How to enable Guest Accounts on a Mac
Written by Brent Sheets
Nov 13
The Guest Account feature in Mac OS X allows Mac users to provide friends and guests with a temporary account having limited access. No password is needed and the Guest Account automatically deletes all information and files when the guest logs out. Here’s how.
Go to and click the small lock icon in the bottom-left corner of the System Preferences window. When the authentication dialog appears, log in as an administrator.
Next, select in the sidebar and check the box labeled, Allow guests to log into this computer.
Mac OS X provides this wording on the Guest Account window:
Enable the guest account so that friends can temporarily log in to your computer. Logging in to the guest account does not require a password. Users cannot log in to the guest account remotely.
When a guest user logs out, all information and files in the guest account’s home folder are deleted.
The Guest Account even offers the option of enabling Parental Controls or allowing access to shared folders.
Now your guests can browse the Web or perform other common tasks on your Mac but you won’t have to worry about anyone accidentally changing your Mac OS X settings or snooping in your private files.
