2020-12-15 21:56:00 / Posted by Jose Henline to Utility Follow @ Jose
How to lock photos on Mac? How to password protect photos on Mac? If you are asking such questions, then you are in the right place.
Chances are good that you have some photos on your Mac that you don’t want other people to see. If others have access to your computer, they can access and view your photos, which is something you want to avoid. This article will show you how to lock photos on MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, etc. Blocking or hiding private photos can help you better protect your privacy.
In this article, we will look at 4 methods.
Applies to: macOS 10.10 or later
You can effortlessly and effectively lock the Photos app using Cisdem AppCrypt, the best app locker and website blocker on Mac.
In Step 5, you can also select other apps that you want to protect with password.
Photos is password locked by this Mac app locker. Now let’s try to open it. Click Photos, and it won’t open. To be able to launch it, one needs to enter the correct password.
Action | Result |
---|---|
Enter correct password | Photos successfully opens. |
Enter incorrect password |
Photos refuses to open. AppCrypt records the attempt with date, time and a picture of the person who tries to break in. |
The picture on the screenshot below is blurred to protect privacy. To delete a record, control-click a record and click the Delete button that shows up.
Here’s how to unlock Photos on Mac. If you don’t want to password protect Photos any more, you can easily unlock it. In the main window, select Photos on the left sidebar and click Remove App in the toolbar.
Here's a tip. Click the settings icon in the top right corner of the main window and choose Preferences. Under General, there are a few settings. It's recommended to enable the option Launch at system startup. If Capture photo with failed attempt is disabled, this Mac app locker won't take a picture of the person who tries to access your locked Photos app.
Applies to: macOS 10.15 or later
Previously only available on iOS, Screen Time finally came to macOS with the release of macOS Catalina. You can also use this built-in feature to block access to Photos on Mac.
Now open your Photos app for 1 minute. And a message will show up letting you know that the limit is reached. The Photos app is now locked. If anyone wants to access it, he or she will need to enter the passcode. This method is not convenient. You will need to open Photos for 1 minute on a daily basis to trigger the blocking. If not, other people are able to access Photos on your Mac for 1 minute without having to enter the passcode.
Applies to: macOS 10.3 or later
Included with macOS, Disk Utility can be used to do disk-related tasks. It can help you lock Photos on Mac by locking the Photos app or the Photos library.
Disk Utility will start creating a DMG file. It could take a while. When the process is done, go to the destination location. Delete the folder (including the Photos library in the folder) you've created.
Now if you try to open the Photos app, the app won't open, providing you with a message. If you have multiple libraries for Photos app and want to password protect all of them, you can add all of them to the folder in Step 2.
Here's how to remove the encryption and access your Photos app/library again. Double-click the DMG file in the destination location. Enter password and click OK. In Finder's left sidebar, select the DMG file under the Devices section, move the library in it to your Mac's Pictures folder. Now your Photos app can work properly.
If you want to directly lock the Photos app, you can go to the Applications folder on your computer, create a folder and then use Disk Utility to create a DMG file with password. The process is very similar.
Note that the method is not that straightforward. It takes time and effort each time you apply or remove encryption. It also involves file deletion. Use caution with this method!
Applies to: macOS 10.5 or later
Photo vault apps can also be helpful. MacFort is able to password application data on Mac. For example, once you use it to password protect photos on Mac, it won’t be possible to properly access photos in your library anymore until you remove the lock.
Here’s another situation. There are still other photos on your hard drive, which are not in your Photos library. How to lock them up? MacFort can also help. The app can lock any individual folders or files you want to keep private. You can move your photos in one folder and then lock the folder.
The progress bar will inform you of the progress to put a password on Photos. To access the locked vault, you will be required to enter the correct password.
With this method, there could be file version conflict if there is any file modification.
You can also keep photos private on Mac by hiding them in Photos app. It’s a feature built into Photos.
The hidden photos will only be found in the Hidden album. You can choose to show or hide the Hidden album in Photos by going to the View menu at the top of your screen.
This method doesn’t lock photo album on a Mac. Also, it can’t password protect Photos or stop others from opening the app, but it is useful sometimes. For example, it allows you to show someone your photo collection without letting him or her see certain photos.
Above are the common ways on how to lock Photos on Mac. If you work or learn on your Mac and leave your computer for a while, it’s possible for others to open Photos and view all your photos and videos. But don’t worry. App lockers like AppCrypt and the built-in solution Screen Time can help effectively protect your photos and privacy.
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8 Comments Leave a Reply
Installed program a few days ago. Does a better job than using extensions or at least just as well. Thanks, great post! <3. Now I know how to lock photos on mac!!
I love Cisdem AppCrypt. It makes everything much faster and easier. Hope to develop more features in future.
Really amazing app. Gave me exactly what I wanted. :)
I was going to consider buy the AppCrypt but then I noticed that it's so easy for anybody to just close eject the Appcrypt and then they can by pass typing a password. That's a flaw or am I missing something here
Dear Ra God Bz,The only one reason why ejecting AppCrypt without password is that you have removed one of the four system applications which include Activity Monitor, System Preferences, Console and Terminal from the block list.
I noticed that AppCrypt has been updated to v3.0, it is wonderful. I bought this app before, so i can update the app to the new version without any cost. Thanks.
I have many apps that i want to lock. I tried appcrypt, it really worked, i am going to buy one lifetime license.
I have some private photos in my Mac, i really hate someone seeing my photos,but my brother always does so. AppCrypt pulls me out of the dilemma. Thanks.