DriveVault FAQ

DriveVault is an offline hard-drive cataloguer for macOS. Scan a drive once and you can browse, search, filter, compare, and report on its files later - even when the drive isn’t plugged in.

When you scan a disk, DriveVault builds a local catalog: file names, paths, sizes, dates, EXIF/metadata, and thumbnails (where possible). That catalog lives on your Mac so you can explore it offline at any time.

Search across every scanned drive by file name, type, size, date, and rich metadata. Photo EXIF (camera, lens, ISO, date taken), video basics, and document metadata are supported. You can also filter by file categories and build saved searches.

Creators, photographers, videographers, agencies, studios, researchers—anyone with lots of external storage who needs to find things fast without plugging in every disk.

No. Your files remain on your drives. DriveVault only stores a local catalog and optional thumbnails on your Mac. Nothing is uploaded—privacy is core to the product.

macOS. DriveVault is built for Mac and integrates with macOS previews, Finder-style navigation, and Apple-native features.

It’s designed for large collections—hundreds of thousands of files. Scans run in the background and DriveVault uses smart caching so browsing and search stay responsive.

Browse in Column (Finder-style), Icon, or List view. See quick previews and metadata panels for common file types. Photos show EXIF; videos/documents show key details where available.

Yes—tag files, add notes, apply star ratings, and group drives into Projects. Create smart collections (e.g., Recent Photos, Large Files) and compare drives to find duplicates or gaps in backups.

Drive comparison and backup checks help you verify what's mirrored where. You can generate reports that summarize differences, missing files, and drive health stats.

Join via TestFlight here: https://testflight.apple.com/join/tVYkpxnm. We update the beta frequently—feedback is very welcome.

Yes—there’s a free tier with a smaller drive limit, perfect to try the core experience. Paid tiers unlock more drives and advanced features like projects, reports, and bulk operations.

Pricing is tiered by number of drives and pro features. We’ll publish full details on the Pricing page as we exit beta. Beta users will get a discount.

No. Catalogs are stored locally on your Mac. We don’t upload your library. Optional crash/usage analytics (if enabled later) will be anonymous and never include file names or content.

Yes—import/export lets you move catalogs, share reports, or back up your DriveVault library alongside your project files.

No. Scanning is read-only. Any tags/notes/ratings you add are stored in your local catalog—not written back to the disk’s files.

We’d love to hear it. Post on our Feature Requests board or report issues on the Bugs board.