How to Hide Folders on Mac

[harlan4096]

Make your folders invisible on Mac

Because I really don’t want to rile up all you wonderful Mac users, I’ve decided to do a follow-up on the whole hiding your folders in plain view dilemma.

If haven’t done so already, be sure to check out my article on how to hide your files, folders, and disk drives; it may not apply to Mojave or whatever else OS you’re running, but at least you’ll get an idea of what you’re up against. So, how do you hide folders on Mac?

Get yourself acquainted with the Terminal (Mac’s version of Windows’ command prompt) because, as it happens, it’s the only way to hide folders on Mac without resorting to third-party tools. Let’s dig in.

How to Hide Folders on Mac – Quick and Painless Version

If you really don’t want to trouble yourself with code, there’s a very easy and extremely fast way to hide your folders on Mac -by using the FileVault.

Basically, it turns your hard-drive in a Fort Knox-like vault which cannot be opened without the proper cipher, which in this case is the username and password associated with your admin account.

Yes, I know it’s like curing the disease by killing the patient, but I did say that it’s the easiest way to go about hiding your folders. Anyway, here’s what you’ll need to do, should you choose to use FileVault for masking your files, folders, and everything in between.

Step 1. Click on the Apple icon located in the upper-left corner of your screen.

Step 2. Click on System Preferences.

Step 3. Click on Security & Privacy.

Step 4. Head to the FileVault tab (it’s right next to the General tab).

Step 5. Click on the padlock icon to make changes.

Step 6. Click on the Turn On FileVault button.

Step 7. In the next dialog box, select the recovery method. You can choose between iCloud and generating a local recovery key. I, for one, would go with the later version since it’s more secure (no use compromising two accounts if your password gets stolen).

Here’s what’s going to happen if you use the local recovery key method: you will be taken to another dialog box where you will be going to see a system-generated code.

It looks very much like a Windows or antivirus activation key. Put this code in a new document or something. That the recovery key you’ll be using in case you don’t remember the password.

Step 8. Click on Continue.

Step 9. Click again on the Continue button to finish the process.

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