Lending your Mac? A 5-minute privacy checklist.

Most of the time nothing goes wrong. But it takes five minutes to make sure.

Option 1: a guest or separate user account

For long or regular use, a separate macOS user account is the cleanest choice. It gives the other person their own desktop, apps list and browser.

The catch is that it takes time to set up, they can't reach files they may need from you, and switching users mid-conversation is awkward. For a quick "can I borrow your laptop for ten minutes", most people don't bother.

Option 2: the 5-minute checklist

1. Hide personal apps. Dating, health, banking, journaling, job search: the apps you'd rather not explain.
2. Close your messages and email. Notifications can pop up while someone else is using your Mac.
3. Use a private browser window for them, so your tabs, history and saved logins stay out of view.
4. Turn on a Focus mode so personal messages stay quiet.
5. Check the desktop and Downloads folder for anything with a revealing name.

Step 1 is the hard one. macOS lets you remove an app from the Dock, but it still appears in Launchpad and Spotlight, and the only built-in way to make it disappear completely is to uninstall it.

Hide apps in one click with PrivyDock

PrivyDock adds the missing step. Pick the apps you'd rather keep to yourself, and PrivyDock hides them completely while someone else uses your Mac. They don't show up in the Dock, Launchpad, Spotlight or the Applications folder, so there is nothing to stumble on. Only you can open them, from PrivyDock in the menu bar. When you get your Mac back, one click restores them.

You can save each list as a mode and name it yourself: say, "Private-Out" for a quick borrow, or "Away" for when the laptop stays at home with family for a few days.

• No uninstalling, no lost data
• No account, and your list of hidden apps never leaves your Mac
• Open a hidden app from PrivyDock when you need it, without restoring it first
• A recovery guide and restore script, in case PrivyDock is ever removed

Apple's own apps, such as Messages, Mail or Photos, can't be moved, so PrivyDock can only take them off the Dock. That is why step 2 still matters.

PrivyDock hides apps from view; it does not lock or encrypt them. For anyone using your Mac for a long time, a separate user account is still the right choice.