How to let someone use your Mac safely with the Guest User

howtosimply.com/guides/how-to-let-someone-use-your-mac-safely-with-the-guest-user/ · Checked 4 October 2026 · MacBook Pro · macOS Tahoe 26

5 of 6 steps with real screenshots · 2 official sources below

Device

Mac

Shown on

macOS Tahoe 26 (MacBook Pro)

App

System Settings

Real screenshots

5 of 6 steps

Checked

4 October 2026

Sources

2 official, linked below

Step by step

1. 

   Open System Settings, Users & Groups

   Choose Apple menu, System Settings and click Users & Groups in the sidebar.

   Done

2. 

   Click the info button next to Guest User

   It is the small i at the right of the line.

   Done

3. 

   Turn on Allow guests to log in to this computer

   No password is needed for the guest account.

   Done

4. 

   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

5. 

   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

6. 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: Apple menu, System Settings…, Users & Groups, info button next to Guest User, Allow guests to log in to this computer, OK.

📷 Camera Lab: the same 6 scenes photographed with 11 phones, side by side.