How to Protect Your Privacy on Mac

Content created in partnership with DuckDuckGo

Please note that these instructions may not apply to all Mac devices and operating systems.

Follow these easy steps to protect the personal data on your device running macOS or Mac OS X.

1. Easily encrypt your Mac with the built-in FileVault.

Turn FileVault on to make your files unreadable if someone else gets hold of your computer while powered off or locked.

How: System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Turn on FileVault

2. Set a password for your account and disable automatic login.

Remember to require your password after your Mac sleeps and of course, use a strong, lengthy password. Note that ‘disable automatic login’ has been removed from macOS Sierra.

How: System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General > Change Password. We suggest selecting “require password immediately” and “disable automatic login”.

3. Update macOS regularly.

Don’t ignore those installation prompts! Remember you can check for updates at any time.

How: Apple icon > About This Mac > Software Update

4. Make sure the firewall is turned on.

Enabling the built-in firewall will block incoming connections. You can also choose to allow only signed software to accept incoming connections under Firewall Options.

How: System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Turn on Firewall

5. Enable stealth mode.

Being in stealth mode means your Mac will not respond to connection attempts from the network.

How: System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Firewall > Firewall Options> select “enable stealth mode” and hit “OK”.

6. Set the computer to log out after a period of inactivity.

The default for automatic logout is 60 minutes but shorter is better.

How: System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General > Advanced > select “log out after (we suggest 60) minutes of activity”.

7. Require an admin password for system-wide changes.

This helps protect against malware doing widespread damage.

How: System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General > Advanced > select “require an administrator password”.

8. Control which apps are accessing your location.

Verify what’s using your location data and disable any location services you don’t need.

How: System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Location Services

9. Restrict which types of apps are allowed to run on your Mac.

For more protection, grant permission only to the Mac App Store.

How: System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General> select only “Mac App Store”.

10. Review which apps have access to sensitive data.

Protect personal data such as your contacts and calendar info.

How: System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy

11. Stop sending diagnostics and usage data.

This data can include information such as the apps you use and your location.

How: System Preferences > Privacy > Diagnostics & Usage > Deselect all options.

12. Check which sharing services are enabled.

Disable things like screen sharing, file sharing, printer sharing, remote login, etc. unless you’re sure you need them.

How: System Preferences > Sharing

13. Install a privacy-focused browser like DuckDuckGo.

DuckDuckGo’s Private browser has built-in tracker network blocking, smarter
encryption, and, of course, private search, all designed to operate seamlessly
together while you search and browse the web.

How: Get the extension for popular browsers from https://duckduckgo.com/app

Congratulations! You’ve just taken a big step to increasing privacy and protecting the data on your Mac. If you’d like to delve further, we recommend this in-depth technical guide.

You can also find privacy content from Apple in the below links:

Content created in partnership with DuckDuckGo. Content for informational purposes only. References to third party services are informational only, have not necessarily been vetted by, and are not explicity endorsed by, Visa.