Ephemeral Trace: Temp Camera

A vault keeps your photos forever. This one lets them go. Timer-based deletion, entirely on your iPhone. One-time Pro, never a subscription.

Photos that delete themselves.

Ephemeral Trace is a private camera for photos and videos that only need to exist for a while. Choose an expiry before you shoot. Each capture counts down, then deletes itself when time runs out.

No cloud. No account. No tracking.

FOR PHOTOS THAT HAD ONE JOB

A receipt you need until tonight. A whiteboard after the meeting. A parking spot. A document you are sending once. A serial number. The Wi-Fi password at a rental.

Take the photo. Use it. Let it go.

SET THE TIMER BEFORE YOU SHOOT

Choose 30 seconds, 5 minutes, 1 hour, or 24 hours. Pro adds custom timers up to one year and Keep Forever when a photo really should stay.

TIME, MADE VISIBLE

Every capture has a live countdown and a decay ring that empties as time runs out. Short timers burn hot. Long ones run cool. If a capture expires while you are looking at it, it flares once and dissolves.

PRIVATE BY DESIGN

• No accounts • No analytics or tracking • No advertising identifiers • No cloud storage or servers • No crash reporting • Photo Library access is Add Only. The app can save a photo when you ask, but it cannot read your existing library.

Your media stays on your iPhone.

ENCRYPTED, THEN GONE

Captures live in the app's private storage, protected by iOS Data Protection. When a timer ends, the file and its encryption key are removed together.

Captures are excluded from iCloud and iTunes backups, so a capture does not outlive its timer inside a backup. There is no trash, Recently Deleted folder, or undo path.

A LIBRARY THAT EMPTIES ITSELF

See what is still alive at a glance. Long-press any item to extend its timer, change its expiry, move it, share it, save it to Photos, or delete it early.

FOLDERS WITHOUT THE PILE-UP

Organize captures into folders with identity colors and custom covers. Choose a default folder and shoot straight into it. The free version includes up to two folders.

ONE-TIME PRO

Pro unlocks:

• Keep Forever • Custom timer presets up to one year • Unlimited folders • Biometric gallery lock with Face ID, Touch ID, or Optic ID • All future Pro features

One purchase. No subscription. Ever.

Free includes unlimited photo and video capture, all four standard timers, automatic deletion, decay rings and countdowns, long-press actions, up to two folders, gallery filters, statistics, and export to Photos.

Available in English, German, Spanish, French, Japanese, Portuguese, and Ukrainian.

Your privacy is not a feature. It is the foundation.