Add a new user account

You can add multiple user accounts to your computer. Give one account to each person in your household or company. Every user has their own home folder, documents, and settings.

  1. Click your name on the top bar, then click the picture next to your name to open the User Accounts window.

  2. Click Unlock in the top right corner and type your password to make changes. You must be an administrative user to add user accounts.

  3. In the list of accounts on the left, click the + button to add a new user account.

  4. If you want the new user to have administrative access to the computer, select Administrator for the account type in the dropdown menu. Administrators can do things like add and delete users, install software and drivers, and change the date and time.

  5. Enter the new user's full name. The username will be filled in automatically based on the full name. The default is probably OK, but you can change it if you like.

  6. Click Create when you're done.

  7. The account is initially disabled until you choose what to do about the user's password. Under Login Options click Account disabled next to Password. Use the Action drop-down list to set the password now, allow the user to log in without a password, or have the user set their password the first time they log in.

    If you choose Set a password now, have the user type their password in the New password and Confirm password fields. See Choose a secure password.

    You can also click the button next to the New password field to select a randomly generated secure password. These passwords are hard for others to guess, but they can be hard to remember, so be careful.

  8. Click Change.

Back in the User Accounts window you can click the image next to the user's name on the right to set an image for the account. This image will be shown in the login window. GNOME provides some stock photos you can use, or you can select your own or take a picture with your webcam.