I Built Cloak: Lock Apps & Folders on macOS
Hi everyone, Problem macOS does a great job protecting the entire Mac, but once it's unlocked, there isn't a built-in way to protect individual apps or folders. I built Cloak because I wanted to hand someone my Mac for a minute without worrying about them opening Photos, Messages, Mail, Notes, or private work apps. Comparison Before building Cloak, I looked at apps like AppLockr and Cisdem AppCrypt. AppLockr focuses mainly on locking apps and folders with Touch ID or a password. Cisdem AppCrypt combines app locking with website blocking and scheduled restrictions. With Cloak, I wanted to focus specifically on privacy when someone already has access to an unlocked Mac. Alongside locking apps with Touch ID, Cloak can hide selected apps from the Dock, Launchpad, and Spotlight. It also lets you lock and encrypt folders with AES-256. Everything runs locally. There are no accounts, no cloud sync, and no telemetry. The only network call is for license activation. Cloak isn't intended to replace FileVault or separate macOS user accounts. It's an extra privacy layer for an already unlocked Mac. Pricing Cloak is a one-time purchase with no subscription. $9.99 for 1 Mac $14.99 for 2 Macs $24.99 for 5 Macs Requires macOS 13 or later. Website: https://trycloak.app Transparency I'm Femi, the developer of Cloak. My personal GitHub: https://github.com/ceorkm My personal X: https://x.com/ceorkm Privacy Policy: https://trycloak.app/privacy Terms: https://trycloak.app/terms Contact: support@trycloak.app
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Sounds interesting Without a trial version, I will refrain from a purchase. Before I buy a software I want to see how safe it is. Unfortunately, apps for this use case are more or less easy to undermine. I would very much like to check that. If you like please by PM
Totally fair. I don't offer a trial at the moment, but I'd consider adding one
Does sound interesting, but I agree it should have a trial version. I'm not going to buy this if there's no way for me to see if this suits my needs. It's odd you can't try out this app, particularly given that the site domain name is trycloak.app...
will this lock the data folder used by app ?
Nope
for this category, i would be very clear that it is a convenience lock, not a hard security boundary. if someone has admin access or enough time on the unlocked Mac, assume they can work around a lot of per-app locks. the safe framing is: good for handing your laptop to a coworker/friend for 2 minutes, not for protecting secrets from a determined local user. also, a short trial matters here because people need to test the exact bypass cases they care about before trusting it.
That's a fair distinction and I agree with the framing. Cloak is meant as an extra privacy layer for an unlocked Mac, not a replacement for FileVault or protection against someone with admin access and enough time. The trial point is fair too, I'm considering adding one so people can test their own use cases properly. Appreciate the feedback.
Can you lock browser history?
Not individually at the moment. You can lock the browser itself, but locking only browser history is an interesting idea. I'll look into what's realistically possible on macOS
Can your app lock applications even when they are launched from the command line, opened via notifications, or triggered by any other entry point?
yes
Is this primarily for unauthorized Claude access / etc?
Yeah pretty much. It's for when someone else actually has your Mac in front of them. Handing your laptop to a friend for a minute, a shared family machine, a coworker glancing over, leaving it unlocked on your desk, that kind of thing. Cloak makes sure certain apps and folders won't open without you, even if the Mac is already unlocked
Despite lock, need to prevent others to modify some folders
Good news, that's basically how the folder lock already works. When you lock a folder it gets encrypted in place and disappears completely, so while it's locked nobody can open it or change it. It only comes back as a normal editable folder once you unlock with Touch ID or your password.If you meant something a bit different, like a folder that stays visible but can't be edited, Cloak doesn't do that one yet
Out of curiosity, does hiding an app also prevent it from showing up in Spotlight search results, or is that handled separately? That's always been one of the trickier parts of macOS.
yeah it wont show in spotlight result
This was quite a weird name to choose. It sounds like cloaca
A trial would've been nice
Very much appreciated.
nice app!
The distinction someone made in the comments, convenience lock versus real security boundary, is the right way to frame this category and it's smart that you leaned into that instead of overselling it. I'm building a much simpler local Mac utility myself and that same instinct, being upfront about what it isn't, seems to build way more trust here than a longer feature list would.
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retry now please