How to make a Mac lock itself automatically

2 min read · 6 steps · Updated 3 October 2026

An unlocked Mac gives anyone who passes your desk your email, your saved passwords and your files. Locking it by hand works until the one time you forget. Two settings make the Mac do it for you after a few minutes without input.

Menu names are from recent versions of macOS, where the settings app is called System Settings. The pictures of keys are simplified diagrams.

Step by step

1. Open the Lock Screen settings

   Choose Apple menu, System Settings and click Lock Screen in the sidebar.

   Done

2. Set when the display turns off

   Set Turn display off on battery when inactive and Turn display off on power adapter when inactive. Two to five minutes suits a laptop used around other people. The setting for starting the screen saver is next to them.

   Done

3. Require the password at once

   Set Require password after screen saver begins or display is turned off to Immediately. With a longer delay, anyone who touches the trackpad in that time gets in without a password.

   Done

4. Lock it by hand when you leave

   Press Control-Command-Q, or choose Apple menu, Lock Screen. On a Mac with Touch ID, pressing the Touch ID button locks it too.

   Done

5. Show a message on the locked screen

   Switch on Show message when locked and click Set. A line such as If found, please call, with a phone number, helps an honest finder return a lost laptop.

   Done

6. Tidy the login window

   Login window shows can be set to a list of users or to empty name and password fields, which reveals nothing about who uses the Mac. Show password hints is best left off on a shared or work Mac.

   Done

Good to know

Unlocking stays quick with Touch ID or an Apple Watch: how to set up Touch ID on a Mac and how to unlock a Mac with an Apple Watch.

A hot corner can start the screen saver, and with it the lock, when you push the pointer into a corner of the screen: how to set up hot corners on a Mac.

A lock protects against people at your desk. Against someone who takes the Mac away, the disk needs encryption: how to turn on FileVault on a Mac.

All the ways to lock by hand: how to lock the screen on a Mac. If the Mac should stay awake for a task: how to stop a Mac from going to sleep.

In short: System Settings, Lock Screen: display off after a few minutes, Require password set to Immediately. Control-Command-Q locks at once. Add a found-message for a lost laptop.