How to Lock Books on Mac

Lock Books so it will not open without Touch ID or your password. Four steps, about a minute.

Lock Books on Mac, step by step

Download Cloak from trycloak.app and open it. Set up Touch ID or a password the first time it asks. There is no account.
Click the plus button under Locked apps, tick Books, and click Lock.
Quit Books if it is open.
Open Books again. Cloak now asks for Touch ID before it will launch.

Your Mac password works as a fallback by default. If other people know that password, open Cloak's Settings, turn off "Let my Mac password unlock Cloak", and set a Cloak password instead.

Who this is for

For shared family Macs, where your Books library, history and recommendations are personal even if they are not secret.

What Screen Time can't do

Apple has no way to lock a single app on a Mac. The closest thing is Screen Time, which puts a daily time limit on Books. A limit is not a lock. Books opens normally until the time runs out, the Screen Time passcode is four digits, and anyone who knows it can click Ignore Limit for the rest of the day. It was built to manage screen time, not privacy. Cloak asks for Touch ID or your password every single time Books opens.

Why lock Books at all

Apple Books knows exactly what you read and highlight, a personal library that can feel uncomfortably revealing to share. Because what you watch, read, and listen to can be surprisingly telling in the wrong company, Books is exactly the kind of app worth putting behind Touch ID.

Why a Mac-level lock beats Books's own settings

These apps rarely offer any privacy lock of their own, because they are not designed around secrecy. Putting a Mac-level lock in front means your library stays private even though the app itself never had a password.

Frequently asked questions

Does locking Books with Cloak slow it down?

No. Cloak only steps in at launch to ask for Touch ID. Once Books is unlocked it runs exactly as it normally would, with no background overhead.

Will I still get Books notifications while it is locked?

Notification behaviour is controlled by macOS, not by Cloak. If you want Books alerts hidden too, pair the lock with hiding the app, or turn off previews for Books in System Settings under Notifications.

What happens if Touch ID is not available?

By default Cloak offers your Mac login password as a fallback, so you can still open Books on a Mac without a Touch ID sensor or if your finger is not recognised. If other people know your Mac password, you can turn that fallback off and use a separate Cloak password instead.

Can I lock Books with Screen Time instead?

Screen Time sets a time limit, not a lock. Books opens normally until the limit is reached, and the limit can be ignored for the day by anyone who knows the four-digit passcode. Cloak asks for Touch ID every time.

How to lock Books on your Mac