Share your screen on Zoom without showing your personal apps.

Zoom only shares what is on your screen, but on a Mac, your screen includes more than the window you meant to show. Here is how to share safely.

Before the call: a 2-minute checklist

1. Share a window, not your whole screen. In Zoom's share picker, choose the single app window you need. Other people then see only that window, not your Dock or desktop.
2. Turn on a Focus mode. Do Not Disturb stops message previews popping up mid-call.
3. Close what you don't need. Fewer open apps means fewer surprises when you switch windows.
4. Tidy your desktop. Files named "resignation letter draft" have a way of being seen.
5. Check your browser. Open a fresh window so tabs, bookmarks and autocomplete stay private.

Where window sharing still falls short

Sharing one window is the safest Zoom setting, but it is not always practical. Demos often need you to switch apps, and many people share the whole screen to avoid fumbling. The moment you do, three places can give you away:

• The Dock, which shows every app you keep there and every app that is open.
• Launchpad, if you open it to find an app.
• Spotlight, which suggests apps as you type. Type "t" and your Tinder icon may be the first result.

macOS has no simple way to take one installed app out of all three. You can remove it from the Dock, but it still shows up in Launchpad and Spotlight unless you uninstall it.

Keep personal apps out of sight with PrivyDock

PrivyDock is a small Mac app built for this. Most screen-share tools only hide windows or tidy the desktop. PrivyDock hides the app itself. Pick the apps you want out of view, click once, and they no longer show up anywhere on your Mac: not in the Dock, not in Launchpad, not in Spotlight, not in the Applications folder. When you need one, open it from PrivyDock in the menu bar. After the call, one click brings them all back.

• Nothing is uninstalled. PrivyDock moves each app into a hidden folder on your Mac and later puts it back where it was. The app's settings and data stay on your Mac.
• No account, no cloud. Your list of hidden apps never leaves your Mac.
• A way back, even without PrivyDock. The hidden folder holds a recovery guide and a restore script, so your apps can come back even if PrivyDock is removed.
• Modes. Save your call list as a mode, named something like "Screen Share", and switch it on before every call.

One limit to know: Apple's own apps, such as Mail or Notes, can't be moved. For those, PrivyDock can take them off the Dock, but they still appear in Launchpad and Spotlight.

PrivyDock hides apps from view. It does not encrypt them, so for files that must stay protected, use FileVault and a strong login password too.