How to Delete a User on a Mac

Delete unnecessary users on your Mac.
2 minutes

Sometimes it is necessary to create a temporary new user on your Mac, so that whoever needs to use your Mac can do so without facing the limits and restrictions of a Guest User. Once your family member, friend, or child is done using that user, however, you are left with the extra user on your Mac until you delete it.

That doesn't sound like a big deal, but users take up space on your Mac, so if you are having storage issues on your Mac or want to avoid storage issues in the future, it's a good idea to delete the new user you created, saving space on your Mac.

In this guide, I show you how to delete an unnecessary user from your Mac to save space.

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Click the Apple Logo

First, click the Apple logo in the upper left-hand corner.

Select "System Preferences"

Select "System Preferences" from the drop-down.

Click "Users & Groups"

Next, click "Users & Groups."

Click the Lock

Select the lock in the lower left-hand corner of the window.

Enter Your Password

Enter your user password. Remember, your user password and Apple ID password aren't the same. Your user password is the password you use to log in to the Mac.

Select the User

Now, select the user you want to delete from the left hand side of the window.

Click the "-"

Select the "-" to remove that user.

Delete the User and Data

Next, you will be given a few options to select from.

  1. Save the home folder in a disk image- this saves the home folder and any data in that folder for later access, though I would discourage this. It takes up space on your Mac. Simply consider backing up whatever user you are going to delete before deleting.
  2. Don't change the home folder- this keeps that user's home folder as is. I would not recommend this options, and, again, recommend simply backing up any data you want from that user before deleting it.
  3. Delete the home folder- this option deletes the home folder and data so it isn't taking up space on the Mac. I recommend this option, as long as you saved any data you wanted from that user and understand all the data from it would be gone.

After you select the best option for you, click "Delete User."

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20 minutes

Anyone who has ever had a computer, smartphone, or other techy gadget, knows storage can often be an issue in maintaining those devices.