Eclipse vs Camera Eye
How Eclipse and Camera Eye differ on screen disguises, motion detection and pricing: a disguised screen versus a PIN-locked private album, compared in full.
Everything below about Camera Eye is taken from its own materials: App Store listing · inzori.com
The short answer
Camera Eye is the strongest free tier in this category apart from ours: screen masks, a private gallery, 60fps, high-quality stills, 4K and slow motion are all free, plus two disguise tricks Eclipse does not have — a decoy PIN that opens a dummy gallery, and a fake app icon. What it charges for is motion detection and unlimited recording and storage, and what it lacks is momentum: the last release notes describing a new feature were in January 2020. Eclipse is the pick if you want the most screen disguises, an Apple Watch shutter, audio-only recording and an app that is still gaining features every month. Camera Eye is the pick if you want to leave a phone recording on movement.
Eclipse in short
- — Five screen masks, including a fake Safari page and QR scanner
- — Apple Watch app, widgets, and a Control Center toggle
- — Private vault behind Face ID, with slideshow review
- — Free to download; Pro is a subscription
Camera Eye in short
- — A strong free tier: masks, private gallery, 4K, 60fps, slow motion
- — A decoy PIN opening a dummy gallery, and a fake app icon
- — Motion detection and unlimited recording/storage are paid
- — One-time purchase rather than a subscription — but slow to update
Camera Eye has been on the App Store since October 2011 and is still updated — version 8.0.0 shipped in August 2026. Its release notes for that version, and for the two before it, read “iOS support” and “bug fixes”; the last release notes describing a new feature were in January 2020. It holds 3.9 stars from 112 ratings.
Feature by feature
| Feature | Eclipse | Camera Eye |
|---|---|---|
| Screen disguises | Five: normal preview, black screen, your own images, a fake Safari page, and a QR scanner frame. | Yes, plus a fake app icon — but fewer masks than five. |
| Motion detection | Not offered. Eclipse captures when you trigger it, not when something moves. | Yes, but it is a paid feature. |
| Capture triggers | Tap anywhere on screen, either volume button, or the Apple Watch app. | Yes — tap, delayed trigger and a sequencer. |
| Apple Watch | A watch app fires the shutter and starts the camera, so the phone can stay in a pocket or on a table. | Not mentioned in the app’s listing. |
| Widgets and Control Center | Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets plus a Control Center control, each opening straight into a mode. | Not mentioned in the app’s listing. |
| Where captures are stored | A private album inside the app, behind Face ID. Nothing is uploaded and nothing syncs. Export to Photos only when you choose to. | Yes, but storage is capped until you pay. |
| Lock on the private album | Face ID, Touch ID or passcode, free for everyone. | Yes — a PIN, re-promptable after each capture, plus a decoy PIN that opens a dummy gallery. |
| Video resolution and frame rate | 720p to 4K, and always the maximum frame rate your device can manage — Eclipse reads your iPhone’s real capture formats and offers everything it supports, up to 120 or 240fps for slow motion. All of it free. | Yes, free — but recording length is capped until you pay. |
| Audio-only recording | Yes, with auto-start, auto-stop and Save to Files. | Not mentioned in the app’s listing. |
| Exporting captures | Save to Photos, share, or Save to Files for audio. | Yes — email or iTunes File Sharing. |
| How you pay | Free to download, with a monthly or annual subscription for Pro. | Monthly, yearly, or a one-time lifetime unlock. |
| Update cadence | Active feature development — audio mode, Chinese localisation and free 4K capture all shipped in 2026. | No new feature since January 2020, though still updated for iOS. |
Where Camera Eye's own materials do not state something either way, this table says so rather than assuming the answer is no.
Eclipse is free to download — try all five masks yourself before deciding.
Pricing
Eclipse
Free to download, and every capture setting is free — 4K, 60fps, slow motion, Live Photo, burst and timed capture, audio-only recording, the black screen mask, Face ID lock and slideshow playback. Nothing about what the camera can do is held back. Pro exists for two kinds of people: heavy users, who run past the 10-item free vault — and even that you can extend by watching an ad rather than paying or the Apple Watch’s daily capture limit, and people who want to customise — the Image, Safari and QR masks, widget backgrounds and icons, and slideshow timing. It also removes ads. Monthly or annual.
Camera Eye
Free to download, and the free tier is real: masks, a private gallery, 4K, 60fps, high-quality stills and slow motion are all included. Paid comes three ways — monthly, yearly, or a one-time lifetime unlock — and all three buy the same two things: motion detection, and uncapped recording length and storage. Nothing else is behind it. The lifetime option is genuinely appealing if motion detection is what you came for; just weigh it against an app whose release notes have described compatibility fixes rather than new features since January 2020. A subscription to a product that is not moving is the version of this worth thinking twice about.
