# AppLocker (Alex Denk) Alternative for Mac (2026)

AppLocker is the most downloaded app locker on the Mac App Store. Here is why people leave, and the one-time-purchase alternatives that lock, hide and encrypt.

Updated: 2026-09-10. Source: https://trycloak.app/blog/applocker-alternative-mac/

AppLocker by Alex Denk is the app locker most people find first, because it is on the Mac App Store. It unlocks with a password, Touch ID, Bluetooth or a trusted network, and it keeps an access history.

The reviews also show why people look for something else:

- **The free version locks one app.** After that it is $2.99 a month, $11.99 a year or $17.99 for life, bought inside the app.

- **The full screen lock.** Several one-star reviews describe AppLocker’s lock screen covering the whole Mac at login, with the password not accepted. The developer’s replies say a restart fixes it, and it seems rare, but it is the thing people remember.

- **Frequent updates.** “Five updates in the space of a month” is a common complaint, along with the separate helper app for extra protection.

- **Apps only, nothing encrypted.** No folders, no files, no hiding.

## Alternatives

### Cloak

[Cloak](https://trycloak.app) never covers your screen. If a locked app is launched without you, Cloak quits it, and your Mac carries on as normal. It locks apps with Touch ID or a password, hides apps completely, and encrypts folders and single files with AES-256. On a failed unlock it can take an intruder photo. You can turn off the Mac password fallback so that knowing your login is not enough. One-time purchase from $9.99, free updates, macOS 13 or later. Sold direct, not through the App Store.

### Lock Pro

$5.99 one-time on the Mac App Store. Touch ID, scheduling, failed-attempt photos, and it relaunches itself if killed. Apps only, few reviews.

### Lockish

$9.99 one-time, Touch ID, locks app windows with a timeout. Accepts your Mac password. Apps only.

## Side by side

|  | Cloak | AppLocker | Lock Pro | Lockish |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $9.99 once | $17.99 life | $5.99 once | $9.99 once |
| Sold on | trycloak.app | App Store | App Store | appish.app |
| Touch ID | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Covers your screen | No | Yes | Yes | Window only |
| Locks folders and files | Yes | No | No | No |
| Hides apps | Yes | No | No | No |
| Intruder photo | Yes | Log only | Yes | Planned |
| Minimum macOS | 13 | 11 | 10.11 | 14 |

Checked 10 September 2026.

## Which one

AppLocker’s lifetime price is $17.99 and it only locks apps. For $9.99 one-time, [Cloak](https://trycloak.app) locks apps, hides them, encrypts folders and files, photographs a failed attempt, and never covers your screen. All eleven points on every locker are in [every Mac app locker compared](https://trycloak.app/blog/mac-app-lockers-compared-2026/).

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Cloak locks, hides and encrypts apps, folders and files on your Mac. One-time purchase, no account. https://trycloak.app/