How can I prevent third-party apps from accessing my personal files ?

[EngineerStrange]

How can I hide my personal files completely in computer so that noone other than me can access them ?

[slickymaster]

Thread reopened

[kc1di]

if you place a . in front of any file name it will be hidden and not show unless you ask the file manager to show hidden files. Hope this helps.
So say you have a file named mystuff in your home directory rename it to .mystuff and it will be hidden.

[ajgreeny]

You need to get to understand unix/Linux permissions, and to simplify things make all your own folders and files unreadable to all except yourself.

Look at all the information at https://help.ubuntu.com/community/FilePermissions as a start, and then come back here again to ask more specific questions if you have any, which I suspect you might have. It may all look very complicated at the beginning but there really is no alternative if you have a need to stop others seeing your data.

Of course, any user who fully understands the Linux filesystem would know how to overcome those limitations added by permissions alone, and if you have real concerns and need total security of all data, encryption is the only foolproof answer, though I will have to leave others to discuss that with you as I have never had a need to use it.

[ajgreeny]

Threads merged as they are simply a rewording of the same question.

Please do not duplicate threads about the same query as it is confusing for all and makes it difficult to see where the discussions are going.

[C.S.Cameron]

You can make an encrypted partition, or put them in an encrypted zip file, 7zip works well for that.

[GhX6GZMB]

Change the permissions in your $HOME directory tree. If you remove all rights from "group" and "others" using chmod, no one except yourself can look at the directories and files. This may bring other problems, though.

[TheFu]

How can I hide my personal files completely in computer so that noone other than me can access them ?

Who are you trying to prevent from gaining access? That more than anything else would determine the steps to be taken. Blocking a 15 yr old is easier than blocking a Unix admin than blocking a nation-state trying to gain access.

in short, the first is 1 simple thing, the 2nd is 15 careful things, and the last is 30 extremely careful things that you cannot screw up any one or they will gain access.
So, what amount of hassle is worth the trouble?
How careful can you be with details?

[EngineerStrange]

Using encryption do you mean that converting it into zip then adding a password?

[TheFu]

Using encryption do you mean that converting it into zip then adding a password?

ZIP encryption is pretty hackable, so that wouldn't be the method used except against a 15 yr old. Because of the way that ZIP passwords are stored, hacking fairly large passwords is easier than for other formats.

When we say encryption, we usually mean dm-crypt + LUKS. The strength is strong, but can be made effectively uncrackable using 2FA with sufficient length and care for about 15-20 details around the use of LUKS. I use LUKS with 2FA and increase my paranoia level when traveling internationally, especially to parts of the world where govts don't provide any viable method to sue and win.