How to remove a user account from your Mac
To delete a user account on your Mac, you open System Settings, navigate to General, then select Users & Groups (or just Users on newer macOS versions), choose the account you want to remove, and click the minus button. The system will ask whether you want to keep or delete the files associated with that account. The whole process takes about two minutes and does not require a restart.
Before you delete an account, understand what happens: if you choose to keep the files, macOS moves them into a folder on your Mac that you can still access later. If you choose to delete the files when ready, they are removed along with the account and cannot be recovered through normal means. Most people choose to keep the files first, then delete them manually later if they are sure they do not need them.
You must be logged in as an administrator to delete any account, including your own. If you are trying to delete the only administrator account on the Mac, the system will not let you — you would need to create a new administrator account first, then delete the original one while logged into the new account.
Key Takeaways
- Open System Settings, go to General, then Users & Groups, select the account, and click the minus button to start the deletion process.
- You must be logged in as an administrator to delete any account on the Mac.
- When deleting an account, choose whether to keep or delete the files associated with it — keeping them is usually safer in case you need them later.
- If you are deleting the only administrator account, create a new administrator account first, then log into it before deleting the original.
- Deleted accounts cannot be recovered, but files kept during deletion remain accessible in a folder you can browse manually.
Step-by-step: deleting a standard user account
Start by clicking the Apple menu in the top-left corner of your screen, then select System Settings. On older Macs running Big Sur or earlier, this is called System Preferences instead — the steps are the same either way.
Once System Settings opens, look for General in the left sidebar and click it. Then find Users & Groups (or Users on macOS Ventura and newer) and click that option. You will see a list of all accounts on your Mac, with a lock icon next to Users & Groups if it is currently locked.
If the lock icon is showing, click it and enter your administrator password when prompted. This unlocks the settings so you can make changes. Once unlocked, click the account you want to delete from the list on the left side.
With the account selected, look for a minus button (−) below the account list. Click it. A dialog box will appear asking what you want to do with the files in that account. Choose "Keep files" to save them in a folder, or "Delete files" to remove them when ready. Most people choose "Keep files" unless they are certain they will never need anything from that account again.
Click the confirmation button, and the account is deleted. You may be asked to enter your administrator password again to confirm. After that, the account no longer appears in the Users & Groups list.
What happens to files when you delete an account
If you chose "Keep files" during deletion, macOS creates a folder called "Deleted Users" in the Users directory on your Mac. Inside that folder, you will find another folder with the deleted account's username, containing all the files that were in the account's home directory — Documents, Downloads, Desktop, and everything else.
You can open this folder and move files out of it just like any other folder on your Mac. This is useful if you realize later that you need something from the deleted account, or if you want to transfer specific files to another account before permanently removing them.
If you chose "Delete files" instead, those files are removed from your Mac when ready. While they are technically not recoverable through normal Mac tools, data recovery software exists that might retrieve them — but this is not may provide and becomes less likely the more you use your Mac after deletion, since new data can overwrite the old space.
Deleting the only administrator account
If the account you want to delete is the only administrator account on your Mac, the system will not let you proceed. You will see a message saying something like "You cannot delete the only administrator account." This is a safety feature to prevent you from locking yourself out of your own Mac.
To work around this, you need to create a new administrator account first. Go back to Users & Groups, click the lock icon to unlock settings if needed, then click the plus button (+) below the account list. Choose "New Account", set the account type to "Administrator", give it a name and password, then click "Create User".
Once the new administrator account exists, log out of your current account and log into the new one. Then go back to Users & Groups, select the original administrator account, and delete it using the minus button. Now you have a working administrator account and the old one is gone.
Deleting your own account
If you want to delete the account you are currently logged into, you cannot do it while you are logged in. You must first create another administrator account or log into an existing administrator account on the Mac.
The easiest way is to create a temporary administrator account, log into it, then delete your original account from there. Once your original account is deleted, you can either keep using the temporary account or delete it as well if you set up a different permanent account first.
If you are the only person using the Mac and you want to delete your current account but keep using the computer, you will need to create a new account before deleting the old one. This means you will have at least two accounts on the Mac for a short time, but you can clean up afterward.
Troubleshooting account deletion problems
If the minus button is grayed out and you cannot click it, the most common reason is that the Users & Groups settings are still locked. Look for the lock icon next to "Users & Groups" at the top of the panel, click it, and enter your administrator password.
If you see a message that says you cannot delete the account because it is in use, make sure you are not logged into that account right now. Log out, log into a different administrator account, then try deleting it again.
If you are trying to delete an account but the system says it is a managed account or linked to iCloud, you may need to remove the iCloud connection first. Go to System Settings, click on the account name at the top of the sidebar, then look for iCloud or Apple ID settings and sign out before attempting deletion.
If you deleted an account and the "Deleted Users" folder does not appear, check that you actually chose "Keep files" during the deletion process. If you chose "Delete files", those files are already gone. You can verify this by opening Finder, clicking on the Users folder in the sidebar, and looking for a Deleted Users folder there.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I recover a deleted account after I remove it?
No, once you delete an account, it cannot be recovered through normal Mac tools. However, if you chose to keep the files during deletion, those files remain on your Mac in the Deleted Users folder and can be accessed. If you chose to delete the files as well, they are gone, though data recovery software might retrieve them in some cases.
What if I forgot the password to the account I want to delete?
You do not need the account's password to delete it. You only need to be logged in as an administrator on a different account. Log into an administrator account, go to Users & Groups, select the account you want to delete, and click the minus button. The system will not ask for that account's password.
Will deleting an account remove my iCloud data?
Deleting a Mac account does not automatically delete your iCloud data. Your iCloud account and files exist on Apple's servers separately from your Mac account. However, if you had iCloud syncing turned on in that account, you may lose access to synced files on that particular Mac. Your iCloud data itself remains safe in your iCloud account.
Can I delete an account without being an administrator?
No, you must be logged in as an administrator to delete any account on a Mac. If you are not an administrator, ask whoever set up the Mac to delete the account for you, or ask them to make you an administrator first.
What is the difference between logging out and deleting an account?
Logging out just signs you out of the account temporarily — the account and all its files remain on your Mac. Deleting an account removes it from the Mac entirely. If you just want to stop using an account for now but might need it later, logging out is the safer choice.