Step away from an unlocked MacBook and your desktop stays within someone else’s reach. You can lock it immediately with a keyboard shortcut, Touch ID, or the Apple menu. Set up automatic locking too, so protection does not depend on remembering every time.
Lock your MacBook right now
Choose one of these three immediate locking methods.
- 1.Press Control–Command–Q together.
- 2.Open the Apple menu and choose Lock Screen.
- 3.On a MacBook with Touch ID, press the Touch ID button while the Mac is unlocked. Resting your finger on the sensor does not perform the locking action.
Set the password requirement before relying on sleep
Sleep, a dark display, and a screen saver need an authentication requirement to protect your desktop. Set this before relying on any of them when you step away.
Open Apple menu > System Settings > Lock Screen.
Set Require password after screen saver begins or display is turned off to the shortest available delay. That delay determines when authentication becomes necessary after the screen saver starts or the display turns off.
Configure automatic locking when you step away
Automatic locking needs both a display-off timer and the password requirement. Open System Settings > Lock Screen.
Set Turn display off on battery when inactive to your preferred idle time.
Set Turn display off on power adapter when inactive for when your MacBook is plugged in. The battery and power-adapter timers are separate.
Set Require password after screen saver begins or display is turned off to the shortest available delay. The timers determine when the screen goes dark; this setting determines when authentication is required.
If your Mac remains accessible after the display turns off, use Control–Command–Q to lock it immediately.
Check what happens when you close the lid
Closing the lid leaves your desktop unprotected if the Mac does not sleep or the authentication delay has not elapsed.
After configuring the password requirement, close your MacBook’s display to put it to sleep during normal lid-close operation. Protection depends on sleep taking effect and the configured delay passing.
To put the Mac to sleep from the menu, choose Apple menu > Sleep. The same password requirement applies.
If closing the lid does not put your Mac to sleep, press Control–Command–Q before closing it.
Alternatively, choose Apple menu > Lock Screen before closing the lid.
Add a corner you can use to lock the screen
Open System Settings > Desktop & Dock > Hot Corners.
Open the pop-up menu for the corner you want to use.
Choose Lock Screen, holding Command, Shift, Option, Control, or a combination during selection if you want the corner to require those keys.
Click Done.
Move the pointer into your chosen corner to lock the Mac, holding your selected modifier keys if you assigned them.
A modifier key keeps an ordinary pointer movement into that corner from triggering the lock.
Make your screen saver require authentication
Requiring authentication protects your desktop after the screen saver starts; the saver alone does not.
Open System Settings > Lock Screen.
Set Require password after screen saver begins or display is turned off to the shortest available delay.
In macOS Tahoe 26 and later, open System Settings > Wallpaper > Screen Saver.
Configure the screen saver to start automatically after inactivity.
Lock a missing MacBook remotely
Remote locking requires Find My to have been enabled on the missing Mac beforehand. An offline locking command stays pending until connectivity returns. A Mac with Apple silicon is locked with your Apple Account password. For Intel-based Macs, Apple’s Find My guides for iCloud.com and iPhone say you create a numeric passcode when you lock the Mac, while Apple’s lost-Mac support article describes that passcode specifically for Intel-based Macs without a T2 security chip. Follow the prompts Find My shows for your Mac, and keep any passcode you create, because you enter it on the Mac to unlock it.
On an iPhone, open Find My, tap Devices, tap your Mac, tap the More button, then tap Lost Mode.
Complete the recovery and contact prompts through the final Lock button to send the command.
For the browser route, follow this sequence at iCloud Find Devices: sign in, select your Mac in the device list, then choose Mark As Lost and complete the prompts. Apple also calls this control Lost Mac in its lost-Mac instructions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does locking a MacBook log me out?
No. Locking preserves your open desktop, while logging out ends your user session. Shift–Command–Q starts logout with confirmation; it is not the lock-screen shortcut.
Can I lock my MacBook with an external keyboard?
Yes. Control–Command–Q works with a compatible external keyboard. A Magic Keyboard equipped with a dedicated Lock Screen button also locks the Mac when you press that button.
Is Activation Lock the same as locking the screen?
No. Activation Lock protects eligible Macs against unauthorized reactivation. It does not immediately lock an open desktop.