If you own a Mac, you may have all kinds of content on there. You might have pictures, videos, files, and more. You don’t want just anybody seeing what you have on there.
You can keep important information hidden from prying eyes on a Mac. We’ll talk about how you can do that right now, and we’ll discuss why you might utilize this feature in your daily life.
How to Hide Any Private Folders and Files on Your Mac
First, let’s run through how you can conceal folders or files on your Mac that you want to keep private. Macs have fairly intuitive operating systems. Even if you’re not the most tech-knowledgeable individual, you can still accomplish this feat easily.
To hide a folder or file on your Mac, you can use a keyboard shortcut. You can utilize this same technique when hiding files or making them visible again.
Command plus Shift plus period is what you must hit. If you ever want to hide a file or folder, do this after going to Finder. The files and folders you hide will appear gray-colored if you did it correctly.
This method has one potential drawback, though. Someone who wants to find your concealed files can use this same three-key combination and see the files you hid. Even a neophyte hacker may know this method.
Also, you have to manually go through your files and folders if you hide them this way. That’s time-consuming.
Another Method
You can also use an alternate method that might fool hackers a little better. You can use a tool like OneSwitch.
You keep this tool in your menu bar. You can hide desktop contents with it with a single click. You can do this if you give someone else your Mac so they can use it for a moment. You might do that if you have a family member staying in your house, and they want to find out when a movie is playing or something to that effect.
OneSwitch also works well because it has different functionalities you may like. You can change your screen’s resolution with it, mute your mic, and keep your Mac awake if you don’t want it to go into sleep mode after the usual allotted time.
Why Would You Hide Your Folders and Files on a Mac?
If you hear about someone trying to hide folders or files on a Mac, you might think it means this person has some racy pictures on there and they’re having an affair or something equally scandalous.
You may sometimes have this happen, but far more often, you have something much more harmless going on.
For instance, you might have someone working on a list of items they might get for a family member’s birthday. If so, they would keep that list private if they can.
You might have a writer who uses a Mac when writing their latest opus. Maybe they’re writing a novel, a screenplay, or something similar.
If so, perhaps they don’t like showing their work until it’s finished. They may feel like they must hide it until they’ve completed it to their satisfaction.
Perhaps you have some private photos that your spouse gave you. You would certainly conceal those since your spouse gave them to you for your use only.
You may also have a work project. Maybe you have a Mac at home, and you’re working on that project when you’re not in the office.
You might need a hidden folder or file because you signed a confidentiality agreement. The project you’re working on might feature some new technology that other companies may steal if they can get their hands on it.
If so, you must protect that intellectual property, or you could lose your job. You can see how, in many circumstances, you must hide your files or folders for legitimate reasons.
You Need This Skill
Many individuals have files and folders containing content that they want to be hidden. You can easily do that if you have a Mac and you know about the techniques we mentioned.
You can use this strategy if you get rid of your old Mac and get a new one. Apple has retained this functionality on their computers for quite some time, and it will probably stay that way. You should also stay on top of the latest methods of concealing your files and folders, as new ones appear periodically.