Sometimes, the best way to keep sensitive data concealed from prying eyes is to hide it in the open up. We'll show y'all piece of cake ways to hide folders in Windows vii, 10, and 11.

Disclaimer: None of these solutions will effectively hide your data from experienced users. For truly sensitive and confidential data, we recommend encrypting files and folders or storing them on a password-protected USB drive.

Windows offers an like shooting fish in a barrel way to quickly hibernate folders from unsuspecting optics. This method requires that Windows does not bear witness hidden files and folders, and so let's brand sure that'due south the case.

Windows 11 File Explorer Folder Options
  1. Open up File Explorer (whatever folder) and navigate to Folder Options. Windows 10: View > Options > Alter folder and search options Windows 11: See more > Options
  2. Inside Folder Options switch to the View tab.
  3. Nether Files and Folders notice the pick Hidden files and folders and select Don't bear witness hidden files, folders, or drives.
  4. Click OK.

One time Windows is set to conceal hidden files and folders, you can go ahead and hide a binder.

Windows 11 Folder Properties and Advanced Attributes
  1. Right-click the binder yous want to hide and select Backdrop.
  2. In the General tab, check the option called Hidden.
  3. Then click the Advanced button to change Archive and Alphabetize attributes; you might want to cake indexing of the folder contents.
  4. Optional: Nether Avant-garde Attributes, bank check the Encrypt contents to secure information option.
  5. Click OK to save your changes.

When you need to admission your hidden folder, go through folder options to temporarily make hidden folders visible. Obviously, this is a little inconvenient. To take a shortcut and hibernate or unhide several folders at once, y'all can utilize the tool Free Hide Folder. It can hide and unhide selected folders, given the folder options are set to not show hidden files and folders.

Free Hide Unhide Folder Tool

Although access to this tool is protected by a password, it does reveal that there are hidden folders somewhere and avant-garde users will notice them with ease.

two. Make Folders Invisible

When you make your folder invisible, rather than hiding them, you won't have to go through folder options to unhide your folder. On the downside, someone may discover your invisible binder past accident.

To make an invisible folder, you have to do two things: remove the folder proper noun and make the binder icon transparent.

To clear the binder name in Windows 7:

  1. Select the binder and printing F2.
  2. Then hold the ALT primal while typing the numbers 0160 using the number pad.
  3. Hitting Enter and the folder proper noun should exist gone.

The to a higher place method doesn't seem to work in Windows 10 or 11.

Windows 11 Desktop Folder Without Name

To remove the folder name in Windows x or 11:

  1. Select a desktop binder and press F2 (to rename information technology).
  2. Then right-click the existing name and choose Insert Unicode control character.
  3. From the listing, select NADS.
  4. Finally, click any empty spot on the desktop.

To make the folder icon invisible:

  1. Correct-click your folder and select Properties.
  2. Switch to the Customize tab and click the Change Icon... button.
  3. You can find several blank icons in the default Windows icon collection. Select i, click OK, then click Apply in the Properties window. This might require a couple of tries until you succeed.
Windows 11 Select Blank Folder Icon

If the invisible folder sits on your desktop, make sure it's along the edge of the screen and towards the right side. This will decrease the chance of information technology being found by chance. Note that anyone tin can still admission the folder, given they find it. For example, clicking CTRL+A will select and highlight all files and folders, including invisible ones.

Hide Drive in Windows 11

Hiding an entire bulldoze is probably the best choice if you desire to avoid accidental discovery.

  1. Press the Windows fundamental, type Disk Management, and hitting Enter.
  2. Right-click the drive you lot'd like to hide and select Alter Drive Letter and Paths...
  3. Select the drive letter and click Remove.
  4. A warning will popular up, click Aye.

When you now head into File Explorer > This PC, you won't be able to locate the drive under Devices and drives.

If you'd similar to make the drive visible again, follow the steps above up until stride 3, so, in the Modify Drive Letter and Paths window, click Add... to re-assign a bulldoze letter.three Quick & Easy Means to Hide a Folder in Windows 7

Hide Folder via Command Prompt

If you're comfortable using the command prompt, this may be the best method for you. It's definitely the nigh effective 1, short of using encryption or a third-party tool.

  1. Printing Windows + R to launch the Run menu.
  2. Enter cmd and hitting Enter.
  3. Navigate to your target binder or file using the CD and DIR commands.
  4. To hide a file or folder, use the following command: 
                  attrib +h "replace                this                with                target                file                or                directory                name"
  5. To show a subconscious file or folder, blazon this command: 
                  attrib -h "replace                this                with                target                file                or                directory                name"

After using the command in pace 4, check for your file or folder using the File Explorer; y'all won't exist able to find the hidden item. Even when you become back to the command prompt and run the DIR control, it should have disappeared from the list. All the same, when you run the command in step 5, it'll magically reappear.

Lockbox Folder Selection

My Lockbox is a tertiary-political party utility to lock and hide folders. When y'all first launch the tool, you demand to create a password. Adjacent, you tin can assign a Lockbox binder.

In the free version, you're limited to ane hidden binder, although you can alter the folder anytime. When you launch My Lockbox, you can lock (hibernate) and unlock (unhide) your Lockbox binder. Unlike Gratis Folder Hibernate, My Lockbox will also hibernate your folder when the folder options are set up to show hidden files, folders, and drives.

Lockbox Control Panel

In the My Lockbox Control Panel, yous can access boosted options, for example, to fix trusted applications allowed to access your folder or to create hotkeys.

Continue Your Information Safe

The safest mode to secure and hide your data is to encrypt information technology. Professional versions of Windows come with BitLocker, just you can also employ a free 3rd-party utility like VeraCrypt.

When you demand to remotely access your data from multiple different devices or locations, consider secure deject storage.

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Almost The Author

Tina Sieber (843 Manufactures Published)

While completing a PhD, Tina started writing about consumer technology in 2006 and never stopped. At present besides an editor and SEO, you tin discover her on Twitter or hiking a nearby trail.

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