How to hide files, folders and icons on Mac: all methods

Do you often need to hide files on your Mac ? This need can arise on several occasions. For example, if you are giving a presentation on your mac and you don’t want other people to see what’s on your desktop or in the Finder, or if your desktop is so full of icons that it looks extremely cluttered. ; or if you have some private files in plain sight that you don’t want to show to anyone.

How to hide files, folders and icons on Mac

Whatever the reason you want to hide your files, today there are tons of ways to help you better manage what’s visible / not visible on your computer. After seeing what are the ten tricks to customize your MacBook, read on to find out how to hide files, folders and icons on Mac.

How to hide desktop icons using the Terminal

First, let’s take a look at how to hide files, folders and icons on Mac using the Terminal. Here are the steps to follow:

  • Open Finder.
  • Click on Applications in the left panel.
  • Double click on Utility
  • Open the Mac Terminal
  • Type the command “ defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop false
    killall Finder ” and press Enter .

This way you will hide everything that was previously visible on your Desktop, which will now appear completely empty.

How to show icons on the desktop using the Terminal

When you want to make the icons on the desktop visible again, you can use the Terminal once again. Here’s how to do it:

  • Open Finder .
  • Click on Applications in the left panel.
  • Double click on Utility
  • Open the Mac Terminal
  • Type “ defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop true
    killall Finder ” and press Enter .

This way your folders and files will be visible on the desktop again.

How to hide desktop icons using Finder

Here’s another quick and easy way to hide desktop icons using Finder.

  • Open Finder
  • Click on the Finder menu at the top left
  • Select Settings
  • Go to the General tab
  • Click Show these items on the desktop
  • Uncheck the items you want to hide

 

How to hide files using system commands

MacOS operating systems provide users with some methods to hide movies using system commands via the Terminal. Let’s see what they are.

How to configure the hidden flag using the Terminal

  • Open Finder
  • Click on Applications in the left panel.
  • Double click on Utility
  • Open the Mac Terminal
  • Type ” chflags hidden “
  • Drag the folder you want to hide into the Terminal window
  • Press and hold Enter

How to hide files, folders and icons on Mac by setting the visibility attribute to invisible

If you have installed programs like Xcode or Apple Developer Tools you can also use the visibility attribute to hide some of your files. Here’s how to do it.

  • Open Finder .
  • Click on Applications in the left panel.
  • Double click on Utility
  • Open the Mac Terminal
  • Type “ setfile -a V ” without pressing Enter
  • Drag the file or folder you want to hide into the Terminal window
  • Hit enter
  • To cancel the command, type the same command again, but with a lowercase “v” ( setfile -av )

How to reveal previously hidden files in Finder

There are several ways to show previously hidden files on Mac again. Here are the two different procedures.

How to reveal hidden files using the Terminal

  • Open Finder .
  • Click on Applications in the left panel.
  • Double click on Utility
  • Open the Mac Terminal
  • Type ” defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE; killall Finder “
  • At this point the Finder will restart
  • To reverse the command, all you have to do is type ” defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSE; killall Finder “

How to reveal hidden files with Finder

  • Open Finder
  • Press Cmd + Shift + Period (“.”)
  • Press again to hide the files again

 

How to hide files in system folders

Another way to hide files on Mac is to put them inside system folders. This is a trick you can use to hide certain files or folders if you have to make someone who is a little pushy to use your computer . By default, the Library folder is hidden on macOS – this feature makes it the perfect place to hide the files you want to keep to yourself. Also check out the different methods to view library folder on Mac .

  • Open Finder
  • Click on Go
  • Hold down the Alt key to show the Library menu item
  • Click on Library
  • Create a new folder to place the files you want to hide
  • Drag the files into the new folder

How to hide files, folders and icons on Mac using FileVault

Another way to hide files, folders and icons on Mac is to use the security feature called FileVault , designed to encrypt files and make them inaccessible to third parties . FileVolt will create an invisible and inaccessible folder, which will ask you to log in with administrator credentials. Here’s how to do it:

  • Open Settings
  • Select Privacy and security
  • Click on FileVault
  • Select Activate
  • Enter the required credentials
  • Choose the recovery method you prefer
  • Double click on Continue
  • Restart your Mac