# Use a movie as a vault cover

> Understand the playable carrier, preserve your original movie and choose the right save option.

Document ID: phantom-help:phantomvault/movie-covers
Product: PhantomVault
Platforms: macOS and iOS
Updated: 2026-11-02
Availability: Preview-build instructions.
Tested app version: Not recorded
Tested build: Not recorded
Tested OS version: Not recorded

Source: https://llms.phantomsecure.app/phantomvault/movie-covers.md
Human guide: https://phantomsecure.app/help/phantomvault/movie-covers/
Agent guide: https://llms.phantomsecure.app/phantomvault/movie-covers/
Documentation index: https://phantomsecure.app/llms.txt
Full handbook: https://phantomsecure.app/llms-full.txt

## What a movie cover does

A movie carrier combines playable movie content with the encrypted vault. A video player plays the movie; PhantomVault opens the vault using its normal credentials. The movie is visible cover content, so choose footage you are comfortable leaving outside the encrypted files.

The carrier can be larger than the source movie because it also holds vault storage. A movie cover is not a guarantee that software or another person cannot identify a vault.

## Mac: choose the cover

In **New Vault → Choose a Disguise → Movie**, choose:

- **Generated Cover** for a short abstract movie created by the app.
- **Use My Movie** for an MP4, M4V or MOV file you select.

Wait until preparation completes. Use **Change** to choose a different movie or **Cancel** to stop preparation.

## Mac: decide where the original goes

On the summary screen, inspect **Where to Save**:

- **Keep Original & Save Elsewhere** keeps the source movie where it is and saves a separate vault. Use **Choose Folder…** for the vault destination.
- **Move Original & Save Here** saves the original movie in another folder and puts the vault at its former location. Choose the original's destination and grant **Allow Saving Here…** if asked.

Read both **Original saved to** and **Vault saved to** before **Create Vault**. If you want the least change to an existing movie collection, keeping the original and saving the vault elsewhere makes the two files easiest to distinguish.

## iPhone and iPad: select a video

In **Create Vault**, tap **Choose a video** under **Optional video carrier**. The app creates a separate carrier in the **Save Location** folder. The original video stays unchanged. iOS creation does not offer the Mac's generated-cover or move-original choices.

## Keep the complete carrier intact

Back up or transfer the complete vault file after locking it. Editing, trimming, transcoding or sending it through a service that recompresses videos can remove vault data. Use a file-copy route that preserves the original bytes.

To access private files, choose **Open Vault** on Mac or **Open Vault from Files** on iOS and select the carrier. Playing the video does not unlock the vault. See [backup and transfer](https://phantomsecure.app/help/phantomvault/backup-transfer.md).