How to Make Your MacBook Invisible on a Shared Network

Making your MacBook invisible on a shared network can improve your privacy. Even when your MacBook is visible to other users on the same network, they can’t access your files unless you grant access to them. Making your MacBook invisible helps increase your system security and keeps unwanted trespassers at bay.

Follow these steps to make your MacBook invisible on a shared network.

1. Open ‘System Preferences’
Open ‘System Preferences’ from the dock on your MacBook home page. The ‘System Preferences’ settings page will appear. You will see a ‘Sharing’ tag amongst the icons on the screen.
You can also click on the ‘Apple’ logo in the navigation panel at the top of your home screen. Select ‘System Preferences’ from the drop-down list that appears.

2. Click on ‘Sharing’
Click on the ‘Sharing’ icon in ’System Preferences’. The ‘Sharing’ preferences will open.
On the left of the ‘Sharing Preferences’ screen you will see several options for sharing via your MacBook. These include ‘Screen Sharing’, ‘File Sharing’, ‘Remote Login’, ‘Remote Management’, and ‘Internet Sharing’. There is a check box on the left of each of these options.

3. Disable ‘Sharing’
Uncheck the boxes against the ’Screen Sharing’, ‘File sharing’, ‘Remote Login’, ‘Remote Management’, and ‘Internet Sharing’ by clicking on them. Exit the window.

4. ‘Restart’ the system
Click on the ‘Apple’ logo in the navigation panel of your home screen. Click the ‘Restart’ button on the drop-down list that appears, and again in the confirmation message. After your computer boots up, you will no longer be visible to other devices on a shared network.
Restarting makes any already existing process or program terminate, and your Mac will be invisible.

After following all the above steps, you will no longer be visible on a network.