# How to hide Brave on your Mac

Hide Brave on your Mac so it disappears from the Dock, Launchpad, and Spotlight. A quick step-by-step guide using Cloak.

Updated: 2026-09-10. Source: https://trycloak.app/blog/guides/hide-brave-on-mac/

Hide Brave so it disappears from the Dock, Launchpad, Spotlight and the Applications folder until you bring it back. Four steps, about a minute.

## Hide Brave on Mac, step by step

1. Download Cloak from trycloak.app and open it. Set up Touch ID or a password the first time it asks. There is no account.
2. Click the plus button under Hidden apps, tick Brave, and click Hide.
3. Check the Dock, Launchpad and Spotlight. Brave is gone from all of them.
4. To use Brave again, open Cloak, pass Touch ID, and click Unhide. Hide it again when you are done.

Hiding does not delete anything. Brave and all its data sit inside an encrypted image on your Mac and come back exactly as they were.

## Who this is for

For people whose Brave stays signed in to email, banking and social accounts. That is most of us. One person at your desk for a minute is enough.

## What macOS can't do on its own

macOS cannot hide an app. You can drag Brave off the Dock, but it still shows in Launchpad, in Spotlight and in the Applications folder, and its notifications still show its name. Cloak moves Brave into an encrypted image, so it is gone from all of those places until you bring it back.

## Why hide Brave at all

Locking an app stops people opening it, but the icon and notifications still announce that Brave is on your Mac. Sometimes you want the opposite: for Brave to simply not appear to exist. Brave promises privacy from trackers, but it cannot protect your open tabs and history from a person sitting at your unlocked Mac.

## Why hiding beats Brave's own settings

Browsers let you set a sync passphrase or a profile, but they keep you logged in and leave open tabs visible the moment the window is in front. Locking the whole app at the system level means the browser will not open, and your tabs will not be seen, until you pass Touch ID. Hiding goes one step further than locking: instead of showing a locked door, Brave is not visible at all, which is often the more discreet choice on a shared Mac.

## Frequently asked questions

### Does hiding Brave delete it or my data?

No. Hiding only removes Brave from view. The app and all of its data are kept inside an encrypted image on your Mac, and everything returns the moment you unhide it.

### Can someone still find Brave in Finder?

No. Cloak moves Brave into an encrypted image, so it is not in the Applications folder, Launchpad or Spotlight. Without your Touch ID or password the image cannot be opened.

### Will hidden Brave still receive messages or updates in the background?

No. A hidden app is not running, so it cannot show notifications or update itself until you unhide it. Cloak asks Brave to quit before hiding it, so you will not lose unsaved work.

## Related app guides

[Hide Chrome on Mac](https://trycloak.app/blog/guides/hide-chrome-on-mac/)[Hide Safari on Mac](https://trycloak.app/blog/guides/hide-safari-on-mac/)[Hide Firefox on Mac](https://trycloak.app/blog/guides/hide-firefox-on-mac/)[Hide WhatsApp on Mac](https://trycloak.app/blog/guides/hide-whatsapp-on-mac/)

## Keep reading

[How to lock apps on your Mac](https://trycloak.app/blog/how-to-lock-apps-on-mac/)[How to hide apps on your Mac](https://trycloak.app/blog/how-to-hide-apps-on-mac/)

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