Tools to create a separate photo library
The problem, in plain words: “I want an app that imports photos from my phone's camera roll into a separate library I control so I can delete the originals without removing the copies.”
Updated September 2026.
What fits
SecondPhoto is explicitly a separate photo library on iPhone/iPad, intended to store photos and videos apart from the default Photos app. It includes albums for organization, a PIN lock with a decoy PIN mode, and it supports iCloud sync so you can keep using the separate library after switching devices—aligning with your goal of deleting camera-roll originals while preserving the copied library.
Best for: Keeping a separate, user-controlled photo library on iPhone/iPad where originals in the default Photos app can be deleted without removing your saved copies.
Partly fits
Questions
What's the best tool to create a separate photo library?
SecondPhoto: Camera, Album is the strongest match — SecondPhoto is explicitly a separate photo library on iPhone/iPad, intended to store photos and videos apart from the default Photos app. It includes albums for organization, a PIN lock with a decoy PIN mode, and it supports iCloud sync so you can keep using the separate library after switching devices—aligning with your goal of deleting camera-roll originals while preserving the copied library.
Is there a tool that fully solves this?
1 product matches this closely.
What won't these tools cover?
It describes importing from the Files app more than from the camera roll directly.
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