Setting up User Groups for Multiple User Accounts on One Mac

How to create a group account

Before creating a group account, you will first need to make sure that all the single user accounts that you want to give special privileges to are already active on the Mac. If not, you should first create any missing single user accounts and then move on to creating the group account.

1. Launch the System Preferences app, and click on User & Groups.
2. Click on the lock icon, and type in the administrator’s name and password.
3. Click on the “Add” button below the list of users.
4. From the New Account pop-up menu select “New Account” and then opt for “Group”.
5. Name the group and click “Create Group”.
6. Select the users that you want to add to the group.

Now it’s time to have a look at which files group members can access and specify whether or not they can share your files and your screen.

1. Launch the System Preferences app, and click “Sharing”.
2. Tick the “File Sharing” checkbox.
3. To specify a folder, click on the “Add” button, locate the folder, and then click “Add”.
4. Select the folder in the Shared Folders list and click the “Add” button in the Users list.
5. Select a user from Users & Groups, which includes all users of the Mac.
6. To specify the access level of a user, select one and click the triangles next to the username, then selecting any of the following: “read & write”, “read only”, “write only”, or “no access”.

Guest users can access shared folders on a Mac. These privileges can be revoked by deselecting the “Allow guests to connect to shared folders” in the Guest Account pane of Users & Groups preferences.

Privacy protection

The first created user account is always an administrator account in macOS. This account has access to the ‘sudo’ function, which effectively allows them to control the system. Only the administrator account has the ability to change system-wide settings, as well as grant and revoke access. Standard users can install apps but can only change their own settings, and have no access to other users’ settings. In essence, each user ‘lives’ in their own sandbox, but a user group will act as a window to allow all privileged users to see other folders outside their reach, and even edit their contents if needed.

Creating a group is especially handy on a shared Mac in an office or home environment, because this way every user can access specific folders or files, but still protect the individual account’s privacy while enabling a creative process in which every member can participate.