Add a user or group on Mac
If your Mac has multiple users, you should set up an account for each person so each can personalize 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 that include the user accounts on your Mac. You must be an administrator of your Mac to perform these tasks.
Add a user
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On your Mac, choose Apple menu
in the sidebar. (You may need to scroll down.) Click the Add User button below the list of users. (You may be asked to enter your password.)
Click the pop-up menu next to New User, 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.
Sharing Only: Sharing-only users can access shared files remotely, but can’t log in to the computer or change settings.
For more information about the options for each type of user, click
in the lower-left corner of the dialog. To give the user permission to access your shared files or screen, you may need to change options in File Sharing, Screen Sharing, or Remote Management settings. See Set up file sharing and Share the screen of another Mac.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.
If you want, further refine what the user can do. Click
next to the user name, then do any of the following:Select “Allow user to reset password using Apple Account.” To use this option, the user must have set up iCloud on this Mac. However, this option isn’t available for the Guest User account, or if FileVault is turned on and set to allow the user to reset their password at startup using their Apple Account.
To make a standard user an administrator, turn on “Allow user to administer this computer.”
For information about Apple’s privacy policy, see the Apple Privacy Policy website.
If your Mac or Magic Keyboard has Touch ID, a new user can add a fingerprint after logging in to the Mac.
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
Click the Add Group button. (You may need to scroll down.)
Give the group a name, then click Create Group.
Click
next to a group, then enable users in the list that appears.
To permit new users to share your files and share your screen, you may need to change options in File Sharing, Screen Sharing, or Remote Management settings.