How to remove a user account from your Mac
To delete a user account on a Mac, open System Settings, go to General, then Users & Groups (or just Users on newer macOS versions), select the account you want to remove, and click the minus button. The system will ask whether you want to keep or delete the account's files. If you choose to delete the files, they are removed from your Mac permanently. If you choose to keep them, macOS saves them in a folder on your drive that you can access later.
You must be logged in as an administrator to delete any user account. If you are not an administrator, you will see a lock icon next to the Users & Groups settings — click it, enter your administrator password, and the controls will unlock. You cannot delete the last administrator account on your Mac, and you cannot delete your own account while you are logged in to it.
Key Takeaways
- Only an administrator can delete a user account, and you cannot delete the account you are currently logged into.
- When you delete an account, macOS asks whether to keep or delete the files — keeping them saves them to a folder you can access later.
- If you forget a user's password, you can reset it from the Users & Groups settings before deleting the account.
- Deleting a user account does not affect other accounts on the Mac or the files stored in other users' folders.
Step-by-step deletion process
Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner and select System Settings. On macOS Ventura and newer, click General in the sidebar, then scroll down and click Users & Groups. On older macOS versions, you may find this in System Preferences under Users & Groups instead.
In the Users & Groups window, you will see a list of all accounts on your Mac. Click the account you want to delete. If the controls are locked (you see a padlock icon), click the lock, enter your administrator password, and click Unlock. Once unlocked, click the minus button below the account list. A dialog box will appear asking what you want to do with the account's files — choose either "Delete the home folder" to remove everything, or "Keep the home folder" to save the files. Click Delete to confirm.
If you want to delete the account but do not remember its password, you can reset it first. Select the account, click the Reset Password button, and follow the prompts. You do not need the old password to set a new one. After resetting it, you can proceed with deletion.
What happens to files when you delete an account
If you choose "Delete the home folder," all files in that user's Documents, Desktop, Downloads, and other personal folders are permanently removed. This includes email stored in Mail, browser bookmarks, and any applications that user installed. The deletion is permanent — you cannot recover these files from Trash afterward.
If you choose "Keep the home folder," macOS moves the entire user folder to a location called Deleted Users on your Mac's main drive. You can still access these files by opening Finder, clicking your drive name in the sidebar, and looking for the Deleted Users folder. From there, you can copy any files you want to keep to another location. This folder remains on your drive until you manually delete it, so it takes up storage space.
When you cannot delete an account
You cannot delete the last administrator account on your Mac. If you have only one administrator account and want to delete it, you must first create a second administrator account, log into that new account, and then delete the original one. To create a new administrator account, go back to Users & Groups, click the plus button, enter the new user's name and password, and change the account type from Standard to Administrator.
You also cannot delete the account you are currently logged into. If you want to delete your own account, you must log out, log into a different administrator account, and then delete your original account from there. If you are the only person with access to the Mac and you are the only administrator, you will need to create a temporary administrator account first.
Removing managed accounts and parental controls
If the account you want to delete is a managed account (one you set up with parental controls), the deletion process is the same, but you should know that removing the account also removes any parental control settings associated with it. If you want to keep the parental control history or settings for reference, take a screenshot or note the details before you delete.
To check whether an account has parental controls, select it in Users & Groups and look for a note that says "Parental Controls" or "Managed." If you want to turn off parental controls without deleting the account, click the account, then look for a Parental Controls or Family settings option depending on your macOS version.
Freeing up storage after deletion
Deleting a user account can free up significant storage space on your Mac, especially if that user had large files, applications, or media libraries. If you chose "Delete the home folder," the space is freed when ready. If you chose "Keep the home folder," the files sit in the Deleted Users folder and still take up space until you manually delete that folder.
To delete the Deleted Users folder and reclaim the space, open Finder, click your drive name in the sidebar, find the Deleted Users folder, right-click it, and select Move to Trash. Empty the Trash afterward to complete the deletion. Before you do this, make sure you have copied any files you wanted to keep to another location, because once you empty Trash, those files cannot be recovered.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I delete a user account if I do not know the password?
Yes. You can reset the password from the Users & Groups settings without knowing the old one. Select the account, click Reset Password, and create a new password. After that, you can delete the account normally. You do not need the old password to remove an account.
What if I delete an account by mistake?
If you chose "Keep the home folder," the files are still on your Mac in the Deleted Users folder and can be recovered. If you chose "Delete the home folder," the files are permanently removed and cannot be recovered. There is no undo option, so check the Deleted Users folder when ready if you think you made a mistake.
Does deleting a user account affect other users on the Mac?
No. Deleting one user account does not change settings, files, or applications for other users. Each account is separate, and removing one has no impact on the others. Other users can continue using the Mac normally.
Can I delete an account that has an active login session?
No. You must log out of the account first, or log into a different administrator account. You cannot delete the account you are currently using. If the account is logged in but you are using a different account, you can still delete it from the Users & Groups settings.
Will deleting a user account remove applications they installed?
Applications installed in that user's home folder will be removed if you delete the home folder. Applications installed in the shared Applications folder (accessible to all users) will remain on the Mac. Most applications are installed in the shared folder, so they typically stay even after you delete a user account.