Guides
Plain answers to everyday questions: how to keep your work private on a Mac, work without the internet, find anything and keep a record that holds up. The way built into macOS comes first; then the app of ours that does it better, without sending your data anywhere.
- Mac privacy settings: what to change, and how to keep your work on your Mac
The Mac privacy settings worth changing, step by step, and how to dictate, capture, translate and search your files without uploading anything.
- The best privacy apps for Mac: what to look for
A private Mac app works on the device, sends nothing and needs no account. How to spot one, what macOS already covers, and free apps for everyday work.
- Local AI on a Mac: apps whose AI runs on your machine, not in the cloud
Local AI runs on your Mac's own chip, so nothing you say, write or photograph is uploaded. What macOS does on the device, and apps that go further.
- Mac apps that work offline: what keeps going without internet, and what to set up first
What keeps working on a Mac without internet, what to download before you go offline, and apps that dictate, translate and search with Wi-Fi off.
- How to find files on your Mac, and anything else: words, photos, a moment in a video
Press ⌘Space and type to find files on a Mac. How to search the words inside files, filter by kind or date, and find photos, video moments and old messages.
- How to document harassment: keep the messages, the dates and a record that holds up
Write down each incident with the date, keep the original messages, take screenshots that show who and when, and back it all up. Step by step, on a Mac.
- How to preserve digital evidence from your Mac: originals, time proofs and complete exports
Keep originals untouched, fingerprint every file, take screenshots with a time anyone can check and export whole conversations: a practical method on a Mac.
- Mac apps for lawyers: a private toolkit that keeps client data on your own machine
Dictate, translate, capture evidence and export text messages without sending client files to anyone's server. What macOS covers and which apps fill the gaps.
- Mac apps for therapists and doctors that keep patient information on your Mac
Dictate session notes, translate a patient's letter and share screenshots without sending health information to a server. What HIPAA asks, and which apps help.
- Digital tools for journalists: a Mac toolkit that keeps sources and drafts private
Dictate, translate, capture and verify on a Mac without sending notes or sources to a server. Settings that protect sources, and private tools for the work.
- How to see which apps are using the internet on your Mac, and check that an app sends nothing
Open Activity Monitor, click Network and sort by Sent Bytes. How to read it, what the macOS firewall does and doesn't block, and the Wi-Fi-off test.
- How to send a screenshot from your Mac without giving away personal details
Take it with ⇧⌘4, cover e-mail addresses, numbers and names with solid boxes, then drop it into your message. Plus the details people forget to hide.