# Concealer and Espionage Alternative for Mac: Cloak Compared

A Concealer and Espionage alternative for Mac. How Cloak compares to these encryption vaults, and why a vault is not the same as locking the apps you actually use.

Updated: 2026-09-10. Source: https://trycloak.app/blog/cloak-vs-concealer-espionage/

Concealer and Espionage are two long-running Mac encryption apps with loyal users. Both are solid at what they do. But both are *vaults*, and a vault solves a different problem than locking and hiding the apps you use every day. Here is the comparison.

## Concealer: a secure container and password manager

**Concealer** by BeLight Software is an encrypted vault that doubles as a light password manager. You store sensitive information as cards, credit cards, passwords, license keys, notes, and you can tuck files and photos inside AES-256 encrypted vaults. It is a one-time purchase (around $19.99) and runs locally.

The model is the key thing: your data lives inside Concealer’s own interface. It does not put Touch ID in front of the real apps on your Mac, and it does not hide apps. If your private information already lives in apps you use, Messages, Notes, a finance app, you would have to move it into Concealer’s vault to protect it.

## Espionage: power-user folder encryption

**Espionage** by Tao Effect encrypts existing folders in place with AES-256, and it is actively maintained, with a recent universal build that runs natively on Apple Silicon. Its standout feature is plausible deniability: multiple master passwords can reveal different sets of folders, so you can unlock one without exposing everything. It is a one-time purchase (around $29.99).

Espionage is excellent folder encryption for security-minded users. But like Concealer, it is encryption only. It does not lock apps behind Touch ID, and it does not hide apps from view. The workflow leans toward the power user.

## Where Cloak is different

Cloak overlaps with both on encryption, it [encrypts folders with AES-256 in place](https://trycloak.app/blog/how-to-encrypt-files-on-mac/), but it adds the two things vaults do not:

- It [locks the actual apps you use](https://trycloak.app/blog/how-to-lock-apps-on-mac/) behind Touch ID or a password, so you do not have to migrate your data into a separate container.

- It [hides apps completely](https://trycloak.app/blog/how-to-hide-apps-on-mac/), so a private app does not just sit there locked, it disappears.

In other words, Concealer and Espionage protect data you put *into* them. Cloak protects the apps and folders you already have, where they already are.

## Side by side

|  | Cloak | Concealer | Espionage |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $9.99 once | $19.99 once | $29.99 once |
| Encrypts folders | In place | Vault | In place |
| Locks apps | Yes | No | No |
| Hides apps | Yes | No | No |
| Touch ID | Yes | Not stated | Not stated |
| Intruder photo | Yes | No | No |
| Plausible deniability | No | No | Yes |
| Local, no account | Yes | Yes | Yes |

## The verdict

If you specifically want a password-manager-style vault, pick Concealer. If you want power-user folder encryption with plausible deniability, Espionage is a strong, maintained choice.

But if you want to lock and hide the apps you already use, and encrypt folders, without moving everything into a separate container, that combination is what Cloak is built for. One-time purchase, fully local, nothing uploaded.

[Try Cloak on your Mac](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/