Should I Turn On Filevault Disk Encryption?

When It Makes Sense

• Good fit: You handle sensitive personal or professional data on a Mac that travels frequently (e.g., a laptop used for client work, research, or journalism). Encryption protects the data if the device is lost or stolen.
• Good fit: Your Mac has a solid-state drive (SSD) and you run macOS 10.13 or later, where FileVault’s performance impact is minimal, and you have a reliable backup strategy.

When You Should Avoid It

• Warning sign: You rely on older hardware with limited RAM or a mechanical hard drive, where full‑disk encryption can noticeably slow boot times and disk‑intensive tasks.
• Warning sign: You frequently need to boot from external media for diagnostics or use third‑party tools that are not compatible with an encrypted startup volume.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Protects data at rest: If the Mac is physically compromised, the contents cannot be read without your password or recovery key.
• Transparent to the user: Once enabled, encryption operates in the background with minimal day‑to‑day interaction.

Cons

• Performance overhead: Encryption/decryption consumes CPU cycles, which may affect older Macs or intensive workloads.
• Recovery complexity: Forgetting the password or losing the recovery key can render the data permanently inaccessible.

Decision Checklist

• Do you regularly store confidential or personally identifiable information on this Mac?
• Is your Mac’s hardware modern enough to handle encryption without a noticeable slowdown?
• Do you have a secure method for storing the recovery key and a reliable backup plan?

Alternatives to Consider

If full‑disk encryption feels too heavyweight, you can protect individual files or folders with encrypted disk images, use cloud services that provide end‑to‑end encryption, or enable a simple password lock for the screen saver combined with strong physical security.

Final Recommendation

For most users with recent Macs who handle sensitive data and maintain good backup practices, enabling FileVault is a prudent step. However, if you run older hardware, rely heavily on external boot tools, or cannot guarantee secure storage of recovery credentials, you may want to explore lighter‑weight encryption methods or postpone activation until those concerns are addressed. When in doubt, consult an IT security professional, especially for business or compliance‑driven environments.