Give everyone their own user account, make the children Standard users, and lock the screen with ⌃⌘Q whenever you step away. Use the Guest User for visitors. For anything that must stay private even from another administrator or someone at your logged-in Mac, use an encrypted disk image, which has its own password.
For step-by-step methods, see how to password-protect a folder on Mac.
On this page
- Every situation at a glance
- The real risk: a logged-in Mac
- Everyone has their own account
- Lock the screen when you step away
- One account for everyone
- Children using your account
- Visitors and guests
- Lending it or sending it for repair
- For what's truly private: a vault
- Which setup suits your family?
- FAQ
Every situation at a glance
Most households are in more than one of these at once. Find your row, then jump to that section.
| Situation | What usually goes wrong | Built-in fix | Truly private files |
|---|---|---|---|
| Everyone has their own accountThe best setup | You walk away still logged in. Another admin can reset your password. | Standard accounts, Lock Screen, Fast User Switching | Encrypted vault |
| One account for everyoneCommon, and leaky | Everyone can open everything. | Hidden album, notes locked with their own password | Encrypted vault |
| Children using your account | Deleted files, purchases, stumbling on things. | Their own Standard account with Screen Time | Lock it before handing over |
| Visitors and guests | Your browser, email and photos are signed in. | Guest User | Guests can't see your files |
| Lending it or a repair | Someone else logs in as you. | Their own account, FileVault, a backup | Locked vaults stay locked |
Scroll sideways on small screens. “Encrypted vault” means an encrypted disk image, made with Disk Utility or an app such as Doghouse.
The real risk: a logged-in Mac
FileVault encrypts your whole disk, and it's worth having on. But it protects the Mac while it's off or at the login screen. Once you log in, every file in your account is open to whoever is at the keyboard.
On a family Mac, that's normal. Someone checks the football results while your email is open. A child finishes homework on your account. A visiting cousin prints a boarding pass. Nobody is snooping, and nobody needs to: the bank statements and medical letters are one click away.
So the fix isn't suspicion. It's three habits: give each person a place of their own, lock your session when you leave it, and put the truly private things behind a separate password.
Everyone has their own account
This is the setup macOS is built around, and it solves most problems by itself. Each person gets their own desktop, documents, photos, browser, email and saved passwords. Other people can read what you put in your Public folder and the Mac's Shared folder, as Apple's file-sharing guide explains, but not your Desktop, Documents, Downloads or other personal folders.
Add a Standard account
- Open Users & Groups. Choose , then click Users & Groups in the sidebar.
- Click the Add User button below the list of users. Enter your own password if asked.
- Choose Standard from the pop-up menu next to New User.
- Enter the person's full name. The account name is filled in automatically.
- Set a password, enter it again to verify, and add a password hint.
- Click Create User. To review what the account can do, click the Info button next to the new name.
Standard or Administrator?
The table below follows Apple's guide to adding users. Make children Standard users. The adults who look after the Mac are usually administrators.
| Can this account… | Standard | Administrator |
|---|---|---|
| Install apps and change its own settings | Yes | Yes |
| Add, remove or change other users | No | Yes |
| Reset another user's login password | No | Yes |
| Open your encrypted vault without its password | No | No |
What another administrator can still do
This is the part people miss. An administrator can reset your login password in Users & Groups and then log in as you. They can also unlock a Standard user's locked screen with their own password, though not another administrator's. That's handy for forgotten passwords, but it means a separate account isn't a lock against the other grown-up who runs the Mac. Anything that must stay private from them belongs in an encrypted vault.
Switch users without logging out
Fast User Switching lets several people stay logged in at once, so handing over the Mac takes seconds. On Tahoe, open , click Fast User Switching and choose how it appears (on Sequoia and earlier, it's in Control Centre settings). Then choose a name from the menu at the top right and enter that person's password. On a Mac with Touch ID, a registered finger switches straight to its owner's account.
Turn off automatic login
If the Mac starts straight into one person's account, anyone who switches it on gets that account. In Users & Groups, set Automatically log in as to Off. It's unavailable anyway when FileVault is on.
