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Apple has a pretty good track record on privacy. The company bakes a number of protections into its OSes to keep your data from being shared or stolen. That said, you can make your Apple devices even more secure. There are plenty of opt-in settings that make it even harder for anyone to snoop on your device and activity. These are the best privacy hacks for your Mac.
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Enable advanced protection for all browsing in Safari to prevent device fingerprinting
Private Browsing in Safari offers some protection against tracking of your device and activity. For example, Safari won’t remember searches or save information from form fields, and it will strip link tracking and hide your IP address from known trackers. (Note that Private Browsing does not make you completely anonymous online.) However, these protections don’t need to be limited to just Private Browsing. You can also enable advanced tracking and fingerprint protection for regular browsing sessions, which will minimize tracking while keeping other features active. That includes maintaining browsing and search history, allowing autofill, and keeping you logged in to sites that use cookies. You can turn this on by going to Safari > Settings > Advanced and selecting “in all browsing” from the dropdown next to “Use advanced tracking and fingerprint protection.”
Turn on Firewall with stealth mode to make your device invisible to network scans
Enabling the macOS Firewall (which is off by default) adds a layer of protection against external devices on your wifi network, as well as unauthorized apps from initiating a connection to your device. Turning on Stealth Mode prevents your Mac from even responding to these requests, essentially making it invisible to anything that’s scanning a network you’re connected to. This makes it more difficult for hackers and malware to know your device exists, much less attack it. This can interfere with certain essential activity when you’re on your home network, but it’s a valuable security setting when on public wifi. You can leave Firewall on all the time and enable Stealth Mode only as needed. Go to Settings > Network > Firewall, flip the toggle, then hit Options to manage Stealth Mode.
Enable rotating MAC addresses to prevent activity and location tracking via wifi
Another hack for maintaining privacy on public networks is to enable rotating MAC addresses, which randomizes the identifier your device broadcasts when scanning for and connecting to wifi. If you use either your real MAC address or a fixed one (random but unchanging), it’s easier to track your activity on that network, including when you arrive, how long you stay, and when you leave. Rotating addresses are best for public, shared networks you temporarily connect to, and don’t require a login via a captive portal (like hotel wifi). You can turn this on for specific networks via Settings > Wi-Fi > [Network Name] > Details and change Private Wi-Fi address to Rotating.
Use “Convert Image Quick Action” to strip metadata from files before sharing
Images and screenshots contain metadata, such as timestamps, device and hardware details, and, in the case of photos, physical location. Much of this information is stripped automatically when you share files to social media or via encrypted messaging apps, but if you’re sending them via text or email, posting to forums, or sharing over AirDrop, metadata remains intact. You can easily remove metadata from your images right on your desktop. Select the file and hit control + click to bring up an options menu, then go to Quick Actions > Convert Image. Uncheck the box next to Preserve Metadata, then hit Convert. (This is also useful for quickly converting HEIC to JPEG without opening a separate app.)
Disable diagnostic and analytics sharing to minimize what Apple can use and share with developers
Apple collects information about your device for diagnostic purposes or to improve apps and services, some of which is shared with third-party app developers. This may include crash and usage data as well as recordings and transcripts of Siri interactions and iCloud analytics. You can disable sharing for some or all of these categories under Settings > Privacy & Security > Analytics & Improvements.
Audit and disable location services to prevent background tracking
You may be surprised by the number of apps and system services that use your device’s location in the background. You should definitely disable location services for third-party apps that don’t require location to function. You can find these toggles under Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services. You can also turn off location permissions for some Apple apps and services if you’re not using them on your device, like Weather and Maps. Finally, tap System Services and disable location for any non-essential features—at the very least, disable “Mac Analytics” and “Significant Locations & routes” (which lets your Mac and other iCloud devices learn locations and routes you use often).
Audit and revoke camera and microphone permissions for inactive apps
Third-party apps on your Mac that need access to your device’s camera and microphone have to request permission, and it’s easy to grant this in the moment and then forget that you’ve allowed it. You should regularly audit which apps have these permissions and revoke access from those that don’t need them on a day-to-day basis. Disabling them forces the app to ask again. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Microphone or Camera to see the allowed apps and flip the toggle to disable permissions.
Restrict local access permissions to prevent utilities or apps from mapping your network
Another permission type you may have granted without much thought is local network access. This allows third-party apps to discover and communicate with other devices—printers, smart speakers, and IoT devices—on your home wifi. While this may be useful for services like Spotify that cast to connected hardware, other utilities, media apps, and games probably don’t need to be mapping your network in the background. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Local Network to audit permissions and disable those that aren’t needed.
Audit and restrict full disk access to keep apps from reading your system
Another important permission to check concerns third-party apps that have access to your Mac’s full disk, which includes data from Mail, Messages, Safari, Home, Time Machine, and admin settings. If an app only works with files you explicitly open and save, it doesn’t need full disk access. Legitimate use cases may include antivirus and malware scanners, productivity tools, or backup utilities that you trust. You can also audit which apps have access to specific files and folders. This is under Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access or Files & Folders.
Turn on Advanced Data Protection for iCloud to encrypt your backups end to end
If you’re using iCloud to store photos, files, and device backups, your data is encrypted on Apple’s servers and in transit. Apple still holds the decryption key, which is useful if you somehow get locked out of your account and need help recovering it, but for sensitive data—including device backups—end-to-end encryption is the most secure way to ensure no one but you can gain access. Advanced Data Protection is an opt-in setting for iCloud that encrypts your information end to end. You’ll need to set up an alternative recovery method, such as your device passcode with two-factor authentication, a recovery contact, or a recovery key. Be careful, though: If you lose access to this recovery method, you will lose your data. You can enable Advanced Data Protection on your Mac under System Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Advanced Data Protection > Turn On. Note that some iCloud data, including passwords and payment methods, are already end-to-end encrypted by default.
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This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
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