If you are in a situation where you just have to hide some files on your mac, for whatever reason, so that no one other than you can access those files, there are a very easy couple of ways to do it. One is to do it manually and the other is to use software to hide files on a mac.

We will first discuss the software method as it is extremely convenient and very affordable as well.

Ensuring privacy on a Mac with MacHider

MacHider is a very popular software program that comes from the MacPaw stables, the same company that has put out the very popular and highly regarded Clean My Mac 2 system utility software for Macs.

Simply put, MacHider is a program that will protect certain folders and files of your choosing with a password, a password that only you can use to access those files. What makes the program really useful is that it has an inbuilt algorithm, an algorithm that will not only allow you to hide or protect files that you created in the past but also hide and protect files that you will create in the future, as and when you create files that only you would want to access on your Mac.

Here are just some of the features that you will find on MacHider

MacHider lets you use just one click to assign passwords to protect files and folders, to ensure privacy and security on your Mac! Click on image to trial MacHider for Free

Features of MacHider – Privacy and Security Software for Macs

• Protects videos, images, documents or pretty much any file with a password that you assign
• Protects files not just on your Mac but on external hard drives or flash drives as well
• Excellent user interface lets you use the software very easily, even if you have no technical knowledge at all
• Gives you excellent customization options, allowing you to hide files in folders of your choosing, even with icons that you want to assign to your folders
• Use a one click option in the Finder module to assign passwords to any folder that you just click on
• MacHider, unlike other file hiders, does not modify your file’s contents. It leaves them untouched!
• When logged into MacHider, you can quickly preview any file that you have hidden
• Hide a large number of folders and sub folders with just a click or two!

MacHider is free to trial. If you are not sure about how useful the program maybe, you can simply check out the trial and see if it will satisfy your Mac security needs. If you think it does, you can then pay the low price of $9.99 for a full access license!

Download and try MacHider, the best privacy and security software for Macs,  here, for FREE!

Ensuring Privacy on a Mac Manually

Now, if you don’t have the $9.99 to pay for MacHider (mentioned above), you can always take the manual method to hide files and folders on your Mac. It takes a little longer to do but gets the job done for free. Please follow the steps below to hide folders and files on your Mac.

How to hide files on a Mac Manually?

Step 1 – First, create a folder on your desktop or some other location that you can easily remember.

Step 2 – Move all the files that you want to hide to the folder that you just created in step 1

Step 3 – Go to applications – utilities and then open Terminal. There, type in “mv” followed by a space. Now, drag the folder that you just  created to the terminal window, twice. This will automatically type in the directory path. If you are savvy enough to type in the path yourself, go ahead and do just that

Step 4 – When you have typed in the directory path, here is something important that you have to do. Use the left arrow key on your keyboard to go to the start of the last folder name in the directory path and then enter a (.) or period in front of that directory name. Then, press enter on the keyboard

Step 5 – That folder is now hidden! You can’t see it on your desktop or in places where you can usually see it. It is still there though. To access these files, you just need to enter the directory path with the (.) period that you put in. You can enter the directory path in the finder window that you can pull up with the Command + Shift + G shortcut combination.

Step 6 – If you want to reveal your folder and make it accessible again, all you have to do is remove the (.) from the directory path. You can do this by first selecting the folder using finder, as mentioned in the previous step. Once selected, simply right click on the folder name and then select “Get info”. Now, you will be able to see the (.) period that you can delete. in the name and extension section of the window. Remove the (.) period. Once that is done, the folder is no longer hidden.

As you can see, hiding a file manually is pretty easy if you have some time. However, if someone knows that the folder exists, they can easily do what you do to make the folder accessible again. With MacHider however, your files are safely protected with a password that only you know of. If you have to hide or protect files quite regularly, it makes a lot of sense to invest $9.99 into MacHider as it allows for very easy and efficient security and protection with just a few quick clicks.

Once again, MacHider is available for a free download and trial at this link here.