Help · Getting started

Your first locked folder in five minutes.

One idea to get, four steps to take, and the handful of mistakes people actually make. Pick your device and everything below shows the buttons you’ll see.

I’m on
1 · How it works

A folder opens only when two halves meet.

ZapLock encrypts your files where they already are. The key to them is split in two. Almost every “why won’t it open?” comes back to this picture.

So signing in isn’t enoughA new device you sign in on has no half yet. One of your devices that already opens the folder hands it one. How →
So keep two devicesIf the only device with a half is lost, wiped or has ZapLock deleted, that folder can’t be opened by anyone. Including us.
So we can’t open your foldersOur half alone decrypts nothing, and your files and their names never reach us.
2 · Set up

Four steps. Do them in this order.

The order matters: sign in on your second device before you lock anything you can’t afford to lose.

Install and sign in

Get ZapLock from the Mac App Store (macOS 14 or later), open it, and choose Sign in with ZapQR.

Get ZapLock from the App Store (iOS or iPadOS 17 or later), open it, and choose Sign in with ZapQR.

Get ZapLock from Google Play, open it, and choose Sign in with ZapQR. When it asks, allow All files access. ZapLock needs it to encrypt files where they are.

Get ZapLock from the Microsoft Store (Windows 10 version 2004 or later, or Windows 11, 64-bit), open it, and choose Sign in with ZapQR.

ZapQR is the free account behind ZapLock. There’s no password to make up.

Mac App Store → App Store → Google Play → Microsoft Store →

Sign in on a second device too

Install ZapLock on another device you own (a phone, a laptop, a desktop) and sign in with the same account. The Free plan covers as many devices as you like.

Why now: each device keeps its own half of the key. A second signed-in device is your spare. Without one, newer versions of ZapLock warn you before they lock, and ask you to press and hold to go ahead.

Warning

This device would be the only one that opens “Tax 2026”.

If it’s lost, reset, or ZapLock is removed from it, nobody can open the folder. Not even us.

Try it: press and hold the red button.

ILLUSTRATION · INTERACTIVE

Add Folder, then confirm

Press ⌘O, or click Add Folder… in the toolbar or the ZapLock menu-bar icon. In Finder you can also right-click a folder → Services → Protect with ZapLock. Or just drag the folder onto ZapLock.

Tap + → Add Folder…, then pick the folder in Files: On My iPhone, iCloud Drive, or a provider such as Dropbox.

Tap + → Add Folder…, then pick the folder on your phone, a USB drive or Google Drive. Tap Use this folder and Allow.

Click Add Folder… in the sidebar, or right-click the folder in File Explorer → Protect with ZapQR.

ZapLock looks at what you picked. A regular folder gets a confirm step showing the files and size; confirm and it’s encrypted in place. Its name and path don’t change.

On an older version? Before 1.1.8 there were two buttons: Protect a Folder… for a new folder and Add Existing Vault… for one that’s already locked. Update when you can.

Open it on your other device

  1. Keep the folder where both devices can reach it: iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, a USB drive or a network share.
  2. On the second device, choose Add Folder… and pick the same folder. ZapLock sees it’s already locked and adds it to the list.
  3. The first time, it says this device doesn’t have a key yet. That’s expected. Your first device hands one over. See how.

Each device keeps its own list. A folder locked on one device doesn’t show up on another until you add it there.

Am I set up right?

0/5let’s go
3 · Your second device

“This device doesn’t have a key yet.” Here’s what happens next.

Signing in proves who you are. It carries no key on purpose. A device that already opens the folder makes a half for the new one.

New device asks

You tap the folder. ZapLock asks your other devices for a key.

An old device hands over

It has to be signed in and able to reach the folder.

A new half is written

Into the folder, wrapped so only the new device can use it.

It opens

From now on, both devices open the folder by themselves.

If the old device is a MacNothing to doKeep ZapLock running. It hands over in the background while it can reach the folder.
If it’s an iPhone or iPadTap Hand overOpen ZapLock. A row appears at the top of the list. Tap it and confirm with Face ID or Touch ID.
If it’s Android or WindowsUnlock it there onceEach unlock hands a key to your other signed-in devices that are waiting.

No other device left? If ZapLock says no other device can help, don’t remove anything else. Write to support@dasecure.com first. We can’t open the folder, but we can help you check what’s still possible.

4 · Day to day

Opening, editing, locking.

On a device you choose how to open a folder each time.

BEST FOR: A QUICK LOOK · BIG FOLDERS · USB DRIVES

Browse in ZapLock

  • Every file name shows right away. Open just what you need.
  • Nothing is decrypted back into the folder itself.
  • For a big folder on a slow drive, ZapLock asks first and offers Browse Files.
BEST FOR: WORKING IN OTHER APPS

Unlock in place

  • It turns back into a normal folder. Every app can use it.
  • When you lock it, ZapLock re-encrypts what changed.
  • Needs free space about the size of the folder.
  • Your other devices can view it, not change it, until it’s locked again.

On a phone or tablet, locked files open inside ZapLock. The folder stays locked in Filesyour file manager and gallery the whole time.

OPEN

Tap the folder, then unlock

  • Confirm with Face ID or Touch IDyour fingerprint or screen lock if the folder asks.
  • Big files show a progress bar you can stop.
  • If another device has it unlocked in place, it opens view-only until that device locks it.
ADD

Put new things in

  • From Photos, Files, Mail or Safari: Share → ZapLock → pick the folder.
  • Open the folder in ZapLock and add files from there.
  • ZapLock locks a copy. Delete the original yourself if you don’t want it left behind.

