Mac Won't Allow Admin to Login to Guest Files

Guest User Account in Mac OS X

The Mac includes an optional Invitee User account which is perfect for temporary usage situations like letting your friend or family quickly check their Facebook account and email from your estimator. This is great considering the Invitee Login can be active while your normal user business relationship is too, meaning you tin can apace hand off your Mac to let someone check their e-mail in Guest mode, then return to your work without any of it irresolute or being accessed by the other person.

Though you can disable it, it's best to exit enabled on all Macs, not just for the aforementioned temporary apply scenarios, merely also to be able to track the Mac if information technology's lost or stolen by using Discover My Mac. Nosotros'll focus on setting upward the Guest User business relationship for brusque usage by your friends and family unit, the most probable scenario.

Understand Invitee Account Restrictions

Before standing, it'due south important to empathise the standard Mac Guest Account is limited in a few very specific means:

No files, caches, or passwords are stored longterm – everything is deleted after the guest user has logged out
Using the Guest account does not require a countersign
Application usage and web access tin be controlled through Parental Controls

These are all positive limitations. The lack of storage means temporary usage files and caches won't accept upward unnecessary space on the Mac. Not requiring the guest password ways information technology'll always be easy to login to, plus Find My Mac will track the computer if it becomes lost or stolen. Finally, application and web restrictions are great if you want to go along the Guest account to something like web mail apply, because it'south piece of cake to cake everything else.

If this is too limited and you lot're hoping to setup a more full featured guest login that doesn't have those restrictions or doesn't toss out files and caches, you may desire to consider but adding a consummate new user account to the Mac instead.

Permit'southward assume all is good, so we'll configure the guest login, get in available quickly through a menu particular, and then implement some basic usage restrictions.

How to Setup Guest Business relationship on Mac OS

1: Enable Guest Login

From the  Apple menu, go to Organization Preferences then choose "Users & Groups"
Select "Invitee User" from the sidebar list
Be sure the checkbox next to "Allow guests to log in to this computer" is checked

Enable the Guest Account for the Mac

Now that Guest is enabled, allow's brand it like shooting fish in a barrel to get to and from with Fast User Switching.

2: Enable Fast User Switching Bill of fare

You lot'll desire to enable the Fast User Switching menu so you can quickly go dorsum and forth to (your) normal account and the guest account. Fast User Switching is super piece of cake to use:

Still in System Preferences, go to "Users & Groups"
Click "Login Options", and then click the lock icon to exist able to make changes
Check the box next to "Show fast user switching menu every bit" and pick either "Icon" or "Curt Name"
Ready "Automatic Login" to OFF

Enable Fast User Switching

Y'all can choose "Full Name" too but unless your full name is pretty short, taking up so much space in the menubar with a name has never fabricated much sense.

The reason Automatic Login goes off is and then that if the estimator was stolen or misplaced, a reboot will not automatically login to whatsoever user business relationship. This and then lets someone cull the "Guest" business relationship that doesn't require a password, which and then opens the Mac upward to be found and tracked on a map with Find My Mac, the desktop version of Find My iPhone, and aye, either iOS or Macs can exist tracked and discovered from 1 another.

With the Fast User Switching carte enabled, you'll now see something like this in the corner. Pull that downwards and you can now instantly access the Guest account.

Access Guest Account quickly with Fast User Switching

But before testing out the Guest Business relationship, set a few simple configuration options…

3: Configurations for a Family & Friends Guest Account

Generally speaking, you trust friends and family unit plenty, so you probably don't need to limit their application usage and website access as well much, but there are a few things you should take the time to bank check out

Enable Guest Restrictions

Dorsum in the Users & Groups control console, choose the Guest User business relationship and bank check the box adjacent to "Enable Parental Controls", then click that button to launch into the restrictions panels

Enable restrictions for the Guest Account

Configure Restrictions

First go to the "Apps" tab and determine if you desire to limit app usage or not, if yes, and so check the box next to "Limit Applications" and so only check the apps you want people to be able to use, similar Safari, Pages, Google Chrome, etc. The options for Elementary Finder and Dock Modification are largely necessary because this Invitee account does not salvage files or changes anyway

Limit App Usage for the guest account

Adjacent go to the "Web" tab – without getting overly restrictive you can cull something reasonable similar "Try to limit access to adult websites" option to forbid people from doing anything besides weird on your Mac… do notation these spider web restrictions simply utilize to Safari then you may want to take that exist included in the app limit listing

website limitations for guest accounts

For near uses, skipping "People" and "Time Limits" is fine, but poke around in at that place to see if at that place's something that sounds beneficial
Now go to "Other" to see if in that location'southward anything else worth limiting. If you take a choosy printer (and who doesn't) that is working at the moment , it is highly recommended to choose "Limit printer assistants" to forestall the printer settings from changing at all

Guest restrictions

With configuration set upwardly as desired, shut out of Organization Preferences

You might want to try out the Guest account yourself, pull down the User carte you enabled and switch over to "Guest" and yous tin can exam out the feel. Remember, don't bother to make any changes or adjustments once in the Guest account, because the whole account is imperceptible and nada is saved.

The Mac is Now Gear up for Invitee Use

With everything configured, now you but need to remember to use the guest account when someone asks to use your computer. Someone asks to use your Mac to cheque their e-mail or use facebook? No problem, pull down that Fast User Switching menu item and cull "Guest":

Access Guest account quickly

This is why the Fast User Switching bill of fare is peachy, fast admission, plus it volition continue your electric current business relationship logged in, with all of your apps, windows, documents, everything yet agile, while simultaneously allowing the guest user to login into a dissever area. Don't worry virtually doing this, the Guest User has no admission to your session, your documents, or your individual data.

At present, if only iOS had the same feature… but until and then the just choice on the mobile side is to use Kid Way for iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches, which locks a single specific app onto screen instead.