How to delete a user account on your Mac computer (and keep its data)

Meira Gebel

Sep 26, 2019, 23:10 IST

How to delete a user account on your Mac computer (and keep its data)

Reuters/Noah Berger
To delete a user on your Mac, you'll need to do it from your administrator account.

If you share a Mac computer with someone and want to delete a user, you can do so swiftly using the System Preferences menu.
Your Mac can have multiple administrators and dozens of users, and you can keep all their data, even after you delete them.
You have to be an administrator on the computer in question to delete a user on a Mac.
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If you own a Mac, your computer can have multiple administrators, and dozens of users, groups, and guests with varying account privileges and settings.

Adding and removing users on a Mac computer is easy, and can be done through System Preferences in just a few simple steps. But remember: you must be an administrator to do so.

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How to delete a user on a Mac using System Preferences

First of all, make sure you're logged into an administrator account.

1. Click System Preferences from the app menu at the bottom of your screen (the icon resembling silver gears), or open it by clicking the Apple logo in the top-left of your screen and selecting "System Preferences..."

2. Next, find "Users & Groups" in the System Preferences menu (it is an icon depicting two people), or search for it in the search bar at the top.

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Select "Users & Groups."

3. Click the lock at the bottom of the screen to unlock the page. You may need to enter your password to do so.

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Unlock the page to make changes.

4. Select the name of the user you wish to delete.

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Click on the name of the user you wish to delete, and the minus icon.

5. Click the minus icon at the bottom of the menu.

6. A pop-up menu will ask what you want to do with the user's home folder (the folder where all their files are stored, like documents, downloads, and pictures) - you can choose to delete it, save it in a "Deleted Users" folder, or let it remain in the "Users" folder.

7. Once you've chosen an option, select "Delete User."