Mac: Encrypt external hard drive

If you want to encrypt an external hard drive or USB stick with your Mac, you do not need any additional software. The operating system already has its own on-board tools for the process. So you can additionally protect your data on external storage media without much effort.

How to encrypt your external hard drive

Before you start the encryption process, it is advisable to make a backup of the data that is on the storage device. This way you are on the safe side if something goes wrong.

1. Connect the hard drive or USB stick to your Mac.
2. Call up the Finder.
3. Left in the navigation you will get a list of connected devices. Select there the external drive with the right mouse button.
4. Select the menu item "Encrypt drive XYZ".
5. Then enter a password and a mnemonic and confirm the process by clicking "Encrypt drive".

Depending on the amount of data on the disk, the encryption process can take different amounts of time. Make sure that the USB connection is not disconnected during this process.Once the encryption is complete, you can access the drive only with the password you set.

Unencrypt

If you want to remove the encryption again, simply right-click the disk or stick in the Finder. Select the "Decrypt" item in the context menu. The external drive can then be opened again without a password.