Adding a local guest account to Windows 10 Pro

When friends drop by your place in Melbourne or Brisbane for the weekend and want to check their email, you don't necessarily want to hand over the password to your main Windows profile. A separate guest sign-in lets visitors reach a desktop, browse the web, or run a few basic apps without touching your files, browser history, or saved credentials. On Windows 10 Pro, this kind of restricted profile is built into the operating system, so there's no extra software to install.

This walkthrough covers each part of the process in plain language, from preparation right through to disabling the account when the visit is over. It's written for everyday users who manage a single household PC rather than for IT administrators running a corporate domain. The tutorials library on the site shows most of the same steps with screenshots if you prefer a visual reference.

Understanding how restricted accounts work in Windows 10 Pro

Windows has offered some form of temporary user access since the XP days, and modern Windows 10 Pro continues the tradition through two related routes. The first is the legacy built-in Guest profile, which sits hidden inside the Local Users and Groups management console. The second is a standard local account you create yourself and then strip of administrator rights, leaving only the basic permissions a casual user needs.

Both approaches achieve roughly the same result. The visitor can sign in, see a clean desktop, and use installed applications, while your personal documents, downloads folder, and browser data remain locked behind your password-protected account. If the laptop is shared between flatmates in a Sydney share house or used by your children's friends after school, that separation is usually exactly what you want.

One thing worth clarifying is the difference between a guest-style local account and a Microsoft account. A guest profile does not sync with OneDrive, does not pull down Store purchases, and does not transmit sign-in details to Microsoft servers. That last point matters in Australia because the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme under the Privacy Act 1988 requires organisations to report serious incidents, and keeping personal identifiers off third-party accounts is a sensible household habit.

What to check before you create the account

Before clicking through the menus, confirm a few basics. You need to be signed in with an account that has administrator privileges on the PC, because standard users cannot create new profiles. You can check this under Settings, then Accounts, where your account type is listed beneath your name and email address.

It also helps to know which edition of Windows 10 you are running. Some Home edition builds handle user accounts slightly differently, and a few group policy options are reserved for Pro. If you're unsure, press the Windows key plus R, type winver, and press Enter to see the version details. PCs sold through JB Hi-Fi, Officeworks, or Harvey Norman around Australia almost always come with either the Home or Pro edition pre-installed, depending on the configuration chosen at the time of purchase.

Finally, decide whether the guest will need access to shared folders, printers, or anything connected by USB. The default restricted account blocks most of these by design, but you can re-enable individual resources once the account exists. Thinking about this in advance saves two trips through the Settings app later on.

Creating the account through Windows settings

The simplest path for most users is the modern Settings interface. Open Settings from the Start menu, choose Accounts, then Family and other users on the left-hand panel. Under the Other users section, click Add someone else to this PC and follow the prompts.

When Windows asks for sign-in details, you do not actually need a Microsoft account or even an email address. Look closely at the screen and you'll see a small link reading, "I don't have this person's sign-in information," followed by another inviting you to "Add a user without a Microsoft account." Picking that route lets you set a short username and password without any online registration, which is ideal when the visitor is a relative visiting from Perth for a holiday and has no reason to involve their own Microsoft identity.

Once the account appears in the list, click on it and choose Change account type. Switch the dropdown from Standard user to the restricted Guest option where available. Confirm with OK, sign out of your own profile, and the new guest can sign in from the lock screen using the credentials you just created.

Adjusting permissions and folder access

After the account exists, spend a few minutes customising what the guest can actually do. Right-click on any local drive or folder under This PC, choose Properties, and open the Security tab to inspect the access list. By default, Guests have read-only access to most system folders, which is generally what you want.

If you'd like the guest to print to your home wireless printer — a Brother or Canon model set up through a typical Australian home network, for instance — open Settings, then Devices, then Printers and scanners and confirm the device is set to allow access by all users. Some drivers installed from manufacturer discs limit printing to the original profile, so this step catches people out.

For USB storage, decide whether to allow removable media. Leaving it enabled means the guest can plug in a thumb drive and copy non-sensitive files, which is convenient for transferring holiday photos. Disabling it through the Local Group Policy Editor, available on Windows 10 Pro under Computer Configuration, Administrative Templates, System, Removable Storage Access provides tighter control if you store work or financial documents on the same PC.

Sharing the PC safely with visitors

A guest account protects your privacy, but it isn't a substitute for general security hygiene. Make sure your main account still requires a password to sign in, ideally with the account lockout policy enabled after several wrong attempts. This stops a curious visitor from guessing their way into your profile by accident or design.

Australian readers handling any kind of small business records on the same machine should be aware of the Australian Privacy Principles, which apply to businesses with an annual turnover above the relevant threshold and are also good practice for sole traders and freelancers. Keeping client data behind your password-protected profile and limiting the guest account to general-purpose browsing is a sensible boundary in any setting.

It also pays to think about which apps are installed before someone else uses the PC. If you bank online through the browser, log out fully and clear any cached credentials. The same goes for email accounts left signed in to desktop apps. A few minutes of tidying up prevents the awkward situation of a relative receiving a new message intended for you while they check cricket scores from your lounge room in Adelaide one Saturday afternoon.

Removing or disabling the account when the visit ends

Leaving an unused guest account sitting on your PC is not harmful, but removing it keeps things tidy. To delete it, head back to Settings, Accounts, Family and other users, click the account name, and choose Remove. Windows will ask whether you want to keep or delete the account's files; in most cases you can simply remove everything.

If you'd rather keep the profile ready for the next visit, change the password instead and leave the account dormant. That way, the next time your cousin flies in from overseas for a wedding or a long weekend, you can hand them the new sign-in details within seconds.

At some point you may decide that the guest account is no longer needed because everyone in the household has their own portable device. Comparing different hardware generations becomes useful when handing down older kit, and side-by-side reviews such as this Samsung Galaxy Note comparison often come up when readers weigh whether an older phone still does the job for a relative who doesn't reach for a device very often.

Practical recommendations for smooth account management

• Always test the guest account yourself before handing over the details, so you know what the user will see and what is hidden from view.
• Keep a written record of the guest password in a secure location and change it after every visit rather than recycling the same one.
• If you back up your PC to an external drive, exclude the guest profile folder from the schedule so its temporary files don't fill the backup.
• Consider disabling the account rather than fully removing it if multiple visitors use it, since recreation takes longer than re-enabling an existing profile.
• Periodically review the list of users under Settings, Accounts, Family and other users, especially after selling or giving away the PC, so no leftover profiles remain active.

Once the account is configured and you have tested the experience from the lock screen, the next step is simply letting your guest know how to sign in. If a walkthrough like this helped your day run smoother, save the page and pass it along to anyone else in your household who manages shared computers — most setups only need a single careful read to get right.