If a friend or family member asks to borrow your Mac to quickly check their email or browse the web, handing them your unlocked laptop is a massive privacy risk. They could accidentally delete your files, read your personal messages, or mess up your browser bookmarks. To protect your data while still being helpful, you should enable the built-in Guest User account in macOS.
How to Enable the Guest User
The Guest User is a special, restricted account that prevents the user from making any system changes. Furthermore, the second they log out, every single file they downloaded and website they visited is permanently erased from the hard drive.
- Click the Apple Logo in the top-left corner of the screen.
- Select System Settings… from the dropdown menu.
- Scroll down the left-hand sidebar and click on Users & Groups.
- Under the “Other Users” section, you will see an entry labelled Guest User.
- Click the small Information (i) button next to Guest User. (You may be prompted to enter your administrator password or use Touch ID).
- Toggle the switch labelled Allow guests to log in to this computer to the On position.
- Click Done.
The next time your Mac is on the login screen, a new “Guest User” profile picture will appear next to your own. Anyone can click on it to instantly log in without a password and use Safari in a safe, temporary sandbox environment.