iPadOS might have become the more interesting operating system in recent years, but it still lacks some basic functions. One of those is the missing multi-user support. That’s why Macs still remain my go-to recommendation for a household. macOS comes with a bunch of impressive features. You get the control center, all new widgets, and support for iMessage effects, and more.  Macs also support multiple user accounts, and if you share your Mac with other people, this is handy. So, if you want to use multiple user accounts on macOS, here are 2 ways to switch users in Mac.

There are a few ways you can use when switching from one user to another. We’ll be discussing all of the ways you can use, and then you can decide for yourself which one suits your needs best.

  • How to Enable Multiple Users and Guest Users
  • Use Fast User Switching
  • Switch Users from Lock Screen
  • Bonus: Switch Users Within Terminal

How to Enable Multiple Users and Guest Users

First, let’s take a quick look at how you can add multiple users on your Mac, and how to enable guest users as well.

  • First we will add new users in Mac settings. Go to System Preferences -> Users & Groups.

Enable Guest User

Use Fast User Switching

Now that we have a couple of accounts on our Mac, let’s take a look at all the ways we can switch users in Mac. First let’s take a look at fast user switching.

This feature basically lets you switch over to a new user without logging out of the account that’s currently logged in. It’s disabled by default, but if you want to use it, you can check out our article on how to enable fast user account switching for a step-by-step guide.

Another way you can switch users in Mac is straight from the lock screen itself. Here’s how to do that.

  • You can now choose which user you want to log in with. Just click on the user name, enter the password and you’re good to go.

This is not exactly a way to completely switch users on a Mac. However, you can use the Terminal to log into another user account on your Mac and access their files if needed.

login [username]

  • Replace [username] with the username of the account you want to switch to. For example, I created a Test User with the username ‘testuser’ above. So I can use the command

login testuser

  • You are now logged into the user account you entered. As you can see in the screenshot, it says ‘testuser@Akshays-MBP’.

So yeah, this isn’t really the same as switching user accounts, but it’s a neat way to take a look at files on another account if you ever need to do that.

Having multiple user accounts is the best way to share a Mac between different users. It ensures that every user gets their own space to work in, and files are not mixed between users. Plus, if you just need to temporarily let a friend or family member use your Mac, you can even use Guest accounts to let them use your Mac without having access to any of your files.