I see there’s some older posts with this question but wanted to ask it for the latest iteration of the app.
Is there a way to password protect a Scrivener file?
I have nothing more to add to what was said at the conclusion of the other thread, other than to point out that it’s a bit peculiar to make a new thread when another was locked specifically because we had already said “no” so many times. 
But in case you mean this more in the general sense of how can I do it anyway (rather than please add it), then do have a read through that thread as there are a number of answers given (and I believe elsewhere). Indeed the ease with which it is possible to password protect your device, your account on that device, encrypt your data (and even the whole machine up to the boot loader in some cases) and down to individual files and folders within that machine, in a portable fashion—all of that is why we’ve never seriously considered adding this.
All of these methods have nothing to do with Scrivener though, so if you don’t find something satisfactory there, it’s a good idea to broaden your search for general purpose queries on the matter. The methods you would take to protect one Scrivener project are identical to what you would use to protect any folder of files, and there are dozens of software vendors and developers out there make tools for that, from free (even provided with the OS in the case of Mac) on up to very expensive.
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I searched and found older threads and didn’t see anything recent. Didn’t realize it was a point of frustration.
Sorry.
Oh no worries, sorry if I read you wrong. I might have flipped a couple of words in your query when I read it; i.e. ‘…ask for it…’ instead.
To my knowledge nothing groundbreaking or new has happened in the past couple of years, in this area, other than the continued increase in software that helps people encrypt files or folders. Even though the ability to encrypt our systems is now ubiquitous on every major operating system and most handheld devices, easy and high-performance, there is still a need for being able to send data across unprotected media or through unsafe methods such as email.
Those methods are not likely to change frequently as they have a pretty simple requirement on both ends of the process (what we want as humans, and what it takes to do it with software). What will continue to advance is the sophistication of the encryption.
Two tips to be aware of, specific to Scrivener’s own internal mechanisms and workings:
- Use
Project ▸ Project Settings..., click on the Backup tab, and ensure that this project’s automated backups are either turned off, or go to a similarly protected location. This is less important if the primary need for encryption is safe transfer across different machines (so long as each machine is itself encrypted with File Vault or whatever). original project to the same encrypted vault is asking to lose everything. - Scratch Pad should be avoided for anything sensitive, unless you take similar measures with where those files are stored (in General: Scratch Pad settings).
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