Delete a user account from your Mac

Why it happens

Accounts stay on a Mac, with all their files, until an administrator removes them. You can only delete an account while that person is logged out, and never the only administrator. Their home folder holds all their documents, so your Mac asks what to do with it first.

How to fix it

1. Make sure the person whose account you're removing is logged out. If you're not sure, restart the Mac and don't let them sign in.

2. Sign in to an administrator account, open the Apple menu, choose System Settings and click Users & Groups.

3. Click the ⓘ next to the account, then click Delete User… at the bottom of the panel.

   Users & Groups›ⓘ›Delete User

4. Choose what happens to their files. Save the home folder in a disk image keeps a copy in the Deleted Users folder inside the Users folder. Don’t change the home folder leaves it where it is. Delete the home folder erases their files.

5. Click Delete User and type your admin password if asked. The account disappears from the list.

Deleting works the same on macOS 26 and 27. The only difference here: on macOS 27 the button to reset another user's password reads Reset… instead of Reset Password….

Still not fixed?

1. If your Mac asks for that user's own password and nobody knows it, reset it first with Reset Password… in the same ⓘ panel, then try again.

   macOS 26 Tahoe Users & Groups›ⓘ›Reset Password…

   macOS 27 Golden Gate Users & Groups›ⓘ›Reset…

2. Told you can't delete the only administrator? Make another account an admin first by turning on Allow this user to administer this computer for it.

   Users & Groups›ⓘ›Allow this user to administer this computer

3. If it says the user is still logged in, restart the Mac and delete the account before anyone signs in to it.

4. Need the saved files later? Open your startup disk in Finder, then Users and Deleted Users, and double-click the disk image to open it.

5. If Delete User… stays greyed out after a restart, or you get an error, contact Apple Support. On a school or work Mac, ask whoever manages it first.