Are you a Mac user and want to enhance your privacy and security? One solution is to hide files on your Mac, such as personal photos and sensitive documents. This way, you can protect your files from unauthorized access. See below how you can do it. There are several ways. Here we will look at some of them.
Keyboard shortcut to hide files
Keyboard shortcuts are very useful. They are the fastest way to hide files on your Mac. Select the file you want to hide and press Command + Shift + Period (.) keys simultaneously. Using the same shortcut you can quickly unhide the file again.
However, this keyboard shortcut only works on macOS Ventura or later.
See also: How to recover your files in Windows 11 & Windows 10?
The downside of this method is that it does not require any security verification. Using this method, a third party can reveal all your hidden files in unlocked folders on Mac. Also, you cannot use this method to hide multiple files at once.
Using FileVault to create invisible folders
FileVault is a Mac security feature that encrypts files with a password. It's an effective way to hide files on your Mac. Anyone who doesn't have your Mac's password or credentials can't see the hidden files.
How to use FileVault:
- Open Preferences from the Apple menu.
- Click Privacy & Security on the left and scroll down to FileVault.
- Click activate and enter your password.
- Select the recovery method and select continue.
If you select Allow my iCloud account to unlock my disk, the encryption process starts automatically. With Create a recovery key and not use my iCloud account, the system creates a recovery key. You must save the recovery key because it is necessary to access the files.
See also: Windows 11: How to encrypt files and folders?
Hide files with a user account
With this method, files don't disappear. You can keep your files private by creating different user accounts on your Mac. This method can also be used to separate work and personal files. By creating multiple users, you can separate work from your personal life and have a dedicated account for anyone else who uses your account.
To create more user accounts, follow these steps:
- Open Preferences from the Apple menu.
- Go to Users & Groups on the left and click Add Account.
- Enter your Mac password to unlock.
- Fill in a name and password in the prompt below and click Create User.
- You can now switch between different user accounts on your Mac from the lock screen.
You can hide your files in separate folders.
See also: How to transfer files and photos from iPhone to computer?
These are some of the methods you can use to hide important files on your Mac. It is essential to store sensitive files securely to prevent unauthorized access. Hiding files is a common practice used by both individuals and organizations to protect confidential data. However, you should not rely on it alone to protect sensitive information. It is important to implement other strong encryption and security measures as well.
Source: www.makeuseof.com
