A browser is not a VPN. Paying for Stealth Suite, or letting a subscription lapse, does not hide your IP address from sites you visit or from your network operator. Tracking protection is list-based and not absolute: known ads, analytics, and social trackers from bundled lists are blocked on the device, but no blocker catches everything. Private Browser Incognito is rated 17+ for unrestricted web access and is intended for adults. App Lock is free. We do not invent lapse rules beyond what is stated here and in the terms.
Paywalls that lock the actual browser are a different product. Private Browser Incognito ships the forgetful session for everyone. Stealth Suite is optional Apple IAP for a decoy passcode, a panic wipe, a break-in log, self-destruct, an encrypted vault, and icon colors. People reasonably ask what happens when a monthly or yearly receipt ends. The honest rule is short. If a subscription lapses, protections you already enabled keep working and the vault stays accessible. New downloads that require an active unlock follow the lapse policy in the terms. We do not hold existing files hostage. We do not invent other lapse rules on this page.
This article is that rule, the free core that never depended on it, the Classic icon that always stays a door, and the prices we actually charge. It is not a thriller. It is not a claim that paid users become anonymous, or that a lapsed receipt publishes your tabs. If you want the full split of free versus paid kit, start with What Stealth Suite Adds (and What Stays Free).
The lapse rule in one place
Enabled protections keep working. That sentence is load-bearing. A decoy passcode you already set does not vanish because a year ended. A panic code you already chose does not disarm itself as a ransom. A break-in log you already turned on does not wipe to punish a cancelled renewal. An Auto-Erase timer you already armed is one of those protections. A lapse does not fire a wipe by itself. We do not remotely empty devices. There is no browsing server that could.
The vault stays accessible. Files already sealed remain in the store, behind App Lock if you enabled it. Session erase still leaves the vault. A panic code can still wipe it if you configured one. Those two facts do not change when a subscription ends. What can change is a new download that requires an active unlock. That case follows the lapse policy in the terms. Read the terms for that edge. This article will not invent a second policy to sound friendlier or stricter.
Lifetime is a one-time purchase for the kit on that Apple ID, not a cloud of files. Vault files stay on the device, excluded from backups. Restoring access to features on a device where you install the app is not the same as pouring sealed downloads into a new phone. We never received those files. Support cannot reconstruct a vault from a receipt. Forgotten passcodes still cannot be recovered. A lapse does not add a reset email we never had.
Subscriptions auto-renew until cancelled at least 24 hours before the period ends, managed in your App Store account. Purchases go through Apple. There is no Private Browser login that holds a card number, because that login does not exist. The yearly trial is seven days. Cancel before it converts if you only wanted to look. During a trial the suite behaves as unlocked kit. Afterward the lapse rule above is the honest one.
What stays free either way
Every tab is a private session in memory. There is no browsing history feature and no history file to clear. Ads, analytics, and social trackers are blocked by content-blocking rules powered by the open Disconnect lists. The lists ship in the app and run on the device. They are not downloaded at runtime. Blocking is not 100 percent. Per-site exceptions exist. None of that is gated on Stealth Suite. There is no paid stronger list.
One-tap erase closes every tab and destroys cookies, cache, and site data. There is a home-screen quick action. Erase is permanent. It does not empty the vault. HTTPS-Only Mode is on by default and asks before falling back to insecure HTTP. Search is Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Wikipedia, or a custom engine. Suggestions stay off until you agree to share a keystroke. App Lock with a six-digit passcode and Face ID is free in the shipping default. The passcode is never stored. It becomes the key.
There are no accounts, no sign-in, no app server for browsing, no ads in the app, no analytics SDK, no third-party SDKs. The privacy label is Data Not Collected. iOS only. Rated 17+ either way. A lapsed receipt does not turn the app into a kids filter, a VPN, or a demo. The forgetful engine is the product. The suite is optional kit. If you only needed pages to forget themselves, you already had the product before you ever saw a paywall.
The vault after a receipt fades
Private Downloads are an AES-256 store, with no plain copy on disk, excluded from backups. Files never appear in Photos. You open them from this app. That architecture is An Encrypted Download Vault on iPhone. After a lapse, existing files stay accessible. We do not migrate them into Files or Photos because a subscription ended. A lapse is not an export. The files stay in the box, or they are wiped by a tool you armed: panic, or self-destruct if you included the vault.
New downloads that require an active unlock follow the lapse policy in the terms. That is the only extra sentence. We will not invent a grace window, a file cap, or a read-only mode that is not in the terms. If you needed the absence-from-Photos story, it is Why Vault Files Never Appear in Photos. A lapsed suite does not suddenly start writing thumbnails into Camera Roll. The store does not become a gallery because Apple stopped charging.
