How to Set Up and Customize the Screen Saver on Your Mac

Pick what you want your Mac to display as your screen saver with the customization options available in macOS.

Adding some personalization, such as a custom wallpaper or screen saver to your Mac, is a nice touch. Fortunately, it’s very easy to set up a screen saver on your Mac, which is activated automatically during a period of inactivity.

Below, we’ll show you how to set up a screen saver on your Mac, customize the patterns, and choose the images you want to feature.

What Is a Screen Saver?

Screen savers are animated images that show up on computer displays after a period of user inactivity. Depending on what you’d like to set up, these can vary from random images to custom text or even a simple clock.

Here’s everything you need to know to set up a screen saver on your Mac.

How to Set Up a Screen Saver on Your Mac

As mentioned above, setting up and customizing your screen saver is pretty straightforward in macOS. So, follow the simple instructions below to get started:

1. Open up System Preferences on your Mac, and go to Desktop & Screen Saver.
2. Select the Screen Saver tab at the top.
3. You’ll see a list of screen saver options on the left. You can choose between different screen saver patterns depending on your preference.

4. Toggle through the Source option on the right to choose the images you’d like to feature on your screen saver. For example, the Choose Folder option can select any folder containing the images.
5. You can specify the time after which you want the screen saver to appear on your display by selecting your desired option at the top.
6. Once you have everything set up, click on Preview on the right pane to see if you like the full-screen view.

That’s it! Your screen saver should now pop up whenever you leave your Mac inactive for a certain period. You can use it along with other customization options on your Mac to make it even more of a pleasure to look at and work with.

How to Password Protect Your Mac When the Screen Saver Is Displayed

You can also choose to require a password to log back into your Mac once your screen saver is displayed. This is a handy feature and can prevent unauthorized access to your Mac.

To password protect your Mac when the screen saver is displayed, open System Preferences, and go to Security & Privacy > General. Enable the Require Password option and set it to Immediately after sleep or screen saver begins.

Using Screen Savers on Your Mac

There you go. Your personalized screen saver should now be available to view whenever your Mac is inactive. Plus, you have control over the time it takes for your screen saver to show up and even have the choice to lock your Mac when it activates. And If you want to customize your Mac more, take it one step further by changing the folder icons in macOS to your liking!