Password-protect folders on Windows
Drop a folder on the window and type a password twice. It disappears from Explorer and Windows refuses to open it, or, with Encrypt, every file is scrambled with AES-256. A recovery key means a forgotten password never means lost files.
The problem
A "locked" folder that's only hidden. A forgotten password that means lost photos. A Windows update that breaks the lock. Shared PCs deserve better.
Plenty of lockers have no way back: one forgotten password and the folder is gone for good.
Some apps just hide the folder and call it locked. Turn on hidden files and there it is.
Lockers built on kernel drivers can stop working, or stop unlocking, after a Windows update.
Remove some lockers and the folders are suddenly open, or deleted along with the app.
Subscriptions and upsells, sometimes even to unlock what you already locked.
Windows has no two-click way to put a password on a single folder for the people who share your PC.
Vow Folder Locker fixes all of it.
How it works
Two clicks to lock, one to unlock, and a recovery key so you are never shut out.
Drag it onto the window, press Ctrl+O, paste it, or right-click it in Explorer and choose Lock with Vow Folder Locker.
Type it twice, with a strength meter and an optional hint. Choose Lock for instant privacy, or Encrypt for files that must stay secret.
It is shown once: copy it or save it as a text file. It unlocks the folder if the password is ever forgotten.
Features
For families sharing one PC, colleagues sharing a desk, and anyone carrying files on a USB stick.
Encrypt scrambles every file with its own key and hides file names and sizes, unreadable even from another PC or a USB-booted system.
Instant at any size: the folder gets a hidden name and Windows refuses to open it for Explorer, apps, search and other accounts.
A 160-bit recovery key unlocks the folder if the password is forgotten. Make a new one any time with the password.
Lock again after 5 minutes to 4 hours, when Windows locks, on sleep, when the PC is idle or when the app closes.
Lock every folder at once from anywhere in Windows, or press Lock all (Ctrl+L) in the app.
Lock folders on USB sticks and memory cards (FAT and exFAT ones are encrypted). They unlock on any PC with the app.
After 3, 5 or 10 wrong tries a folder waits 30 seconds, doubling up to 15 minutes, and Activity logs every try.
Change the password or make a new recovery key without re-encrypting a single file.
Find folders locked on another PC, on a USB drive or by an earlier install, and unlock them here.
No kernel driver to break on Windows updates, and uninstalling never touches your folders: locked ones stay locked.
Light & dark theme
Folder Locker comes with a crisp light theme and a calm dark theme. Switch with one click, or let it follow your Windows setting by itself. It remembers your choice.
Screenshots
Real screenshots of the real app, in both of its themes: 6 light, 6 dark. Click any picture to see it full size.
Light theme
Dark theme
Who it's for
Keep tax papers, health records or gift plans away from kids and visitors who share the computer.
Lock HR files or client folders when someone else sits at your PC.
Encrypt a folder on a stick so a lost drive doesn't mean exposed files.
Keep personal pictures out of Explorer, Windows search and recent files.
Encrypted folders stay unreadable even if the laptop is stolen and its drive is taken out.
With a recovery key, a forgotten password is an inconvenience, not a disaster.
Compare
Where the usual folder lockers cut corners, and what you get instead.
| Feature | Vow Folder Locker | Typical folder lock apps |
|---|---|---|
| Forgotten password | A recovery key for every folder | Often means lost files |
| Real encryption | AES-256-GCM, names and sizes hidden | Often just hiding |
| Honest about what "lock" means | Says plainly when to use Encrypt | Rarely |
| Kernel driver to break on updates | None | Common |
| After uninstalling | Folders stay locked, unlock on reinstall | Can be exposed or deleted |
| Unlocking your own folders | Always free | Sometimes behind an upsell |
| Price | Free for 1 folder, or $4.95 once | Subscriptions and upsells |
| Ads and bundled extras | None, ever | Common on free lockers |
"Typical" describes what we found across the most-downloaded alternatives when we built Folder Locker. Your mileage with any one of them may vary; ours won't.
Pricing
That is not a typo. Software this powerful usually means a monthly subscription; Folder Locker is $4.95, once, for life: it's almost a giveaway. Use it free for as long as you like, and unlock Unlimited only if you need more.
1 folder locked and hidden, unlocking always free.
Almost a giveaway. Less than a coffee for software this powerful: no subscription, no renewals, yours for life on 2 PCs.
Any number of folders, AES-256 encryption, auto-lock, USB drives.
Payments by Stripe: we never see or store your card. Questions? Ask a real person.
Clean software
Most "free" Windows downloads pay for themselves with ads, bundled extras or your data. Vow Folder Locker doesn't need to: it's paid for honestly, once, by the people who find it useful.
Download Folder Locker freeStep-by-step guide
Lock a folder in under a minute, with no account and nothing uploaded.
Step 1: get it freeDownload it from this page and run the installer. It needs no administrator rights and no account, and can add Lock with Vow Folder Locker to Explorer's folder menu.
Drag the folder in, press Ctrl+O, or right-click it in Explorer. System folders, drive roots and your top user folders are refused, so nothing important gets locked by mistake.
Watch the strength meter and add a hint if you like (anyone who tries can see it). Choose Encrypt or Lock, then press the button.
Copy it or save it as a text file and keep it away from this PC: on paper, as a photo on your phone or in a password manager. Tick the box and press Done.
Press Unlock beside the folder and type the password, or switch to the recovery key. Lock it again with one click: locking never needs the password.
Technical details
FAQ
Yes. You can protect one folder, hidden and blocked, and unlock and lock it again as often as you like, free. Unlocking is always free for any folder on any PC. Unlimited, a one-time $4.95 USD payment, adds any number of folders, AES-256 encryption, auto-lock and USB drives.
Lock is instant at any size: the folder gets a hidden name and Windows refuses to open it for Explorer, apps, search and other accounts. Someone with admin skills could get around it, so for files that must stay secret use Encrypt, which scrambles every file with AES-256-GCM so it can't be read without your password, even from another PC.
Use the recovery key every folder gets when it is protected. It is shown once, so copy it or save it as a text file and keep it somewhere safe. With the password you can also make a new recovery key at any time.
Every file has its own key and is encrypted with AES-256-GCM in 1 MiB chunks that carry their position and a last-chunk flag, so no reordering, dropping or truncation goes unnoticed. The folder's private key is sealed with AES-256-GCM under a key made from your password with PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 at 600,000 rounds. File names and sizes are hidden too.
Yes. Install Vow Folder Locker there, use Find locked folders or drop the folder on the window, and unlock it with the password or the recovery key. Unlocking is free on every PC.
Nothing. Uninstalling never touches folders: locked ones stay locked and unlock again after reinstalling, on any PC.
Every folder gets a recovery key, Encrypt is real AES-256-GCM and Lock is described honestly, there is no kernel driver to break on Windows updates, folders survive an uninstall, unlocking is free forever, and Unlimited is one $4.95 payment.
Yes. It is made and published by XTO Pty Ltd, an Australian company. There are no ads, no bundled software and no driver, it installs per user without administrator rights, and it uninstalls cleanly from Windows Settings without touching your folders.
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Same design, same promises, a tiny one-time price. Learn one and you already know them all.
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Password-protect a folder in two clicks, with a recovery key. Free to use every day, $4.95 once if you ever want Unlimited.