Erase still does not clear the vault. Panic still can. Self-destruct still can, if you opted to include the vault after too many wrong codes. Those verbs stay separate so a cancelled renewal is not mistaken for a wipe, and a wipe is not mistaken for billing. Erased data cannot be recovered, by you or by us. A lapse does not reconstruct a panic wipe. There is nothing on our servers to restore.
Classic, Midnight, Ocean, Ember
Classic is the primary icon and is always available. Reverting to Classic never requires Stealth Suite, including after a subscription lapses. You are not trapped on Ember because a yearly trial ended. That is the same spirit as the rest of the lapse policy: we do not hold existing protections hostage, and Classic is always a valid home-screen mark.
Applying Midnight, Ocean, or Ember requires Stealth Suite. Those three recolor the shield. They do not replace it with a calculator, notes, or weather glyph. We do not ship disguise icons. A color is not a privacy control. The forgetful session does not depend on a palette. What you cannot do after a lapse is apply a new paid color if the unlock required for that change is no longer active. Classic remains a door that stays open. The dedicated icon page is Recolor the Shield on Your Home Screen.
Erase, Auto-Erase, panic, and self-destruct are about session data and, for panic and optional self-destruct, the vault. They do not recolor the home screen. One-tap erase closes tabs and destroys cookies, cache, and site data. It does not reset Classic. A panic code wipes tabs, the vault, and the break-in log, then opens what looks like a fresh start. It is not an icon factory reset. Keep those jobs separate so a wipe is not mistaken for a theme change, and a lapse is not mistaken for either.
Prices, and what we will not invent
Monthly $4.99. Yearly $19.99 with a 7-day trial. Lifetime $49.99. The subscription group display name is Stealth Suite. We do not invent other price points. We do not take a card number inside a Private Browser account. We do not invent other lapse rules. Enabled protections keep working. The vault stays accessible. New downloads that require an active unlock follow the terms. Classic never requires Suite. The free core stays free.
A lapse does not hide your IP, because nothing in the suite hid it. A lapse does not make blocking complete, because blocking was never 100 percent. A lapse does not grant a forgotten-passcode recovery. A lapse does not turn Intruder Photo on. Intruder Photo is off until you enable it. Camera permission is asked when you turn that feature on, never at the lock screen. Photos may depict other people. You are responsible for local law.
| After a lapse | Still works | Follows terms / Suite |
|---|---|---|
| No history file, blocking, erase | Yes. Always free | Never required Suite |
| App Lock and Face ID | Yes. Always free | Never required Suite |
| Protections already enabled | Yes. Keep working | We do not ransom them |
| Existing vault files | Stay accessible | New downloads that need an unlock: terms |
| Classic icon | Always. Revert never needs Suite | Applying Midnight, Ocean, Ember needs Suite |
Use the table when a screenshot of a paywall looks like the browser itself is about to lock. It is not. The forgetful engine remains. The suite remains optional kit you can renew, buy lifetime, or let end without turning the app into a hostage situation. None of it is Tor, a proxy we market, or fingerprint spoofing. None of it needs an account with us. Rated 17+. You are responsible for what you visit and for using the app lawfully. If a subscription lapses, what you already turned on keeps working, the vault stays yours to open, and Classic is still a shield you can put back on the home screen.
Private Browser IncognitoFree on the App Store. No history, on-device blocking, one-tap erase.
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Frequently asked questions
What happens if my Stealth Suite subscription lapses?
Protections you already enabled keep working and the vault stays accessible. New downloads that require an active unlock follow the lapse policy in the terms. We do not hold existing files hostage. The free browser stays free: no history file, on-device blocking, one-tap erase, App Lock, and HTTPS-Only Mode. A lapse does not publish your tabs.
Does the encrypted vault stay accessible after a lapse?
Yes. If a subscription lapses, the vault stays accessible. Files already sealed remain behind App Lock if you enabled it. New downloads that require an active unlock follow the lapse policy in the terms. Session erase still leaves the vault. A panic code can still wipe it if you armed one. We do not invent other lapse rules.
Can I still use the Classic icon if Stealth Suite lapses?
Yes. Classic is always available. Reverting to Classic never requires Stealth Suite, including after a lapse. Applying Midnight, Ocean, or Ember requires Stealth Suite. You are not trapped on a paid color because a yearly trial ended. Color is not a privacy control. The forgetful session does not depend on a palette.
Does the free private browser stay free after a lapse?
Yes. The forgetful core was never gated. Every tab is still a private session in memory. There is no history file. On-device Disconnect lists still run. One-tap erase still destroys the session. App Lock with a six-digit passcode and Face ID stays free. There are no accounts and no ads in the app. Stealth Suite is optional kit on top of that core.
How much does Stealth Suite cost?
Stealth Suite is Apple IAP: monthly $4.99, yearly $19.99 with a 7-day trial, or lifetime $49.99. The subscription group display name is Stealth Suite. Purchases go through Apple. There is no Private Browser login. Lifetime is a one-time purchase for the kit on that Apple ID, not a cloud of files we can restore.