This video will show you how to lock apps and folders on mac. Cheak out my other videos: https://www.youtube. Oct 15, 2019 Simply follow these steps to activate the option: Go to System Preferences Press Security & Privacy ➙ choose the General tab Check the box next to “Require password” Choose Immediately from the dropdown menu next to “Require password”.
- How To Lock An App On Macbook Air
- How To Lock An App On Mac Computer
- How To Lock An App On Mac Catalina
- How To Lock An App On Macbook Pro
If you think your social media profiles give away too much about your life, imagine the wealth of personal information and important data your Mac contains. By now, every IT security expert in the world recommends to lock your Mac every time you step away from it in public (and why not in private too). So you can do yourself a massive favor — learn about MacBook lockscreen options, pick the one that works best for you, and kick off your new habit. Remember: Lock Mac. Every time.
How To Lock Mac With User Preferences
Truth be told, locking Macs is extremely easy and there are a few ways to do it. But, first of all, it’s important to make sure your Mac is configured to ask for a password every time you turn it on — so it wouldn’t just let anybody in after you lock it.
To disable automatic logins:
Go to the Apple menu ➙ System Preferences
Click on Users & Groups ➙ Login Options
Find a dropdown menu by the Automatic login and make sure it is set to Off
How to lock Mac screen using shortcut keys
To use a simple combo of keys is the easiest way to instantly lock screen on Mac. What are they?
Ctrl + ⌘ + Q. Just make sure to press the keys carefully when using this shortcut to lock Mac, so that you don’t hit just ⌘ + Q by accident. Without the Ctrl key, it will result in shutting down the app you’re working with, which makes it more likely to lose any unsaved work.
Ctrl + Shift + Power. A simple Mac lock screen shortcut to send your display to sleep.
Ctrl + ⌘ + Power. Another good option to consider, which sends your entire Mac to sleep as well but also saves more energy by turning to low-power mode and stopping background tasks.
How to lock a Mac using the Apple menu
If shortcuts just aren’t your thing and you’re more comfortable using your mouse or trackpad instead, try another easy option. To lock Mac screen from the Apple menu:
Go to the Apple menu at the top left of your screen
In the dropdown menu, choose Lock Screen. Boom!
If you have a MacBook Pro with a touch bar, you can create a dedicated icon that will lock MacBook Pro when tapped. To set up this option:
Go to the Apple menu once again ➙ select System Preferences
Choose Keyboard
Select Customize Touch Bar in the lower right corner of the window
Drag the Screen Lock button to your touch bar using your mouse ➙ Done
How to lock screen on Mac using hot corners?
Hot Corners macOS feature takes little time to set up and, once configured, lets you lock Mac literally with a whiff of your hand. What happens is you designate a specific corner of your screen and every time you drag a cursor there it acts as a “Mac lock screen” command. Obviously, it’s important to choose the corner you don’t normally visit much, otherwise the trick intended to be a lifesaver might quickly become a major annoyance.
When the corner is picked, you’re ready to set the Hot Corners feature on your Mac. Simply follow these instructions to guarantee yourself an instant lock screen on Mac:
Launch System Preferences
Click on Desktop & Screen Saver ➙ Screen Saver
Tap the Hot Corners button in the bottom-right corner of the window
This will open a panel with a dropdown menu for each of the corners — click on one by the corner you have decided to designate ➙ choose Lock Screen
How to lock keyboard on Mac
Once you’ve figured out how to lock MacBook, there’s no need to additionally lock your keyboard — when you lock your Mac, both keyboard and display are locked. If, however, you need to have your keyboard locked while keeping the display active — you might consider using external display or look for specialized apps to perform the task.
How to lock Mac automatically
In addition to instances when you lock screen on Mac to step away, it’s also possible to configure the settings to lock Mac automatically when you close the lid or after the screensaver comes up. Simply follow these steps to activate the option:
Go to System Preferences
Press Security & Privacy ➙ choose the General tab
Check the box next to “Require password”
Choose Immediately from the dropdown menu next to “Require password”
It might also be a good idea to optimize your settings to have screensaver engage quicker or use specialized apps like One Switch to perform the task in a single click.
One Switch is a great time-saving app that gives you access to all the important Mac switches right in your menu bar. It can launch the screensaver in an instant as well as prevent your Mac from going into sleep for as long as you need it. Besides, with One Switch you also get to:
Auto-change your user interface from sunrise to sunset with light and dark modes
Instantly clear desktop clutter by hiding all your icons in one click
Connect AirPods in one click too instead of five when you go through System Preferences
Schedule do-not-disturb hours for productivity with all notifications disabled from showing up on your screen
Or forget about having to memorize the Mac shortcut to lock screen or any other ways to lock Mac described above altogether. If you use Lacona.
Lacona takes fast and efficient to a whole new level: think of this app as a desktop alternative to Siri that is integrated with all the built-in Mac services and is powerful enough to let you run your entire Mac from a minimalistic pop-up window. You type commands in your own words, without having to learn the specific formats, and this intelligent app will:
Launch apps
Create reminders and schedule events
Find files
Make calls
Translate and find meaning of words
Do instant calculations
Search the web
Plus, do an impossible number of other things that involve working with apps on your Mac and using add-ons like IFTTT (if this then that) commands that allow you to link actions in one app with consequent actions in a different app
As you can see, the whole idea of locking up religiously to protect all the personal stuff you keep on your Mac almost by definition calls for actions so simple they could be performed multiple times a day. And all the options for MacBook lock screen described above are just that. Try them all and see which one suits you the most.
