How to add a guest account on Windows? – New techniques today

Under various circumstances, we may be unable to refuse someone’s request to use our computer. But given privacy concerns, no one should have full access to our information. Additionally, temperate settings are also something we want to avoid.

To deal with this, Microsoft has provided different user groups and access levels accordingly. An account created within the Guests group is best suited for this purpose.

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

What is a guest account?

A guest account is a type of user account in Windows without access to change settings or control system files. Admin can also change accessibility for guest users. If the administrator has secured the system with a password or PIN, guest users cannot even uninstall apps.

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

How to add a guest account on Windows?

We cannot directly add a guest account to Windows these days. 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 the Users group to the Guests group.

Creation of a new user account

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

From settings

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

1. Open Settings by pressing Windows key + I.
2. Click on Accounts.
3. Go to Family and other users.
   
4. Tap the Add an account button.
5. Select I don’t have this person’s login information.
6. Choose from Add a user without a Microsoft account.
7. Enter a new username. Password is not required.
8. Click on the Next button.

From user accounts

A dedicated dialog for user accounts in Windows deals with account settings. Follow the steps given to create a new user account via this one:

1. Press Windows + R keys on the keyboard.
2. Type control userpasswords2 and press Enter.
3. Click it To add… button.
4. To 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 in the Users of this computer section after you finish.

Change membership type to Guests

From the above methods, you have successfully created a new user account. But Windows provides membership by default as Users for any newly created account. Membership should be changed from Users group to Guests. Let’s move on to changing the user’s membership type:

With Windows user accounts

Again, the User Accounts tool is handy for exchanging your newly created user’s membership type. For that, proceed as following :

1. Type control userpasswords2 on the run command and press enter.
2. Under the Users for this computerselect the user with the username you created earlier.
3. Then click on Properties.
   
4. In the new window, go to Group membership.
5. Select the Other option.
6. Take Guests in the drop-down menu.
7. Click on Apply.
   

With command prompt

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

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

related questions

How can we log in with the guest account?

To log in from the newly created guest account, you must first log out of the current user. Hurry F4 while holding the Other , then choose Sign Out from the drop-down menu that appears in the dialog box. Once the login screen loads, choose the guest user in the lower left corner.

How can we delete unwanted guest accounts?

To remove guest accounts, open the User accounts dialog box as mentioned in the article. Click on the account you want to delete and select it Remove button between To add… and Properties.