Manage a user with Parental Controls (Mac users)

You may not want all users to have unrestricted access to a computer, the apps on it, or content from the Internet. For example, you may want to prevent some users from changing their user settings or limit the apps they can use. To manage what a user can do on a computer, you use parental controls.

You can use Parental Controls preferences or Users & Groups preferences to designate which users you want to manage. You can’t use parental controls to manage an administrator.

Turn on parental controls for an existing user

Do one of the following.

• Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Parental Controls, click the lock if it’s not unlocked, and then enter an administrator name and password.

  Select the user, click Enable Parental Controls, and then set up the controls.

• Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Users & Groups, click the lock if it’s not unlocked, and then enter an administrator name and password.

  Select the user, select “Enable parental controls,” and then click Open Parental Controls to set up the controls.

Create a new user to manage with parental controls

Do one of the following:

• Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, and then click Parental Controls. If you see a lock, click it to unlock it, and then enter an administrator name and password.

  • If there are users that can be managed using parental controls, click Add (+) below the list of users, enter name and password information, click Create Account, and then set up the controls.

  • If there are no users that can be managed using parental controls, you can create a new user with parental controls or convert the logged-in user to a user with parental controls. For more information, click the Help button in the pane that appears in this situation.

• Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Users & Groups, click the lock if it’s not unlocked, and enter an administrator name and password.

  Click Add (+) below the list of users, choose “Managed with Parental Controls” from the New Account pop-up menu, enter name and password information, and then click Create User. Click Open Parental Controls to set up the controls.

Turn off parental controls

1. In Parental Controls preferences, click the lock if it’s not unlocked, and then enter an administrator name and password.
2. Select the user, and then choose “Turn off Parental Controls” from the Action pop-up menu (looks like a gear).

Delete a user managed with parental controls

Do one of the following:

• Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Parental Controls, click the lock if it’s not unlocked, and then enter an administrator name and password.

  Select the user, and then click Delete (-) below the list of users.

• Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Users & Groups, click the lock if it’s not unlocked, and then enter an administrator name and password.

  Select the user (identified in the list as Managed), and then click Delete (-) below the list of users.