Strengths and weaknesses
Eclipse
- + Five screen disguises, so the cover story can match the room you are in
- + Apple Watch, widgets and a Control Center toggle for one-tap capture
- + 4K and your device’s maximum frame rate — up to 120/240fps — all free
- + Audio-only mode with auto-start and auto-stop
- + Actively developed, with several feature releases in 2026
- − No motion detection, so it is a poor fit for leaving a phone unattended
- − Pro is a subscription rather than a one-time purchase
- − Free vault is capped at 10 items, which fills quickly
- − Cannot record with the app in the background — an iOS limit, not a design choice
Camera Eye
- + Motion detection — records only when something moves, which Eclipse does not do
- + A decoy PIN that opens a dummy gallery, and a fake app icon
- + A genuinely generous free tier: masks, private gallery, 4K, 60fps and slow motion
- + A lifetime unlock as well as monthly and yearly, so you need never subscribe
- + On the App Store since 2011, with a long track record
- − Development has effectively stalled — no new feature in the release notes since January 2020
- − Paying buys only two things — motion detection and uncapped recording/storage
- − A subscription option on a product whose feature set has not moved since 2020
- − Fewer screen disguises than Eclipse, and no Apple Watch or audio-only mode documented
The difference that actually matters
Both are generous, and they are generous about different things. Camera Eye's design centres on what happens after the capture: a PIN-locked store separate from the camera roll, a prompt the moment someone takes the phone from you, and a motion detector so an unattended phone records only what matters. Eclipse's design centres on the moment of capture itself: what a person standing next to you sees on the screen. That is why the two lists barely overlap, and why the honest recommendation depends entirely on which half of the problem you have. An unattended camera in a room wants motion detection. A phone in your hand in a café wants a screen that looks like a web page.
Which one to pick
Choose Eclipse if
- — You are holding the phone, and what the screen shows matters — five disguises against one set of masks
- — You want the camera at full strength without paying: 4K, your device’s maximum frame rate, slow motion, audio-only recording and the Apple Watch shutter are all free here
- — You want widget, Lock Screen or Control Centre shortcuts
- — You would rather extend your gallery by watching an ad than by paying
- — You want an app that is still shipping features, not one holding steady since 2020
Choose Camera Eye if
- — You want to leave a phone recording on motion, unattended — Eclipse does not do this at any price
- — You need long, uncapped recordings and more storage than the free tier holds
- — You want a decoy PIN that opens a dummy gallery, or a fake app icon
- — You would rather buy a lifetime unlock once than subscribe
Common questions
- Does Camera Eye still work on current iPhones?
- Yes. Version 8.0.0 shipped in August 2026 and requires iOS 16.4 or later, and its recent releases have specifically added support for new iOS versions. What has not changed in some years is the feature set — release notes describing new features stop in January 2020.
- Is Camera Eye the same app as Easy Calc?
- It is the same App Store listing, renamed. It launched in October 2011 as Easy Calc and now carries the name Camera Eye (Former Easy Calc), with a subtitle describing it as a personal secret camera. Two of its in-app purchases still carry the Easy Calc name.
- Does Eclipse have motion detection?
- No, and it is the clearest thing Camera Eye does that Eclipse does not. Eclipse captures when you trigger it — by tapping the screen, pressing a volume button, or using the watch app. If your use case is an unattended phone that should start recording when someone walks into frame, Camera Eye is built for that and Eclipse is not.
- Which is cheaper?
- It depends on how long you keep it. Camera Eye asks for a one-time $24.99, plus $3.99 if you want motion detection, and never charges again. Eclipse is a subscription, so it costs less on day one and more over several years. If you want a single payment and no renewals, Camera Eye's model is the one you want.
- Can either app record with the screen genuinely off?
- No. iOS suspends camera access the moment an app leaves the foreground, for every third-party app without exception. Eclipse works by disguising what the screen displays while the app stays open. Camera Eye's listing does not claim background recording either.
- Do these apps upload my captures anywhere?
- Neither does. Camera Eye's listing states it does not copy, back up or upload files. Eclipse keeps captures in an on-device vault with no account and no sync. In both cases the footage stays on the phone unless you export it yourself.
Try the masks before you pay for anything
Eclipse is free to download. The black screen mask, Face ID lock and slideshow stay free.
Download free on the App Store