How to Delete a User on Mac

How to Delete a User on Mac. mac delete user.

If you just got a Mac or have been using it for a while, you are most likely using an administrator account. In most cases, your Mac is only used by you, so you don’t need to create another user account.

However, if you are sharing your Mac with other users, there are several reasons why you might want to get rid of these additional accounts.

For example, you can delete a user on your Mac to:

• free up valuable disk space;
• prevent other users from accessing your Mac
• Prepare your Mac when you want to dispose of or sell it.
• Troubleshooting common problems

Whether you want to tidy up your computer, or you’ve shared it with someone and want to prevent them from further access, we’ll show you how to delete a user on Mac quickly and easily.

How to Delete a User on Mac

If this is your first time setting up your Mac, Setup Assistant will automatically create an administrator account.

This account has privileges that allow it to change the operating system, including installing applications, adding different types of user accounts, and accessing critical areas of your Mac that other account types cannot.

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Other types of accounts include:

• Standard Account: Ideal for troubleshooting when your Mac is unstable, shows a deadly spin, or when Safari crashes or slows down.
• Guest Account: Gives temporary access to other users without a password. As soon as users log out, all information in their home folder is permanently deleted from your Mac.

While you can remove both standard and guest user accounts on a Mac, you cannot remove an administrator account without accessing an additional administrator account.

But before you delete a user account on a Mac, be sure to save any important documents stored in that account in the cloud or on an external USB drive.

Delete a Standard or Guest User on Mac

If you are an administrator, you can delete other users on your Mac along with user groups that you don’t need.

1. Choose Apple menu> System Preferences.

1. Then select Users and Groups.

1. Click the lock icon in the lower left corner of the Users & Groups screen and enter your administrator password to unlock the settings panel.

1. Then select the user or group you want to remove, and then select Remove (minus sign) under Login Options.

Note. You cannot select the users who are currently logged in on your Mac.

1. Select one of the following options:

• Keep home folder in disk image: User information and documents are archived in / Users / Deleted Users / so the user can be restored later if needed.
• Do not change home folder: Leaves the user’s home folder as is, without deleting their documents and information.
• Remove Home Folder: Removes the user’s home folder from the Mac along with all user information and frees up storage space.

Note. For a shared-only user, there is no home folder associated with it.

1. Select Remove User.

1. Repeat these steps for guest user accounts, or simply disable the Guest option by unchecking the Allow guests to log on to this computer check box. You can always turn on the guest account later by checking the box again when you’re ready to share your Mac with other users.

1. Click the padlock again to lock it and close the Users and Groups window.

Restore a Deleted User on a Mac

If you accidentally deleted a user on your Mac, you can restore it. However, this will depend on how they were removed.

For example, if you select “Save home folder as disk image” or “Do not change home folder”, you can restore the deleted user. Otherwise, their documents and information will be deleted when deleted.

Recovering a user whose home folder was saved as a disk image

You can restore a deleted user if you saved their home folder as a disk image during the deletion.

1. Select Go> Go To Folder.

1. Enter / Users / Remote Users.

1. Select Go.

1. Open the disk image (DMG) file for the remote user’s home folder. The file starts with their name, for example, alexia.dmg. The contents of the folder will open in a new window.

1. Select File> New Finder Window.

1. Double-click the Users folder at the bottom of the new Finder window to open it.

1. Press and hold the Option key on your keyboard while dragging the remote user’s DMG file icon to the Users folder.

1. Enter your password to continue. The home folder has now been copied to the Users folder.

1. Choose Apple Menu> System Preferences> Users & Groups.

1. Then select the padlock icon and enter your password to unlock the settings panel.

1. Select the Add (+) icon under Login Options in the lower-left corner of the Users & Groups screen.

1. Then select “New Account” and then select a user type.

1. Enter the full username – the same name as the restored home folder.

1. Enter your password in the Password and Confirm fields and add a hint to help you remember your password later.

1. Select New User and then select Use Existing Folder.

Recover deleted user from home folder

If you’ve saved the deleted user’s home folder, you can restore their profile on your Mac by following these steps.

1. Select Go> Go To Folder.

1. Log in to / Users / Deleted Users and select Go.

1. Find the home folder of the remote user and double-click the remote account disk image, such as Alexia.dmg, to open it.

1. Select Go> Go To Folder> / Users.

1. Press and hold the Option key while dragging the remote user’s disk image icon to the Users folder.

1. Enter your admin password to continue. The remote user’s home folder will be copied to the Users folder.

1. Choose Apple menu> System Preferences> Users & Groups.

1. Then select the padlock icon and enter your admin password to unlock the settings panel.

1. Select Add (+) under Login Options.

1. Then select “New Account” and then select a user type.

1. Enter the full username and use the same name in the Account Name field as for the restored home folder. For example, if the name of your home folder is Alexia, enter that name in the account name field.

1. Then enter the user’s password in the Password and Confirm fields, and then add a hint to help you remember your password later.

1. Select New User> Use Existing Folder.

Note. If you selected the Delete Home Folder option during uninstallation, you cannot recover the user account using the steps above. This is because it deletes the user’s home folder, documents, and all their information. However, you can use a Time Backup machine to restore your account.

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Delete Those Extra Mac Accounts 

You can have multiple user accounts on your Mac, just like Windows and Linux operating systems, where they can keep their settings and files separate. When you’re ready to remove these users from your Mac, just follow the instructions above.

If you have a Windows PC, refer to our guides on how to delete a user profile in Windows 10 and how to fix a corrupted user profile in Windows 10 to help you manage user accounts.

Leave a comment below and let us know if this guide was helpful.

How to Delete a User on Mac

How to Delete a User on Mac

mac delete user

mac delete user