Set up users, guests and groups on Mac
If your Mac has multiple users, you should set up an account for each person so each can personalise settings and options without affecting the others. You can let occasional users log in as guests without access to other users’ files or settings. You can also create groups. You must be an administrator of your Mac to perform these tasks.
Add a user
On your Mac, choose Apple menu
> System Preferences, then click Users & Groups.Click the lock icon
to unlock it, then enter an administrator name and password.Click the Add button
below the list of users.Click the New Account pop-up menu, then choose a type of user.
Administrator: An administrator can add and manage other users, install apps and change settings. The new user you create when you first set up your Mac is an administrator. Your Mac can have multiple administrators. You can create new ones, and convert standard users to administrators. Don’t set up automatic login for an administrator. If you do, someone could simply restart your Mac and gain access with administrator privileges. To keep your Mac secure, don’t share administrator names and passwords.
Standard: Standard users are set up by an administrator. Standard users can install apps and change their own settings, but can’t add other users or change other users’ settings.
Managed with Parental Controls: Users who are managed with parental controls can access only the apps and content specified by the administrator managing the user. The administrator can restrict the user’s contacts and website access, and place time limits on computer use.
Sharing Only: Sharing-only users can access shared files remotely, but can’t log in to or change settings on the computer. To give the user permission to access your shared files or screen, you may need to change settings in the File Sharing, Screen Sharing or Remote Management pane of Sharing preferences. See Set up file sharing and Share the screen of another Mac.
For more information about the options for each type of user, click the Help button in the lower-left corner of the dialogue.
Enter a full name for the new user. An account name is generated automatically. To use a different account name, enter it now — you can’t change it later.
Enter a password for the user, then enter it again to verify. Enter a password hint to help the user remember their password.
Click Create User.
Depending on the type of user you create, you can also do any of the following:
For an administrator, select “Allow user to administer this computer”.
For a child or other managed user, select “Enable parental controls”. Click Open Parental Controls, then set up restrictions for the user. See Set up parental controls.
Use Sharing preferences to specify whether the user can share your files and share your screen.
If your Mac has Touch ID, a new user can add a fingerprint after logging in to the Mac. The user can then use Touch ID to unlock the Mac and password-protected items, and purchase items from the iTunes Store, App Store and Apple Books using their Apple ID. See Use Touch ID.
Create a group
A group allows multiple users to have the same access privileges. For example, you can grant a group specific access privileges for a folder or a file, and all members of the group have access. You can also assign a group specific access privileges for each of your shared folders.
On your Mac, choose Apple menu
> System Preferences, then click Users & Groups.Click the lock icon
to unlock it, then enter an administrator name and password.Click the Add button
below the list of users.Click the New Account pop-up menu, then choose Group.
Give the group a name, then click Create Group.
Select each user and group you want to add to the new group.
Use Sharing preferences to specify whether the group members can share your files and share your screen.
Convert a standard or managed user to an administrator
On your Mac, choose Apple menu
> System Preferences, then click Users & Groups.Click the lock icon
to unlock it, then enter an administrator name and password.Select a standard user or managed user in the list of users, then select “Allow user to administer this computer”.
Let occasional users log in as guests
You can let other people use your Mac temporarily as guest users without adding them as individual users. You can use parental controls to set restrictions so guests can access only items that you want to share.
Guests don’t need a password to log in.
Guests can’t change user or computer settings.
Guests can’t log in remotely when remote login is turned on in Sharing preferences.
Files created by a guest are stored in a temporary folder, but that folder and its contents are deleted when the guest logs out.
Guest access works with the Find My Mac feature of iCloud to help you find your Mac if you lose it. You can locate your Mac if someone finds it, logs in as a guest, and then uses Safari to access the Internet. See Use Find My Mac to locate a missing Mac.
Note: If FileVault is turned on, guests can only use Safari and can’t access your encrypted disk or create files.
On your Mac, choose Apple menu
> System Preferences, then click Users & Groups.Click the lock icon
to unlock it, then enter an administrator name and password.Select Guest User in the list of users.
Select “Allow guests to log in to this computer”.
If you like, select “Enable parental controls”, then click Open Parental Controls. See Set up parental controls.
To let guests use your shared folders from another computer on the network, select “Allow guest users to connect to shared folders”.
Customise the login experience
If you are an administrator, you can specify how the login window looks to all the other users.
On your Mac, choose Apple menu
> System Preferences, click Users & Groups, then click Login Options.Click the lock icon
to unlock it, then enter an administrator name and password.Click the “Automatic login” pop-up menu, then choose a user or choose Off.
If you choose a user, then whenever the Mac starts up, that user is automatically logged in. If you choose Off, then at startup the Mac opens a login window showing all the users. Automatic login takes effect the next time you restart the Mac.
Note: Automatic login allows anyone to access your Mac simply by restarting it. If automatic login is enabled, make sure your Mac doesn’t automatically log in an administrator. When FileVault is turned on, automatic login is disabled.
Select the options you want. If you have any questions, click the Help button
for detailed information.
To permit new users to access your shared files or screen, you may need to change settings in the File Sharing, Screen Sharing or Remote Management pane of Sharing preferences. See Set up file sharing and Share the screen of another Mac.
Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Sharing.