Help using Lock My Folders

Before creating a vault

• Use a normal project or document folder, not a system, home, cloud-root, or drive-root folder.
• Keep enough free space for the encrypted copy and temporary filesystem metadata.
• Store the passphrase in a trusted password manager. It cannot be recovered.

If locking stops

• Read the Activity log for the failing phase.
• Confirm the destination is outside the folder being locked and no vault already exists there.
• If verification fails, the original remains untouched and the incomplete vault is removed.
• If moving to Trash fails, the verified vault remains and the original stays in place.

If a vault will not unlock

• Confirm the selected package ends in .sparsebundle.
• Check the passphrase carefully. The app cannot reset it.
• Ensure the chosen mount path is either absent or an empty folder.
• Reconnect an external drive before trying again. Active sparsebundle vaults in cloud-synced folders are not recommended because conflicts can damage them.

If a vault will not relock

Close Finder previews, documents, terminals, and apps using files on the mounted volume. Then try Relock again.

Backups and migration

Relock the vault before copying the entire sparsebundle to another disk or Mac. Keep at least one separate backup and verify the copy before relying on it. Do not use a cloud-synced sparsebundle as the only working copy.