howtosimply.com/guides/how-to-let-someone-use-your-mac-safely-with-the-guest-user/ · Checked October 2026 · MacBook Pro · macOS Tahoe 26

In this guide

Open System Settings, Users & Groups
Click the info button next to Guest User
Turn on Allow guests to log in to this computer
Choose the extras
Switch to the guest
When the guest is done
Good to know
Sources

Quick answer

Open System Settings, click Users & Groups and click the info button next to Guest User. Turn on Allow guests to log in to this computer. A guest logs in without a password, cannot see your files or change settings, and everything they did is deleted when they log out.

5 of 6 steps with real screenshots · 1 official source below

Device: Mac
Shown on: macOS Tahoe 26 (MacBook Pro)
App: System Settings
Path: System Settings › Users & Groups
Real screenshots: 5 of 6 steps
Checked: October 2026
Sources: 1 official, linked below

Step by step

Zoomed in on the setting. Tap to see the whole screenTap the picture to see it full size
Open System Settings, Users & Groups
Choose Apple menu, System Settings and click Users & Groups in the sidebar.
Done
Zoomed in on the setting. Tap to see the whole screenTap the picture to see it full size
Click the info button next to Guest User
It is the small i at the right of the line.
Done
Zoomed in on the setting. Tap to see the whole screenTap the picture to see it full size
Turn on Allow guests to log in to this computer
No password is needed for the guest account.
Done
Zoomed in on the setting. Tap to see the whole screenTap the picture to see it full size
Choose the extras
Limit adult websites filters many adult sites in Safari. Allow guest users to connect to shared folders is only needed if the guest should reach shared folders on this Mac from another computer. Leave it off otherwise.
Done
Tap the picture to see it full size
Switch to the guest
Choose Apple menu, Log Out, or use fast user switching in Control Center, and pick Guest User in the login window.
Done
When the guest is done
The guest logs out, and the Mac deletes the guest's files, browser history and downloads. Anything worth keeping has to be saved elsewhere first, for example on a USB stick.
Done

About this guide

When a friend wants to check their email or a child wants to look something up, handing over your own account means handing over your mail, photos and saved passwords. The Guest User is a clean, temporary account made for this.

Menu names are from recent versions of macOS, where the settings app is called System Settings.

Good to know

With FileVault switched on, a guest can only use Safari and cannot reach the encrypted disk or create files. For a quick look at a website, that is all they need.

The guest account also helps to get a stolen Mac back. A finder who logs in as a guest and goes online with Safari lets the Mac report its position to Find My: how to turn on Find My Mac.

For someone who uses the Mac regularly, such as a family member, a normal account of their own is better: how to add a user account on a Mac.

What FileVault is: how to turn on FileVault on a Mac.

In short: System Settings, Users & Groups, info button next to Guest User, Allow guests to log in. Guest files are deleted at logout.

Sources