A folder locks itself when:

you lock ityou quit ZapLockit’s idle past the auto-lock time in Settings your Mac sleeps or its screen locksyou leave the app the device can’t reach us past its offline timeoutits owner removes your access

Want Face ID, a fingerprint or Windows Hello before every unlock on this device? Turn on Settings → Unlock check. It’s free on every plan.

5 · Avoid these

The mistakes people actually make.

Every one of these came from a real support message. Tap one to see the fix.

!“My files turned into .zl gibberish”

Nothing is broken. That’s what a locked folder looks like to any app that isn’t ZapLock. Your files are inside the d folder, encrypted.

Do: open the folder in ZapLock. Don’t run “repair” or “recovery” tools on it, and don’t rename anything inside. Newer versions also leave a note in the folder, READ ME - locked by ZapLock.txt, that says the same thing.

!“ZapLock’s list is empty, but my folder is locked”

Each device keeps its own list. Reinstalling, clearing app data or switching devices starts it fresh. Your folder is untouched.

Do: Add Folder… and pick the locked folder itself, the one with zaplock.json inside. Not the d folder, and not a file.

!“This device doesn’t have a key for this folder”

Expected on any new device or after a reinstall. Signing in doesn’t carry a key.

Do: on a device that already opens the folder, follow the hand-over steps. Newer versions name the devices that can help.

!“I’ll pay, or restore my purchase, to get my files back”

Paying doesn’t open anything, and doesn’t need to. Opening your folders is always free, on every plan, even after a plan ends. Restore Purchases / Restore subscription is about billing, not files.

Do: if a folder won’t open, it’s almost always a missing key on this device. See the card above.

!Locking important files on your only device

If that device is lost, reset, or ZapLock is deleted from it, nobody can open those folders. We hold half a key, and half a key opens nothing.

Do: sign in on a second device first, then open each folder there once. Never uninstall ZapLock from the only device that opens a folder.

!Forgetting the old copies in Dropbox, Drive or iCloud

ZapLock encrypts from the moment you lock, but sync services keep version history and a trash. Those can still hold the unencrypted originals.

Do: after locking, empty your provider’s trash and clear the old versions if it matters. On iPhone, also empty Recently Deleted in Photos.

!Locking a folder inside a locked folder, or around one

ZapLock refuses both, on purpose. Locking twice would break sharing for the inner folder.

Do: lock the outer folder only, or lock sibling folders separately. Don’t pick system folders, app bundles, or a folder an app is writing to right now (an open database, a running VM).

!“It worked yesterday. Now it can’t find the folder”

The folder was probably moved or renamed, or its drive isn’t plugged in, so the device lost permission to reach it.

Do: plug the drive back in, or Add Folder… and pick it again at its new spot. That refreshes access without touching the folder.

!Deleting your account with folders still locked

Deleting the account deletes our half of every key. Any folder still locked can never be opened again, by anyone.

Do: open each folder and choose Remove ZapLock… first. That turns it back into a normal folder. Then delete the account.

6 · Use cases

Four set-ups to copy.

Pick the one closest to yours. Each takes a few minutes.

Just me · phone

Private photos on your iPhone

iPhoneiPadFree plan
  1. In ZapLock, + → Add Folder… → make a folder in iCloud Drive called “Private” and lock it.
  2. In Photos, select up to 50 items → Share → ZapLock → “Private”.
  3. Delete the originals in Photos, then empty Recently Deleted.
  4. Sign in on your iPad or Mac and add “Private” there too, so you always have a second key.

To view: open “Private” in ZapLock → Photos.

Just me · two devices

Tax and family papers on a Mac and a phone

MaciPhoneAndroidFree plan
  1. On the Mac, put the papers in a folder inside iCloud Drive, Dropbox or Google Drive.
  2. Lock it from Finder: right-click → Services → Protect with ZapLock.
  3. On the phone, Add Folder… and pick the same folder in the same cloud.
  4. Leave ZapLock running on the Mac. It hands the phone its key.

Need it on the Mac in Preview or Excel? Unlock in place, then lock when you’re done.

Small office · 2–10 people

Client files your team and bookkeeper share

Any platformPersonal or Team
  1. Keep the client folder in a shared Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive folder. Lock it.
  2. In ZapLock, choose Share… and enter each person’s email.
  3. They get it under Shared with you → Accept → Choose Folder… (their synced copy).
  4. Open the folder once on your side so ZapLock can write their keys. A Mac does this by itself.
  5. Someone leaves? Remove them. Their next unlock is refused, and an open copy locks once their device hears.

Personal shares with up to 3 people. Team adds one-click offboarding with re-keying. Tax practice? See the WISP clause.

On the move

A USB drive you carry between Mac and PC

MacWindowsAndroidFree plan
  1. Plug the drive into the Mac or PC, make a folder on it, and Add Folder… to lock it.
  2. Plug it into your other computer, Add Folder…, and pick the same folder.
  3. Give the second computer its key: a Mac hands it over by itself when it next sees the drive; on Windows, unlock the folder there once.
  4. For a big folder, choose Browse Files rather than unlocking it all in place. USB drives are slow to write.
  5. Lock before you unplug.

Lose the drive? What’s on it stays locked. Anyone who finds it needs your sign-in and one of your devices.

Next

Still have a question?

Still stuck? Email support@dasecure.com with your platform, ZapLock version (Settings shows it) and the exact message you saw. We reply within one business day. Never send us a password, a key, or a file from a locked folder. We don’t need them.