How to Add Guest Account on Windows?

 

In various circumstances, we may be unable to refuse someone’s request to use our computer. But considering privacy issue, nobody should have full access to our information. Moreover, tempered settings are also something we want to avoid.

To cope with it, Microsoft has provided different groups of users and access levels in accordance. An account created within the Guests group fits the best for this purpose.

This article explains various methods to create a guest account on Windows.

What is a Guest Account?

A Guest account is a type of user account in Windows with no access to change settings or control over the system files. The administrator can modify the accessibility for the guest users as well. If the administrator has secured the system with a password or pin, the guest users cannot even uninstall any apps.

Earlier versions of Windows provided the settings to easily add and manage guest accounts. But a convenient approach to the feature was removed from an unidentified update. Still, you can add a guest account to your computer and protect your data from known but unavoidable intruders. 

How to Add Guest Account on Windows?

We cannot directly add a guest account to Windows nowadays. But, changing the group type of an already existing user is doable. Thus, adding a new guest account involves two levels of task. Creating a new user account and changing its membership from Users group to Guests group.

Creating a New User Account

You will first have to create a new user to convert it into a Guest user eventually. Below are two ways to add a new user to your computer:

From Settings

Although the Settings app lost its ability to create a Guest user, you can definitely create a new user from it. The procedure mentioned below will guide you in creating a new user account for your computer through settings:

1. Open Settings by pressing Windows + I keys.
2. Click on Accounts.
3. Go to Family & Other users.
   
4. Tap on the Add account button.
5. Select I don’t have this person’s sign-in information.
6. Choose to Add a user without a Microsoft account.
7. Enter a new username. Password isn’t mandatory.
   
8. Click on the Next button.

From User Accounts

A dedicated User Accounts dialog box in Windows deals with account settings. Follow the given steps to create a new user account through it:

1. Press Windows + R keys on the keyboard.
2. Type control userpasswords2 and hit Enter.
3. Click the Add… button.
   
4. Go with Sign in without a Microsoft account (not recommended)
5. Select Local Account.
   
6. Type any Username, and Next.
7. Click on Finish.

The username should appear on the Users for this computer section after finishing.

Changing the Membership Type to Guests

From the above methods, you successfully created a new user account. But Windows provides default membership as Users for any newly created account. The membership should be changed from Users group to Guests. Let’s proceed to change the user membership type:

With Windows User Accounts

Yet again, the User Accounts tool comes in handy to swap the membership type of your newly created user. Proceed with the following steps to do so:

1. Type control userpasswords2 on the run command and hit Enter.
2. Under the Users for this computer, select the user with the username that you previously created.
3. Then, Click on Properties.
   
4. Within the new window, go to Group Membership.
5. Select the Other option.
6. Pick Guests from the dropdown menu.
7. Click Apply.
   
8. With Command Prompt

If you are not a GUI-liking user, then you should probably try the command prompt and run the specific commands to change your new user’s membership type to Guests. Follow along the steps:

1. Open command prompt in Administrator mode.
2. Type net localgroup guests ‘Username’ /add and hit Enter.
   
3. Put the username that you created earlier in place of ‘Username,’ without quotes. Doing so will add your new user account to the Guests group. But the problem is, it still has the Users group access. Let’s proceed to remove it from the Users group.
4. Run the command; net localgroup users ‘Username’ /delete
   

Related Questions

How Can We Sign in With the Guest Account?

To sign in from the newly created guest account, you must first sign out from the current user. Press F4 while holding the Alt key, then choose Sign out from the dropdown menu appearing within the dialog box. After the sign-in screen loads, choose the guest user from the bottom-left corner.

How Can We Delete the Unwanted Guest Accounts?

To delete the guest accounts, open the User Accounts dialog box as mentioned in the article. Click on the account you want to delete, and Select the Remove button located in between Add… and Properties.