One file with your presets, captions, logos, settings and details. Save it anywhere, restore it on any device.
Technology · 07
Your presets travel with you. Your photos stay private.
Max Photo Frames gives you three ways to keep your work safe: a backup file you control, iCloud Sync between your devices, and a separate personal-details file for device replacement. None of them upload your photos.
Three ways to keep your work
Keeps your library the same on every device you sign in to. Off until you turn it on.
Your birthdays, trackers and theme, moved by hand to a new device.
| What | Backup file | iCloud Sync | My Details file | A shared preset |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Presets | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ |
| Captions | ✓ | ✓ | – | The ones it uses |
| Logos | ✓ | ✓ | Your default logo | ✓ |
| Personal details | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ |
| Photos | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
Your photos never leave the device through the app. Apple’s own device backup looks after them.
Show what each one holds
Presets & Settings Backup
- A single .mpfbackup file you save wherever you like
- Contains all your custom presets, captions, the logos your presets use, app settings, and personal details
- You choose what to restore: presets, captions, settings, or details independently
- Does NOT contain photos, in-progress frames, or exported images
Library sync across devices
- Keeps saved presets, captions and the logos your presets use the same on every device signed in to your Apple Account
- Updates your preset library, not the photo on your screen
- Off by default. You switch it on when ready
- Does NOT sync photos, personal details, or your current canvas
Personal details file
- A small .mpfuser file with your birthdays, trackers, theme, content preferences, and your default watermark logo
- Export from the Hub, save to iCloud Drive, import on a new device
- Also included inside a full backup automatically
- Never travels with a shared preset. Your personal data stays personal
How sync and backup work
iCloud Sync
- Turn it on in Hub → Backup & Transfer → iCloud Sync.
- Your other devices update within seconds of an edit.
- If two devices change one preset offline, both versions are kept.
Backup and restore
- Export a backup file from Hub → Backup & Transfer → Backup & Restore.
- Save it to iCloud Drive, AirDrop it or email it.
- Open it to restore. Nothing you already have is overwritten.
Show every step, and the technology underneath
iCloud Sync, step by step
- You switch it on in Hub → Backup & Transfer → iCloud Sync.
- Your presets, captions and the logos your presets use are pushed to your private iCloud account (Apple's CloudKit).
- Your other devices pull changes on launch, on foreground, and within seconds of an edit. You can also tap Sync Now under iCloud Sync to check straight away.
- A change from another device updates your library. The photo on screen is never replaced while you are editing.
- When a preset has changed elsewhere, its card says "Updated on another device". Tap it to use the new version.
- If both devices edit the same preset while disconnected, the later save keeps the name and the earlier version is saved as a copy. No design work is lost.
- When a preset from another device has the same name as one you already have, it appears with a ◆ mark so you can see both side by side and delete whichever you do not want.
Backup and restore, step by step
- Hub → Backup & Transfer → Backup & Restore → Export Backup File.
- The app creates a .mpfbackup file and opens the share sheet.
- Save it to iCloud Drive, AirDrop it, or email it. It is a normal file you own.
- To restore: open the file from Files, or use Hub → Backup & Transfer → Backup & Restore → Import Backup File. A file that has been altered is refused whole rather than half imported.
- Choose what to bring back (presets, captions, settings, personal details).
- The app tells you exactly what was added: "3 presets added, 12 captions added, settings applied."
- Nothing you already have is overwritten. Restored content is added alongside your existing library.
The technology underneath
Your data in your iCloud
- Stored in Apple's CloudKit private database. Only your Apple Account can access it
- The developer cannot see, read, or recover your synced data
- Silent push notifications wake the app when another device writes
- Custom zone with change-token pagination for reliable multi-page fetches
Last writer wins + conflict copies
- Each edit carries an app-level timestamp (not the server clock)
- The newer edit keeps the original preset identity
- The older version is preserved as a named copy, never silently destroyed
- Divergence detection ensures copies fire only on genuine concurrent edits
Network and security
Max Photo Frames has no server. Nothing it does can send your photos, or anything about you, to Max34Lab, because there is nowhere for it to go. The app talks only to Apple, and only for the three things below.
Your iPhone or iPad
Your photos, your edits and your saved pictures stay here.
Your own iCloud
Presets, captions and logos, only when you turn on iCloud Sync. Private to your Apple Account.
Apple place names
A photo’s coordinates, only when it carries a location, to suggest a town name for a caption. Never the photo.
The App Store
A check for a newer version of the app, and tips through Apple’s In-App Purchase. The check names the app, not you.
A Max34Lab server
Does not exist. No analytics, no advertising ID and no crash reporting to another company.
Show photo access, what the app declares and the file checks
Only the photo you choose
- You pick each photo with Apple’s photo picker, which needs no permission at all
- Full library access is optional. It lets the app read the date, place and Live Photo motion of the photo you chose
- Saving asks for add-only access: the app can put a picture into your library but cannot read it
Nothing to hide in the label
- The App Store privacy label reads Data Not Collected
- Apple’s required privacy manifest lists two routine uses: saved settings and file dates
- One open-source library, used only for the update check
Personal details stay home
- A preset you share leaves out your personal details: birthdays, and the names and dates you track
- A backup file larger than 50 MB is refused before it is read
- Each file is identified before anything is imported, and a shared preset only ever adds
Common questions
Does backing up or syncing upload my photos?
No. Photos never leave the device through the app. The backup carries your presets, captions, the logos your presets use, and settings: configuration, not your photos.
Can a sync problem delete my presets?
No. An empty or missing answer from iCloud is never treated as an instruction to delete your library. If the cloud copy goes missing for any reason, each device keeps everything it has and quietly puts the library back. This rule is enforced in code and covered by automated tests.
What if I switch iCloud accounts?
The app detects the account change and resets its sync bookkeeping. Your local presets and captions stay exactly as they are. The next sync treats the new account as a fresh start.
What happens if I delete iCloud data?
"Delete iCloud Data" in the Hub removes the iCloud copy and switches sync off on this device. Everything on this device stays, and your other devices keep their own copies. If sync is still on elsewhere, that device will upload its library again, so switch sync off on every device first if you want the cloud copy gone for good.
Can I restore a backup on a different device?
Yes. The .mpfbackup file works on any device with the app installed. Save it to iCloud Drive and open it from there, or AirDrop it directly.
Do my birthdays and tracker dates sync?
No. Personal details stay on the device you entered them on. Export them with "Export My Details" in the Hub and import on the new device. A full backup also carries them.