How to hide files and folders on Windows

Feb 01, 2025 10:00 PM - 1 week ago 9800

While your Windows machine should beryllium beautiful good locked down pinch a password aliases possibly moreover immoderate benignant of biometric protection, it’s intolerable to guarantee that nary 1 other is ever going to get entree to it, whether it’s a thief swiping your unlocked laptop from a java shop aliases 1 of your kids wanting to play a fewer games while you’re doing thing else.

Whatever the reason, knowing really to hide files and folders from position tin beryllium really useful. These files won’t popular up during normal record browsing, and they’ll beryllium difficult to find moreover if personification is specifically looking for them.

And you’ve sewage a prime of ways to spell astir it, ranging from features built into File Explorer to third-party options.

Using Windows File Explorer

Windows show showing Folder views and a database of foldiers, including 1 headed “Hidden files and folders.”

By default, Windows File Explorer hides definite files and folders from view. Typically, these are important strategy files, which shouldn’t beryllium accessed aliases edited. You tin spot these files and folders if you want to:

  • From immoderate File Explorer window, click the 3 dots successful the apical toolbar.
  • Click Options connected the paper that pops up.
  • On the View tab, alteration Show hidden files, folders and drives.
  • Click OK to confirm.

To hide immoderate of your ain files aliases folders:

  • Right-click connected the record aliases folder.
  • Choose Properties from the discourse menu.
  • On the General tab, cheque the Hidden box.
  • Click OK to confirm.

As agelong arsenic File Explorer is configured to not show hidden files and folders, the items you’ve selected won’t beryllium visible. This applies wherever File Explorer is utilized — truthful successful dialogs for opening files wrong applications, for example.

It’s a speedy and easy measurement of protecting files and folders you don’t want to beryllium seen, but it’s hardly the astir unafraid — anyone who knows their measurement astir File Explorer will beryllium capable to get it to show hidden files again. If you request thing much comprehensive, you’ll person to move to a third-party tool.

Windows show showing Folder Lock app pinch sections branded Desktop Locker, OneDrive Locker, Cloud, Sync, Share, Secrets, Safeguard.

There are respective third-party devices to prime from here, which don’t truthful overmuch hide your files and folders arsenic fastener them from view. If personification accesses your Windows system, they’ll beryllium capable to spot that thing is hidden, but they’re not going to beryllium capable to get astatine immoderate you’ve locked away.

The champion action I’ve utilized personally is Folder Lock. It’s straightforward and reliable, and while location is simply a Pro type you tin get for $39.95, the free type will beryllium capable for astir people. You get 1GB of abstraction wrong your locker, and you tin support it synced betwixt 2 devices.

During the setup process, you’ll beryllium asked wherever you want to shop your locker. It’s a bully thought to person it buried heavy successful immoderate subfolders alternatively than sitting location salient for illustration the desktop. You besides request to specify an email reside and password for gaining entree to your integer locker.

If Folder Lock isn’t running, your locker won’t beryllium visible successful File Explorer. To adhd files to your locker and spot what you’ve stored successful it, motorboat the app from the Start paper and log in. By default, your locker automatically opens successful File Explorer (in settings, you tin alteration it truthful it’s sitting connected your homescreen alternatively if you want):

  • Drag files and folders into your locker files to hide them.
  • Double-click connected locked files and folders to unfastened them.
  • To hide everything, click Lock connected the Folder Lock panel.

Whenever your locker is open, it useful for illustration immoderate different files successful Windows. You tin delete files, copy files, and transcript and paste them successful the normal way. As soon arsenic you fastener it aliases adjacent Folder Lock, they vanish from view.

The programme besides includes a Secrets section, wherever you tin shop passwords, notes, and in installments paper information, and a Safeguard characteristic for securely shredding integer files (overwriting them pinch random data, essentially).

Everything is encrypted utilizing AES 256-bit encryption and you tin backmost up your locker to a unreality retention work (such arsenic OneDrive, Google Drive, aliases Dropbox) for other bid of mind.

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