Lock the screen when you step away
Separate accounts only help if your session isn't left open. Locking takes a second, and it's the most useful habit on a shared Mac:
-
Keyboard: ⌃⌘Q (Control-Command-Q) locks the screen at once. ⇧⌘Q logs you out after a confirmation. Both are in Apple's shortcut list.
-
Menu or button: choose , or press Touch ID or the Lock key if your Mac or keyboard has one. Apple lists every method.
-
Hot Corner: in , click Hot Corners, choose Lock Screen for one corner and click Done. Flick the pointer into that corner as you stand up.
Make sure the lock asks for a password
Open and set Require password after screen saver begins or display is turned off to Immediately. While you're there, set the display to turn off after a few minutes of inactivity, so a forgotten Mac locks itself. On macOS Monterey and earlier, the password setting is in Security & Privacy.
A locked screen protects your session, not the Mac. Anyone can still restart it and log in to their own account. With separate accounts that's fine — your folders aren't theirs to open.
One account for everyone
Plenty of families run the whole house off one login. It's easy, but there's no privacy at all: everyone sees the same photos, messages, browser history and saved passwords.
The best fix is ten minutes creating an account for each person (see above). Failing that, a few built-in tools help, with one catch: most unlock with the login password everyone already knows.
Photos: the Hidden album
Select a photo and press ⌘L, or Control-click it and choose Hide Photo. Since macOS Ventura the Hidden album is locked behind Touch ID or your login password (choose if it's missing). On a shared account, that keeps photos out of the slideshow, not out of reach.
Notes: lock them with their own password
Select a note, click the More button next to the search field and choose Lock Note. Notes can use your login password or a custom one. On a shared account, choose a custom password in . Locked notes relock when you quit Notes or after a period of inactivity. Shared notes, and notes with PDFs, documents, audio or video attached, can't be locked.
Everything else: a vault
Files are the real gap. Only an encrypted disk image locks them, with a password unrelated to the login — see below.
Children using your account
Most children aren't hunting for your tax return. The real risks are accidents: a folder dragged to the Bin, a message sent from your account, an in-app purchase, or something they weren't ready to see.
Better: their own account with Screen Time
Their own Standard account keeps a child's games, files and browser separate from yours. Then add Screen Time:
- In System Settings, click Screen Time in the sidebar.
- Choose your child from the Family Member pop-up menu. This needs Family Sharing and your Apple Account. Without Family Sharing, log in to the child's account and set up Screen Time there.
- Click Set Up Screen Time For Your Child, click Continue and follow the steps, which include content limits and a four-digit Screen Time passcode. Keep the passcode to yourself.
Afterwards, Content & Privacy in Screen Time controls what they can view, download and buy. For children under 13, the web content filter blocks adult content by default.
If they do use your account
Sometimes it's easier to hand over your Mac for twenty minutes. First lock anything private — eject any encrypted disk image, or lock your vaults — and close Mail and Messages. Once the private things are locked, a few minutes on your account is harmless.
Visitors and guests
For the friend checking a flight or the babysitter printing a ticket, use the Guest User. Guests don't need a password, can't change settings and can't see other users' files. Everything they create is deleted when they log out.
Turn it on in : click the Info button next to Guest User and switch on Allow guests to log in to this computer. There's also a Limit adult websites option. With FileVault on, a guest can only use Safari, which is usually all a visitor wants.
Lending it or sending it for repair
For a longer loan, create the borrower their own Standard account rather than lending yours. For a repair, Apple's advice is to back up first, turn off Find My, and either turn on FileVault or erase the Mac. Have your account name and password ready in case you need to log in at the service desk.
Anyone logged in as you can use your apps, Doghouse included. If Doghouse remembers a vault's password, the vault opens with one click; with Require Touch ID to unlock switched on, macOS still accepts your Mac login password in place of a fingerprint. So if you hand your login password to a repair desk, a remembered vault password is no barrier. Lock every vault before the Mac leaves the house, and for anything sensitive, have Doghouse forget the password and type it yourself.
For what's truly private: an encrypted vault
Accounts, locks and Screen Time are about sharing well. For the few things that must stay private — passport scans, medical letters, finances, a journal, work files — use encryption. An encrypted disk image is a file that opens like a drive once you type its password. It doesn't care whose account is logged in, and no administrator setting opens it.
