How to delete an administrator account on your Mac computer

• You can only delete an administrator account on a Mac computer if you have access to an admin account of your own. 
• Before you delete an admin account on a Mac, be sure to save any important documents on either an external drive or through a third-party cloud service. 
• You can also save the admin's home folder on the Mac computer so it can be restored later. 
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To delete an administrator on your Mac computer, you must have access to a secondary admin account, too. 

Once you've deleted an admin account, the person will no longer have credentials to log in to the Mac. However, if you choose to save the admin's home folder, their profile can be reinstated in the future. 

Here's what you need to know. 

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How to delete an admin account on your Mac computer 

1. On the home screen of your Mac, select the System Preferences icon located in the bottom menu or search for it using Spotlight. 

2. After you've launched System Preferences, locate Users & Groups. 

3. In the bottom left-hand corner, select the padlock icon. 

4. Enter your login password to unlock the page. 

5. Next, select the admin user from the list on the left. 

6. Select the minus icon below Login Options. 

7. In the pop-up menu, choose an option. To save the admin's home folder in order to have their information reinstated in the future, select "Save the home folder in a disk image." If you want the admin's information to be permanently deleted, select "Delete the home folder." Once you've selected an option, click Delete User. 

8. To finish, tap the padlock in the bottom left of the screen to ensure no other changes can be made. 

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Meira Gebel

Meira Gebel is a freelance reporter based in Portland, Oregon. She writes about business, culture, and technology for Insider. Her work has been featured in Digital Trends, Willamette Week, USA Today, and more. She is a graduate of Columbia Journalism School and San Francisco State University.  Feel free to reach out to her on Twitter, where she can be found most of the time, @MeiraGebel.

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