Mac Inside & Out · System Settings & Accounts · Lesson 3 of 5

Users, Admins and Sharing a Mac

Give each person their own account and the right amount of control.

Who gets which kind of account

When several people share a Mac, each person should have their own user account. That is their own sign-in, with their own desktop, files, settings and passwords. Nobody sees anyone else's things by accident.

You manage accounts in System Settings, in Users & Groups. Adding a new user needs an admin password.

You already met this idea on Windows, where admin and standard accounts work much the same way. Here is how the Mac names them:

• An Admin account can install apps, change settings for everyone, and add or remove users. The first account made on a Mac is always an admin.
• A Standard account can use apps, save files and change its own settings. For bigger changes, the Mac asks for an admin's name and password.

A good rule is one admin per grown-up who looks after the Mac. Give everyone else, especially children, a Standard account. That way a pop-up can't trick them into installing something harmful, because they don't have the password.

The Guest User is for a visitor who needs the Mac for a short time, like checking email. It has no password. A guest can't change settings or see other users' files.

There is a catch. Anything a guest saves is deleted when they log out. Tell guests to email or copy anything they want to keep before they leave.

To turn on the guest account, open Users & Groups and click the Info button next to Guest User.

Screen Time and switching users

Screen Time shows how much time is spent in each app and website. It also lets a parent set limits for a child. You find it in System Settings.

The easiest setup uses Family Sharing, Apple's way to link family members' Apple Accounts. When a child is in your family group, you can manage their Screen Time from your own Mac or iPhone.

Useful Screen Time settings for kids:

• Downtime sets quiet hours, like bedtime. Only apps you allow will work.
• App Limits set a daily time limit for a kind of app, such as games.
• Content & Privacy blocks adult websites and limits what can be bought or downloaded.
• Communication Limits let you choose who the child can call or message.

Set a Screen Time passcode that only grown-ups know, so a child can't simply turn the limits off.

Fast User Switching lets a second person sign in without the first person logging out. Your apps and windows stay open in your account, locked behind your password. When you switch back, everything is just as you left it.

To use it, search fast user switching in System Settings and choose to show it in the menu bar or Control Center. Then click it and pick a name.

One tip: every account still running uses some of the Mac's memory. If the Mac feels slow, ask others to log out when they are done.