How to lock your Mac screen: shortcuts, auto lock and hot corners

MacUpdated 14 October 2026

To lock your Mac screen, press Control-Command-Q, or choose Apple menu > Lock Screen. On a Mac or Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, pressing Touch ID locks it too. To have the Mac lock itself when you leave it, set Lock Screen settings to ask for your password soon after the display turns off.

Quick answer

The quickest way to lock a Mac is Control-Command-Q. You can also choose Apple menu > Lock Screen, press Touch ID if your Mac or keyboard has it, or set a hot corner. For auto lock, open System Settings > Lock Screen and pick a short time for "Require password after screen saver begins or display is turned off".

What is the keyboard shortcut to lock a Mac?

Control-Command-Q. Apple's list of Mac keyboard shortcuts describes it simply as "Lock your screen". Press the three keys together and the Lock Screen appears. To get back in, press any key and enter your password, or use Touch ID or an Apple Watch if you've set them up.

Apple's guide to locking the screen lists these other ways to do it straight away:

Choose Apple menu > Lock Screen.
Press Touch ID, if it's on your Mac or Magic Keyboard.
Press the Lock Screen button, if your Magic Keyboard has one.
Move the pointer into a hot corner you've set to Lock Screen (see below).

Don't mix it up with Shift-Command-Q. Apple lists that one as logging out of your macOS user account, after asking you to confirm. Option-Shift-Command-Q logs out without asking.

How do I lock my MacBook, and does closing the lid lock it?

Every method above works on a MacBook. Closing the lid is a little different. Apple lists closing the display as a way to put a Mac laptop to sleep, and opening it as a way to wake it. Whether it then asks for your password depends on one setting.

Apple's page on waking your Mac says that to keep your information secure when you're away, you can set the Mac to require a password when it wakes from sleep. Here's how:

Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Lock Screen in the sidebar. You may need to scroll down.
Click the pop-up menu next to "Require password after screen saver begins or display is turned off".
Choose the time that passes before a password is required. The shorter the time, the sooner a closed lid means a password is needed.

If you use Touch ID, Apple says you can use it to unlock your Mac when you wake it from sleep, so a short setting doesn't have to mean typing your password every time.

How do I make my Mac lock automatically?

Two Lock Screen settings work together. One decides how long the Mac can sit idle before the display turns off. The other, "Require password after screen saver begins or display is turned off", decides how soon after that a password is needed. Apple describes the second as a way to lock your Mac when it's left idle.

Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Lock Screen in the sidebar.
Set "Turn display off on battery when inactive" to how long the Mac can be idle on battery.
Set "Turn display off on power adapter when inactive" to how long it can be idle when plugged in.
Set "Require password after screen saver begins or display is turned off" to a short time.

In macOS Sequoia, Apple's page for these settings also lists "Start Screen Saver when inactive", which sets how long the Mac waits before the screen saver starts.

How do I set a hot corner to lock my Mac?

A hot corner runs an action when you move the pointer into a corner of the screen. Apple's own example is locking the screen from the top-right corner. It's handy if you'd rather flick the pointer than reach for keys.

Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Desktop & Dock in the sidebar. You may need to scroll down.
Click Hot Corners.
Click the pop-up menu for the corner you want to use, then choose Lock Screen.
Click Done.

To use a modifier key with a hot corner, Apple says to press and hold Command, Shift, Option or Control, or a combination of them, while viewing the pop-up menus. That can help if you keep locking the Mac by accident.

Can I lock my Mac from my Apple Watch or iPhone?

Apple documents Apple Watch for unlocking your Mac, not locking it. With Auto Unlock on, Apple says that when you're wearing your watch, pressing any key or lifting the lid on a laptop unlocks the Mac. The same setting lets you approve some requests on the Mac by double-clicking the watch's side button.

To turn Auto Unlock on or off:

Open System Settings, then click Touch ID & Password in the sidebar. You may need to scroll down.
Go to Apple Watch, then turn on or off the option next to your watch's name.

Apple lists what's needed first: the same Apple Account on both devices, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and two-factor authentication on the Mac, and a passcode on the watch.

Apple does document one way to lock a Mac from another device, for when it's lost or stolen. Turn on Lost Mode in the Find My app on another Apple device, such as an iPhone, or select Lost Mac on iCloud.com. Apple says a Mac with Apple silicon is then locked with your Apple Account password. Find My has to be set up on the Mac beforehand, and Apple says the Mac must be turned on and connected to the internet to be locked. For everyday use, lock it at the Mac before you walk away.

