How to Create a Guest User Account on Mac

Computers are a very personal thing today. They store all your private documents, photos, videos, and other data. Thus, giving your Mac password to someone else is never a good idea.

But what if you have to share your Mac with a colleague or friend for some reason? Sharing Mac’s user password can jeopardize your privacy. However, there is a way to protect your data and allow other people to use your Mac without sharing a password.

Mac allows users to create a guest user account to access a device under some restriction. In this post, we will show how to set up a macOS guest user account and why it is useful.

What is a Guest User Account on Mac?

A macOS guest user account is a user account type that allows anyone to access your Mac without a password. These users will not get access to data stored in your user account, nor can they change any admin settings.

If a guest user creates any file or folder on your Mac, it will be immediately removed once they log out. Guest users can also help to find the lost or stolen Mac using Find My Mac.

So, next time when someone borrows your Mac, create a guest user account for them to protect your personal data.

Why Create a Guest User Account on Mac?

Setting a guest user account on Mac can help users in many ways, such as:

Safeguard privacy

Privacy is the foremost reason to create a guest user account on Mac. When a person is logged in as a guest user, they can’t check your browser history, notifications, and other personal data.

Despite the limited access to the main user account, a guest user can perform all the tasks effortlessly on a Mac. However, their data or session history will delete once they are logged out.

Saves disk space

A user account consumes a significant space on your disk. When a user logs off, all the folders and files created by them will remain stored on your shared drive, including temporary files, browser cache, or a particular application data.

However, for guest account users, Mac creates a temporary workspace. Once a guest user logs off, all the data present in the account will be automatically removed.

Better security

Guest account users on Mac have access to the Find My Mac app. This way, you can easily track your Mac when someone creates a new user account and connect it to the internet. It is an additional security layer that Mac offers to its users.

How to Create a Guest Account on Mac

Here are a few simple steps to set up a guest user account on Mac:

Step 1. Go to the Apple symbol located on the top left corner of the Mac screen and choose System Preferences.

Step 2. Click on the Users & Groups and then on lock in the lower-left corner of the screen.

Step 3. If prompted, type your admin password and click on the Unlock button.

Step 4. Simply click on the Guest User and check next to the Allow guests to log into the computer box.

How to Set Up Guest Account Using Parental Controls

If you are creating a guest account for your children on Mac, you can tick the parental controls-related checkbox.

Parental controls will allow you to create a whitelist of applications and websites that your children can use. It can even help you set time limits based on a schedule and prevent users from changing the settings of peripherals like printers or scanners.

Here’s how to set up a guest user account using parental controls:

Step 1. Go to System Preferences > Parental Controls.

Step 2. Click on the lock icon and enter your admin password to unlock.

Step 3. Select the account for which you want to set the restrictions from the following tabs – Apps, Web, Stores, Time, Privacy, and Other.

Let’s Create a Guest User Account on Mac!

It is super easy to create a guest account on Mac with or without parental controls. Just simply head over to System Preferences and create a guest user account. So, next time when you have to share your Mac with a friend or child, simply set up a guest account for them.

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