How to Lock Telegram on Mac

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

Lock Telegram 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 Telegram, and click Lock.
Quit Telegram if it is open.
Open Telegram 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 anyone who shares a Mac with a partner, housemates or kids, or leaves a work laptop open on a desk. If someone else can sit at your Mac, they can read your Telegram chats.

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 Telegram. A limit is not a lock. Telegram 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 Telegram opens.

Why lock Telegram at all

Telegram keeps you permanently logged in on desktop, so secret chats and shared files sit one click away for whoever opens your laptop next. Because one glance at an open window can reveal a conversation that was never meant for anyone else, Telegram is exactly the kind of app worth putting behind Touch ID.

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

Most messaging apps offer at best a screen-lock buried in settings that resets when you reopen the desktop client, and many offer nothing at all on macOS. A Mac-level lock from Cloak sits in front of the app every time it launches and cannot be skipped by simply quitting and reopening it.

Frequently asked questions

Does locking Telegram with Cloak slow it down?

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

Will I still get Telegram notifications while it is locked?

Notification behaviour is controlled by macOS, not by Cloak. If you want Telegram alerts hidden too, pair the lock with hiding the app, or turn off previews for Telegram 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 Telegram 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 Telegram with Screen Time instead?

Screen Time sets a time limit, not a lock. Telegram 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 Telegram on your Mac