What doesn't locking the screen protect against?

A locked screen asks for your password, Touch ID or Apple Watch before anyone gets back into your session. Apple notes two gaps on the same page. An administrator can unlock a standard user's locked screen with the administrator's own name and password. And locking the screen doesn't prevent other users from turning off the Mac, restarting it and logging in. If you use apps that don't save automatically, Apple suggests saving your work before you leave.

Restarting matters more if automatic login is on. Apple warns that automatic login allows anyone to access your Mac simply by restarting it. To check:

Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Users & Groups in the sidebar.
Click the "Automatically log in as" pop-up menu, then choose Off.

Apple also notes that when FileVault is turned on, automatic login is disabled. And if several people use the Mac, Apple suggests a separate user account for each person.

While you're in Lock Screen settings, you can turn on "Show message when locked". Apple says the message appears in the login window and can carry contact details in case the Mac is lost.

Where Failshot fits

Locking keeps your session closed. Apple's Lock Screen pages don't describe any record of who unlocked it while you were away. Failshot, while it's on, adds a photo of whoever did. Because it photographs an unlock, locking every time you step away is also the habit that gives it something to do.

With Failshot on, it photographs whoever unlocks your Mac, then records a 5-second video. Video is on by default and can be switched off. Sound is off unless you turn it on, and the app warns you that recording someone's voice without their permission is against the law in some places.
Whoever unlocks sees Failshot's window saying the unlock was photographed, and when a video is recording. With the Mac's built-in camera, the green light comes on.
Email alerts and location are off until you turn them on. With alerts on, Failshot emails you about an unlock you don't confirm as yours, a wrong Failshot PIN or answer, or its camera access being switched off while it's on. With location allowed, an unlock alert can say roughly where the Mac was.
Photos are kept on your Mac. They leave it only in email alerts and the encrypted web vault, if you turn those on, and, if you join your organisation with its invite code, encrypted for its security team too.
Switching Failshot off, or quitting it from its menu, takes Touch ID or your Failshot PIN and answer, never your Mac password. A wrong Failshot PIN or answer takes another photo. Like any Mac app, it can still be force-quit.

Failshot is out now for Mac, on macOS 14 or later, as a free download from failshot.app. Turning it on needs Failshot Pro, a paid subscription, and there's no free trial. Failshot Pro is £3.99 a month or £23.99 a year, VAT included, for as long as you stay subscribed, if you subscribe by 31 October 2026. From 1 November 2026 new subscriptions are £5.99 a month or £35.99 a year.

What it doesn't do: it doesn't photograph a wrong password at the login or lock screen. It doesn't photograph the first login after a restart or a log out, which matters given Apple's note above about restarting a locked Mac. Logging out (Shift-Command-Q), restarting or shutting down closes Failshot without asking for Touch ID or your Failshot PIN, and unless you've set it to start at login, it stays off until you open it again. It can't find a lost Mac on demand (an alert can say roughly where it was, if you turn location on), and it has no remote lock or wipe. It's for your own Mac, or a Mac an organisation has authorised you to manage with Failshot. iPhone, Android and Windows versions are coming soon.

Questions people also ask

What is the shortcut to lock a Mac screen?

Control-Command-Q. Apple's Mac keyboard shortcuts list gives it as "Lock your screen". On a keyboard with Touch ID you can also press Touch ID, and on any Mac you can choose Apple menu > Lock Screen.

Does closing the lid lock a MacBook?

Closing the lid puts a Mac laptop to sleep, Apple says. Whether it asks for your password when it wakes depends on "Require password after screen saver begins or display is turned off", where you choose how long after sleep begins a password is required. Set it in System Settings > Lock Screen.

How do I stop my Mac locking so quickly?

In System Settings > Lock Screen, choose a longer time for "Turn display off on battery when inactive" and "Turn display off on power adapter when inactive", or a longer time in "Require password after screen saver begins or display is turned off".

What's the difference between locking and logging out on a Mac?

Locking (Control-Command-Q) shows the Lock Screen and you return to your session with your password or Touch ID. Logging out (Shift-Command-Q) logs you out of your macOS user account after asking you to confirm.

Can someone get into a locked Mac by restarting it?

Apple says locking the screen doesn't prevent other users from restarting the Mac and logging in, and that automatic login allows anyone to access your Mac simply by restarting it. Turn automatic login off in System Settings > Users & Groups.