Best of all, you can check out all the great features of One Switch and Lacona mentioned above for free on a seven-day trial with Setapp — a platform of more than 150 handpicked powerful Mac apps and tools capable to easily resolve any digital issue and boost your productivity on Mac tremendously. So, what are you waiting for? Time to do something amazing! Just don’t forget to lock your Mac when you step out for that coffee.
Meantime, prepare for all the awesome things you can do with Setapp.
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There are a number of different ways to lock or sleep your screen in macOS. Before we show them to you, however, it’s important to make the distinction between locking your screen and just putting it to sleep.
If you lock your Mac you’ll put it to sleep and need to type in your login password on your Mac’s lock screen (or unlock it with TouchID on a MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, or with an Apple Watch). If you put it to sleep, you won’t necessarily lock it. In order to lock your screen, you need to set up the password in System Preferences. Here’s how to do that.
How to set up a password to lock the screen
- Launch System Preferences either by clicking on its icon in the Dock or by choosing it from the Apple menu.
- Click on the Security & Privacy pane.
- Choose the General tab and check the option that starts ‘Require password…’
- Choose an option from the dropdown menu.
Now, whenever your Mac goes to sleep or a screensaver starts, it will lock and you’ll have to authenticate with your user password, Apple Watch or TouchID to gain access.
Worried about your Mac’s security in public places? Get Beepify, a Setapp app that protects your Mac from theft.
Download Beepify FreeHow to lock your Mac
If you have a MacBook, a MacBook Air or a MacBook Pro, the quickest and easiest way to lock your Mac is just to shut the lid. When you do that, the Mac goes to sleep and when you open it again you’ll need to unlock it.
However, there are occasions when you’ll want to prevent anyone from seeing the screen without actually closing it. And, in any case, if you have an iMac, Mac mini or Mac Pro, it’s not an option. Here are some other ways you can lock your Mac’s display.
How To Lock An App On Macbook Air
1. Use Apple menu
Go to the Apple menu and choose Sleep. This will display the login screen for your account and won’t unlock with a password (unless you’re wearing an Apple Watch when you do it and then it will lock and unlock immediately)
Tip: If you want your Mac to remain locked even when you’re close by and you have an Apple Watch, go to System Preferences>Security & Privacy>General and uncheck the Allow your Apple Watch to unlock your Mac option.
2. Use shortcuts
If you’re using a Mac that’s running macOS Catalina, go to the Apple menu and choose Lock Screen or press Command+Control+Q. This will lock your Mac and return you to the Login screen.
For older versions of the operating system, press Control+Shift+Power button (or Control+Shift+Eject if your Mac has an optical drive). It will lock the screen.
You can also use a keyboard shortcut to put your Mac to sleep. Press Command+Option+Power (or Eject). This works in a similar way to the previous one, but rather than just lock your Mac it powers down the hard drive, puts the CPU into low power mode and stops background tasks in order to save energy.
3. Set up a hot corner
How To Lock An App On Mac Computer
Hot corners allow you to drag to the mouse pointer to one of the four corners of the screen to initiate an action – you can use one as a sleep shortcut on your Mac. To set it up:
- Launch System Preferences.
- Choose the Desktop & Screen Saver pane.
- Click the Hot Corners button at the bottom right of the window.
- In the drop down window, choose a corner.
- Click on the menu and choose either Start Screen Saver or Put Display to Sleep.
4. Use fast user switching
Fast user switching allows you to quickly log into another user account on your Mac. But you can also use it to return to the log in window, which locks your Mac. Got to System Preferences>Users & Groups and click the padlock, then type in your password. Click Login Options and check the box next to ‘Show fast user switch menu as.’ You can also choose whether to show the menu as your full name, the account name or an icon.
To lock your Mac, click the fast user switching menu at the right of the menu bar and choose Login Window…
5. Add Keychain Access to the menu bar
This option was removed in macOS Mojave but works on versions before High Sierra:
- Go to Finder.
- Choose Applications > Utilities.
- Launch Keychain Access.
- Click in the Keychain Access menu and select Preferences.
- Check the box next to Show keychain status in menu bar.
- You’ll see a lock in the Finder menu bar. Click it and choose Lock Screen to lock your Mac.
Other ways to protect your privacy
First of all, fet a Finder-like Terminal for Mac that will help you completely control the login settings. It’s called MacPilot. The app covers over 1,200 hidden macOS features. For privacy, you can go into the Login tab and customize access by users, enable the option of automatic screen locking, and edit launch items.
If you’re looking for physical protection of your Mac, Beepify is the app you need. Whenever you have to step away from the computer in a public place, activate Beepify and it will be set to produce a loud sound in case someone tries to close the screen or disconnect charger.
One of the main reasons for locking your Mac when you step away from it is to stop prying eyes accessing your files, browser history, or anything else you don’t want them to see. CleanMyMac X has a tool that gives you even more privacy protection.
CleanMyMac’s Privacy tool allows you to quickly delete your browser history in Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. But it also allows you to delete message threads and attachments in Messages, and to remove entries from macOS’ recent files lists.
Also, CleanMyMac’s Shredder is a quick and easy way to securely delete sensitive data. You can download CleanMyMac for free and give it a try.
As you can see, putting your Mac to sleep or locking it is very easy. There are lots of different ways to do it, although some are dependent on the version of macOS you’re using. If you regularly lock your Mac to prevent others accessing it, you should ensure your login password is strong and secure.
How To Lock An App On Mac Catalina
Finally, if privacy is important, CleanMyMac has a couple of tools that can help delete sensitive data.