FileVault
lastmod 2026-11-10created 2026-02-192 edits
FileVault is the disk encryption feature built into macOS. It encrypts the entire startup disk with XTS-AES, so that even if the device is lost or the disk is removed, the data cannot be read without the user account password or the recovery key. It can be turned on and off in System Settings, and the recovery key is either entrusted to an iCloud account or kept by the user. It is the data-at-rest encryption counterpart of LUKS on Linux and BitLocker on Windows.