Also listed as Not Linked to You | Says no sign-up and no backups | 1 | Jan 26, 2026 (1.2.0) |
| OneDayCam | Data Used to Track You: Location, Identifiers, Usage Data. Data Linked to You: the same, plus Diagnostics | Says no cloud upload. Backups not stated | 4 | Feb 1, 2026 (1.6) |
| OutVault | Data Linked to You: Purchases, Identifiers, Usage Data, Diagnostics | Subtitle says its photos never touch iCloud. Backups not stated | 7 | Oct 7, 2026 (2.8.0) |
| StickyCamera | Data Not Linked to You: Usage Data, Diagnostics | Not stated | 43 | Oct 9, 2026 (2.3.16) |
| TempSnap | Data Not Collected | Says it works fully offline. Backups not stated | 15 | Apr 14, 2026 (1.0.6) |
| SideCam | Data Not Linked to You: Identifiers, Usage Data, Diagnostics | Not stated | 14 | Sep 10, 2026 (2.0) |
How to read the privacy labels. Each label is what the developer declared to Apple. The App Store says the information has not been verified by Apple. “Data Used to Track You” means the developer says some data may be used to track you across other companies’ apps and websites.
Ratings. Too few to compare. In the U.S. store, StickyCamera had one rating and TempSnap two. The others, Ephemeral Trace included, had none.
Which app suits whom?
Ephemeral Trace
For photos that should be gone in minutes or hours, kept off your library and out of backups. Its listing is the only one here that states timers under 30 minutes. It also reads QR codes and shows a ticket’s code for the scanner. Its Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets show what expires next, and a photo of a boarding pass can be offered an expiry at the end of the trip, both free in 1.4.0. The privacy label is Data Not Collected.
Where others do better: it needs iOS 26, runs on iPhone only, and can’t touch photos already in your library. It has no Recently Deleted, so a deleted item can’t be restored. And it doesn’t stop screenshots, screen recordings, someone photographing the screen, or someone using your unlocked phone before the timer ends.
Ephemeral Trace on the App Store
SnapTemp
For a temporary camera that also helps tidy the library you already have. Its Photo Review browses your library by month or album so you can delete what you don’t need. It scans QR codes, reads text in photos, can add a watermark, and reminds you before items expire. Copies you save to Photos never auto-delete.
Where it beats Ephemeral Trace: it runs on iOS 17, its screenshots show timers up to 30 days, and its one-time unlock was listed at a lower U.S. price than Ephemeral Trace Pro.
TempCam
For the simplest version of the idea: take a photo, pick a lifetime, done. Photos stay inside the app, and Face ID can lock it.
Where it beats Ephemeral Trace: it runs on iOS 18, and everything is free with no purchase. The trade is ads, and a privacy label that says identifiers and usage data may be used to track you. It is in English only.
OneDayCam
For visual memos: a parking spot, a shopping list, a timetable. A Home Screen widget shows your latest memo, and it can copy each photo to the clipboard as you take it. It can move screenshots and saved web images out of your library into the app.
Where it beats Ephemeral Trace: it runs on iOS 17.6, it’s free, and it handles screenshots already in your library. Its label lists location, identifiers and usage data as possibly used to track you.
OutVault
For keeping things private for a long time rather than letting them go. It is a vault first: Face ID or passcode on every launch, a decoy vault, a disguised Home Screen icon, metadata stripping before you share, and watermarks. Auto-delete comes with Premium. An optional Recently Deleted lets you restore deletions for 24 hours, 7 days or 30 days.
Where it beats Ephemeral Trace: its version notes say the vault locks when a screenshot is taken or the screen is recorded. Ephemeral Trace does nothing of the kind. It also runs on iOS 18.6.
StickyCamera
For photo notes that skip the Camera Roll. It has been on the App Store since 2015, has an iPad app, and lists 43 languages. Its listing describes no timer, so as far as the listing says, photos stay until you delete them.
Where it beats Ephemeral Trace: iPad support and language coverage. Ads can be removed with a purchase.
TempSnap
For cleaning up photos and screenshots that are already in your library. You give items an expiry date, and a cleanup deletes the expired ones. Its screenshots show iOS asking you to confirm, and the photos going to Recently Deleted for 30 days. It works from Shortcuts, Control Center and the Lock Screen, is 2.5 MB, and its label is Data Not Collected.
Where it beats Ephemeral Trace: it works on your existing library, which Ephemeral Trace cannot. It runs on iOS 18, and its unlock was listed at a lower U.S. price.
SideCam
For people who want different rules for different photos. You set up named shutters, such as Parking, Wi-Fi or Receipt, each with its own retention time, saving behavior, silent capture and notes. The Parking and Wi-Fi shutters copy text from the photo into its note.
Where it beats Ephemeral Trace: it has an iPad app, 14 languages, and per-shutter rules. Its listing notes that deletion runs when the app opens or returns from the background, and that copies saved to Photos are not deleted. It is free with ads.
How do I choose?
- Clutter already in your library: TempSnap and SnapTemp work on it, and OneDayCam can move screenshots out of it. Ephemeral Trace can’t, and the TempCam and OutVault listings don’t describe it.
- Things that should be gone within the hour: Ephemeral Trace is the only listing here with timers under 30 minutes.
- Long-term privacy for photos you keep: OutVault is built for that.
- An iPad: StickyCamera or SideCam.
- An older iPhone: SnapTemp (iOS 17.0) and OneDayCam (iOS 17.6) have the lowest requirements.
- A privacy label of Data Not Collected: Ephemeral Trace and TempSnap.
None of these apps can recall a copy you saved, shared or exported. Each controls only its own storage.
Frequently asked questions
Which auto-delete camera apps keep photos out of the Photos library?
Which of these apps have a “Data Not Collected” privacy label?
Can any of these apps delete photos already in my library?
Which of these apps work on iPad?
Sources
All App Store pages and lookups accessed on October 11, 2026, U.S. storefront.
- Ephemeral Trace: App Store page
- SnapTemp: App Store page
- TempCam: App Store page
- OneDayCam: App Store page
- OutVault: App Store page
- StickyCamera: App Store page
- TempSnap: App Store page
- SideCam: App Store page