Password protected folder is a secure way to store data which you don’t want to be accessible by any other than you or the one having the password for that folder.

In this guide, you will learn about different ways to create password protected folder in mac.

Create password protected folder in Mac

There is many third-party software that perform this task but first we would like to mention the free and built-in method of the Apple’s OS. Follow the steps below to password protect a folder in mac.

Go to Applications folder. You can navigate to applications folder by pressing COMMAND + SHIFT + A at the same time.

From the applications folder, open the Utilities folder.

Click on Disk Utility.

From the menu bar, click on File.

A list of menus will open, click on New Image.

Click on Image from folder.

Select the folder which you want to protect with password and click on Open.

Now, you have to select the type of folder, for this, click on Image Format menu and select the read/write option from the list.

Select the 128-bit AES Encryption from the Encryption menu.

Now is the time to provide password for your folder. Give the password in the password field and the same in the verify field.

Give name to your folder and click on Save.

Click on Done.

After entering the password, click on Choose. Done! You have successfully created a password protected folder.

Now, every time this folder is opened, password will be required before.

Software to Create Password protected folder in Mac

In this section, we will use software to create password protected folder. The software is called Encrypto and you can download it from here. After installing it, follow the steps below.

  • Open Encrypto from the Applications folder.
  • Drag the folder which you want to protect with password, into the Encrypto’s window.
  • Provide the password and in case if you forgot the password you can set a Hint(optional).
  • After setting the password, click on Encrypt. If the password provided will be strong enough an archive will be created. Drag the archive to a safe location.
  • Click the archive and provide the password you set for this. After entering the password, click on Decrypt.

Drag the decrypted folder to a safe location.

Hider to password protect a folder in Mac

Hider is another third-party software that allows to create password protected folders in Mac. With Hider, you can protect folders as well as documents and files also.

Hider is not a free software but 15 days trial is free. You can download hider from here. After it you need to buy the license. Follow the steps below to protect a folder with password using Hider.

  • After downloading and installing hider, open it.
  • Hider will ask you to provide password. Enter the password and move next.
  • Click on “+” icon located at the bottom left corner of the window.
  • Select the folder, files or documents which you want to protect with password.

For large size folder or files, Hider will take some time to process because it moves the files to a secure or private space of your Mac which is only accessible when you provide the password.

Encrypt files and folder using Terminal in Mac

This is built-in way of protecting the files and folder with password and it is done using some commands in Terminal. So, follow the following set of commands to password protect folder or files.

  • Open terminal on Mac and enter the following command in it.

openssl aes-256-cbc -in ~/Desktop/Photo.jpg -out ~/Desktop/Encrypted.file

In the above command openssl and aes are the encryption methods, Desktop/Photo.jpg is the location and file name which you want to secure and /Desktop/Encrypted.file is the location and name of the output secured file to store as.

  • After entering the above command, you will be asked to enter the password. So, provide the password in the terminal. Confirm the password and you are done.

Note: To decrypt the file, use the following command.

openssl aes-256-cbc –in -d ~/Desktop/Encrypted.file -out ~/Desktop/Photo.jpg

Replace the file names and location according to yours.

Password protect files in Mac using compression

In this technique, the file or the folder is compressed and protected with the password. Follow the steps below to learn this technique.

  • Open Terminal on your Mac.
  • Change the directory where your file is saved.

For example, if the file is saved at the Desktop, the command will be:

cd Desktop

  • Now, type the following command.

zip -e filename.zip filename.jpg

  • After entering the above command, you will be asked to enter the password, simply add the password and press enter. After that, a secured zip files will be created.

When anyone will try to open the zip file, password will be asked first. Keep in mind that the zip file created by this method contains the same thing as the original file contains. So, don’t forget to delete the original file or save it to another location.

Password protect PDF in Mac

PDF files can be protected in Mac using the built in Utility, so that every time the Preview will ask to enter the password to open the PDF file. Follow the steps below to do so.

Open preview app on your Mac.

Open the PDF file which you want to protect with password.

From the menu bar, click on File.

Then click on Export.

Select Encrypt.

Enter the password and retype it. Done! You have successfully protected this PDF file with the password.

When anyone try to open this encrypted PDF files, password will be needed first.

Tip: Password protect apps in Mac

Not only the files and folders can be protected in Mac, but you can also protect the apps with password. There are many softwares available to do so and AppCrypt is one of them. You can download it from here.

How do I password protect a folder on my MacBook Pro?

How to password protect a folder on Mac
  1. Open the “Disk Utility” app. Laura McCamy/Business Insider.
  2. Choose “Image From Folder” to begin the process. Laura McCamy/Business Insider.
  3. There are two options for creating passwords.
  4. Enter and verify your password.
  5. You can eject your folder to close it, or keep it in the sidebar.

How do you password protect files on a Mac?

You can give a PDF a password that everyone must enter to open the file. The password is used to encrypt the file. In the Preview app on your Mac, open the PDF that you want to password–protect. Choose File > Export, then select Encrypt.

Can you add a password to a folder?

Locate and select the folder you wish to protect and click “Open”. In the Image Format drop down, select “read/write”. In the Encryption menu select the Encryption protocol you would like to use. Enter the password you would like to use for the folder.

How do you password protect a folder on a Mac without Disk Utility?

Encrypt The File Or Folder

Then after that, type in the password that you have set earlier. Choose the Encrypt button located in the Hide And Encrypt. You can also drag a file and then press the “Encrypt” button. By this time, the file won’t be seen by others.