# Cloak vs Built-in macOS: Can You Lock and Hide Apps for Free?

macOS already includes FileVault, Disk Utility encryption, and Screen Time. Here is what each one does, where they fall short, and when you actually need Cloak.

Updated: 2026-09-10. Source: https://trycloak.app/blog/cloak-vs-built-in-macos/

Before paying for any privacy app, it is fair to ask: can macOS already do this for free? Apple ships three relevant tools, and each covers one slice of the problem. The honest answer is that none of them locks or hides a specific app behind Touch ID, which is the gap Cloak is built for. Here is the detail.

## FileVault: great, but all-or-nothing

**FileVault** is Apple’s full-disk encryption, and you should turn it on. It encrypts your entire drive so that if your Mac is lost, stolen, or powered off, the data is unreadable.

But FileVault protects the Mac *at rest*. The moment you log in, the whole disk is decrypted and everything is open. It does nothing to stop someone using your already-unlocked Mac from opening Messages, your photos, or a folder of contracts. It is the right baseline, not a way to keep specific things private from someone sitting at your desk.

## Disk Utility encrypted images: manual and clunky

You can use **Disk Utility** to make an AES-256 encrypted disk image, a kind of password-protected container. It is free and the encryption is strong.

The problem is the workflow. You create the image, mount it with a password, move files in, then remember to unmount it every time. There is no app-level interface, no Touch ID by default, and nothing that hides or locks the apps you actually use. It works, but it is a manual chore that most people abandon after a week. Cloak does the same AES-256 encryption on a [folder in place](https://trycloak.app/blog/how-to-password-protect-a-folder-on-mac/), without the mount-and-unmount ritual.

## Screen Time: limits, not security

**Screen Time** can restrict apps and block websites behind a passcode. It is a parental-control and digital-wellbeing tool, and for that it is useful.

It is not a security tool. It does not encrypt or hide anything, the limits are time and usage based, and a knowledgeable person can work around them. The passcode protects the settings, not your data. It will not keep a snooper out of a private app.

## Side by side

|  | Cloak | FileVault | Disk Utility | Screen Time |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Locks an app | Yes | No | No | Time limit |
| Touch ID | Yes | No | No | No |
| Hides apps | Yes | No | No | No |
| Locks a folder in place | Yes | Whole disk | Disk image | No |
| Protects after login | Yes | No | If ejected | Partly |
| Intruder photo | Yes | No | No | No |
| Daily effort | Low | None | High | Low |
| Cost | $9.99 once | Free | Free | Free |

## So do you need Cloak?

Turn on FileVault regardless, it is your baseline. But if you want to lock an individual app behind Touch ID, hide an app so it does not appear at all, or keep a folder encrypted without the Disk Utility chore, macOS has no built-in answer. That is the whole reason Cloak exists.

It does the per-app locking, hiding, and folder encryption that the built-in tools skip, all locally, with no account and nothing uploaded. See the full [Mac privacy checklist](https://trycloak.app/blog/mac-privacy-checklist/) for how it fits alongside FileVault.

[Get Cloak](https://trycloak.app).

For all eleven points on every locker, see [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/