When we launched HILIA on the web a few weeks back, we called it "the original Android app it grew from." That app hasn't been sitting still. Since launch it's had a full redesign, a new kind of vault built for the moment someone actually asks you to unlock your phone, and a couple of smaller changes worth knowing about if you're already using it — or thinking about it.
A vault and reveal flow that matches how you actually use it
The old flow made you think about steganography before you'd even picked a photo. The redesign flips that: you pick what you're hiding first, see a preview of the result before you commit, and Hilia works out the best way to fit it into your cover photo or photos. Every hidden item gets its own share code, so handing one thing to one person doesn't mean digging through your whole vault to find it again.
If you're carrying something sensitive for work — a signed contract, a client's financial details, a set of credentials — that's less fiddling around and fewer chances to hide the wrong thing in the wrong photo.
A decoy vault, for when you can't just say no
This is the one we think matters most. Phones get searched — at a border crossing, by a workplace policy, or by someone who's simply taken your phone and is telling you to unlock it. In that moment, "no" isn't always an option.
Hilia's new decoy vault gives you a second vault with its own passcode. It looks and works exactly like the real one — but only shows what you've chosen to put in it. Unlock with the decoy passcode and that's the whole story as far as anyone watching is concerned; your real vault stays closed and untouched behind a different passcode entirely.
| What's new | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Redesigned vault & reveal flow | Preview before you commit, one share code per hidden item |
| Decoy vault | A second, real-looking vault to show if you're ever pressured to unlock your phone |
| Scatter into gallery | Saves your hidden photo into your regular gallery instead of a separate album, so it blends in |
| Global leaderboard | Track your own activity and see how you rank — never shows what you've hidden |
Worth being upfront about: this is a genuinely new feature, and a decoy vault is only as good as the discipline you use it with — put something believable in it, and don't reuse the same passcode anywhere else. We'd treat it as one more layer of protection, not a guarantee, especially if what's at stake is serious. It's the same honesty we'd want from any tool protecting something you can't afford to get wrong.
A hidden photo that doesn't stand out
By default, a stego photo you make in Hilia stays in the app's own vault. Turn on Scatter and it saves into your regular phone gallery instead, mixed in with everything else you've photographed — not sitting in an obviously separate album labelled "Hilia." One more way to keep something private without it looking like you're keeping something private.
A leaderboard, without giving up your privacy
Hilia now has a free global leaderboard that tracks how often you use the app and ranks you against other users. It's entirely separate from what you actually hide — the leaderboard never sees, scores, or reveals the contents of anything in your vault. If competing for a rank isn't your thing, it's easy to ignore; it doesn't change how the core app works.
Still free, still yours
The core of Hilia — hiding a secret in a photo, revealing one, and the vault itself — is free for everyone, supported by ads, with no account required. An optional Gold membership removes the ads and adds a few extras; it doesn't unlock anything you'd otherwise be paying to use.
Try it
All of this is live now on the Play Store.
If you'd rather stay in the browser, the web version we covered last time does watermarking and steganography from any device, with a free TYO ID sign-in shared across the app and the web tool.
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