You Need a New Administrator Account on Your Mac
Some Mac users have a single administrator account on their machines. There is nothing wrong with this if you are the only person using the computer. However, if others have access to your Mac, you should create a second account for added security. That’s why.
When you share an admin account with others, there is nothing to stop them from creating a new user account and removing admin rights from your own account. You can see this issue playing out in this Reddit post , where the former author of the post made himself an administrator and blocked the OP from a lot of activities on the Mac. If they know your account password, they can make themselves an administrator on your computer.
The easiest way to prevent this situation is to create a separate administrator account that only you have access to. First, click on the Apple logo in the top left corner of the screen and select System Preferences or System Preferences .
Now go to Users and Groups . Click Add Account or the + icon and create a new account. You must use a secure password for this account and save it in your password manager so you don’t forget it. Don’t forget to select Administrator from the drop-down menu next to New Account . When you’re done, select Create User .
This will create a new administrator account on the computer. The next step is to switch to the new administrator account. Click the Apple logo in the top left corner and select Lock screen . Select Change User , enter your password, and log in. Go to ” Users and Groups ” in “System Preferences” again, select your old user account and uncheck ” Allow this user to control this computer “.
You can now safely log out of your administrator account and use your old account as always. If someone else is using your machine, they won’t be able to demote you to a user account with less privileges.
For convenience, you can also set your Mac to automatically sign in to your main account. You can find this option in System Preferences/Preferences > Users & Groups . On macOS Ventura, select an account from the ” Automatically sign in as… ” menu. On older versions of macOS, you can click Sign In Options and turn on Automatic Sign In.
This option will not be available if you have enabled FileVault encryption on your Mac. We do not recommend disabling this option as it is an important security feature. You’d be better off logging in manually – it only takes a second or two.