How to Password Protect a Folder on a Mac

It’s pretty common to have files on your Mac that contain important or sensitive information.

Since it’s so easy to lose a computer, or since Macs are a target for thieves, you might want to ensure that your most important files are as safe as possible.

Our tutorial below will show you how to password protect a folder on a Mac with an app that makes it very easy to encrypt content on your computer.

How to Add a Password to a Mac Folder

1. Open Launchpad.
2. Click Hider2.
3. Follow the on-screen guide to create your vault.
4. Enter a name and location, then click Create Vault.
5. Drag and drop a file or folder that you want to protect into the Hideer2 window.

Our guide continues below with additional information on how to password protect a folder on a Mac, including pictures of these steps.

Do you have files on your Mac that contain important personal or business information, and you would like to hide them from other people with access to the computer?

An easy, fast, and secure way to do this is with a Mac program called Hider2.

You can visit the Hider2 Web page and download the program there.

Hider2 is developed by MacPaw, which also offers other Mac utilities like CleanMyMac and Gemini.

Hider2 allows you to create a “vault” on your Mac where you can add important files.

Within the Hider application is the ability to make certain files and folders visible or hidden.

Access to the Hider2 vault is password-protected so if you have added a file or folder to your vault and toggled it to be hidden; no one will be able to open those files without your vault password.

It’s an elegant solution to password protecting files on your Mac, and makes encryption a lot simpler.

How to Encrypt a File or Folder on a MacBook (Guide with Pictures)

These steps require you to have the Hider2 program on your Mac. You can read more about Hider2 and download it here.

Once installed, return here to see how you can password protect files or folders on your Mac.

Step 1: Click the Launchpad icon.

Step 2: Select the Hider2 app icon.

If you don’t see it on the first page of apps, you might need to go to the second or third page. The app icon typically appears at the end of the list.

Step 3: Read the introduction screens and progress until you get to a screen that says Create Vault.

Create and re-enter the password that you will use to secure the files and folders in your vault, then enable or disable any of the other options as needed.

Step 4: Enter a name for your, and select a location on your computer where it will be stored, then click the Save Vault button.

Note that no one will be able to open that vault files without the password that you just created.

Step 5: Find a file or folder that you want to password protect, then drag and drop it into the Hider2 window.

Once a file or folder has been added to Hider2, it will default to being hidden.

Now that you know how to password protect a folder on a Mac, you can use these steps to secure as many of the files and folders on your computer that you need.

If you click the Visible button next to an item in this list, that file or folder will no longer be hidden.

Once you are done adding folders to Hider2 and adjusting their visibility settings, click the Lock Hider button at the top of the window.

Files and folders that are not marked as visible in Hider2 will not be accessible to anyone on that computer without going through your Hider vault.

You can access your hidden, password-protected files later by launching Hider2, then entering your password and making the folder visible.

Download Hider2 here if you are ready to start password protecting the files and folders on your MacBook.

Do you need to free up space for new files and apps on your Mac? Learn how to delete junk files on a MacBook by removing files that you don’t need, or aren’t using anymore.