Built in: Disk Utility
Every Mac can make one with in Disk Utility. Follow our step-by-step method, or the encrypted disk image guide for every setting. Two rules matter on a family Mac:
- Don't tick “Remember password in my keychain”. If you do, the image opens for anyone using your logged-in account (here's where the option appears).
- Eject it when you've finished. Nothing locks it for you, and an unlocked image is as open as any other folder.
Doghouse: vaults that lock themselves
The weak spot on a shared Mac is forgetting to lock. Doghouse makes the same Apple encrypted disk images and locks them for you: when the screen locks, when the Mac sleeps, after 15 minutes idle (you can change it), or all at once with the panic shortcut ⌃⌥⌘L. You can save the password in Keychain and require Touch ID before Doghouse uses it, so someone at your unlocked Mac can't open the vault without your fingerprint or your Mac password. Unlocked contents stay out of Spotlight.
If Doghouse ever disappeared, Disk Utility could still open every vault with its password.
Which setup suits your family?
Everyone can have their own login
Separate accounts, with children as Standard users
One shared login, and that won't change
A vault for files, plus notes locked with their own password
The kids use the Mac for homework and games
Their own Standard account with Screen Time
Visitors now and then need a browser
The Guest User
You often walk away mid-task
⌃⌘Q or a Lock Screen hot corner, and vaults that lock with the screen
Something must stay private from everyone, other admins included
An encrypted vault: Disk Utility or Doghouse
Frequently asked questions
Can other users on my Mac see my files?
Not if they log in to their own accounts. They can read your Public folder and the Mac's Shared folder, but not your Desktop, Documents, Downloads or other personal folders. An administrator can still reset your password and log in as you, so keep anything truly private in an encrypted disk image.
How do I stop my kids seeing my files on the Mac?
Give each child their own Standard account and set up Screen Time for them. Lock your screen with Control-Command-Q whenever you step away. If they sometimes use your account, keep private files in an encrypted disk image and lock it before you hand the Mac over.
Can an administrator see my files on a Mac?
An administrator can reset your login password in Users & Groups and then log in as you, so a separate account won't keep you private from another admin. An encrypted disk image is different: it has its own password, and no admin setting opens it.
Is the Guest User safe for visitors?
Yes. Guests log in without a password, can't change settings or see other users' files, and everything they create is deleted when they log out. If FileVault is on, guests can only use Safari.
Is the Hidden album in Photos private?
It's locked, but with Touch ID or your Mac login password. That keeps hidden photos out of casual view, but anyone who knows your login password can open it, so it isn't private on a shared account. With iCloud Photos, photos you hide are hidden on your other devices too.
What's the quickest way to lock my Mac?
Press Control-Command-Q, choose Apple menu › Lock Screen, or press Touch ID if your Mac has it. Then, in System Settings › Lock Screen, set Require password after screen saver begins or display is turned off to Immediately, so the lock always asks for a password.
About this guide
Written by the Doghouse team at Sprout Media in Dublin. We make Doghouse, a Mac app for password-protected folders. Steps are checked against Apple's documentation for macOS Tahoe 26, and older menu names are noted where they differ.
Published · Last updated . Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
Sources
- Add a user or group on Mac — Apple Support
- Reset login passwords on Mac — Apple Platform Support
- Share files with others who use your Mac — Apple Support
- Switch quickly between users on Mac — Apple Support
- How to log in automatically to a Mac user account — Apple Support
- Mac keyboard shortcuts — Apple Support
- Lock the screen of your Mac — Apple Support
- Use hot corners on Mac — Apple Support
- Require a password after waking your Mac — Apple Support
- Change Lock Screen settings on Mac — Apple Support
- Hide photos with the Hidden album — Apple Support
- Lock your notes on Mac — Apple Support
- Set up Screen Time for a child on Mac — Apple Support
- Set up content and privacy restrictions in Screen Time — Apple Support
- Change Guest User settings on Mac — Apple Support
- Protect data on your Mac with FileVault — Apple Support
- Get your Mac ready for service — Apple Support