FileVault review

FileVault is the encryption every Mac owner should turn on first, because it costs nothing and takes a few clicks in System Settings. On a Mac with Apple silicon or an Apple T2 Security Chip, Apple says the data is already encrypted automatically; turning on FileVault adds the requirement that someone enter your login password before the disk can be decrypted. On older Intel Macs without the T2 chip, FileVault is what encrypts the data in the first place. During setup you choose a recovery method: your iCloud account, or a recovery key made of letters and numbers that you store somewhere other than the Mac. Apple warns that forgetting both the password and the key means your files are lost forever. FileVault only protects the startup disk, so for encrypting a single file to send, or files in a cloud folder, pair it with Cryptomator, VeraCrypt or AxCrypt.

Who it is for

Mac owners protecting a lost or stolen laptop

Price

Built into macOS at no extra cost.

If you have a Mac with Apple silicon or an Apple T2 Security Chip, your data is encrypted automatically.
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 14, 2026.

Key features

• Encrypts the whole startup disk
• Requires the login password before data can be decrypted
• Recovery through an iCloud account or a generated recovery key
• Covers every user account on the Mac
• Turned on in System Settings under Privacy and Security

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Nothing to install or buy on a Mac
• Strength: Macs with Apple silicon or a T2 chip already encrypt data automatically
• Strength: Organizations can set their own recovery key
• Weakness: Protects the Mac's startup disk, not single files you send to others
• Weakness: Mac only
• Weakness: Forgetting both the password and the recovery key means losing your files

Key facts

• Price: Included with macOS
• Platforms: macOS
• Encrypts: Startup disk
• Recovery: iCloud account or recovery key

Where it ranks

FileVault is No. 4 in our Best File Encryption Software verdict.