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A similar question was asked over a decade ago and the answer was negative. I am hoping something changed with the modern Mac operating system.

When I say multiple people logging in, I do not mean remotely. I mean like it was done in Windows back in the day.

I log in, start the Photos app. I the click Switch User (or something to that effect), and lets my kid log in. My kid then starts the Messages application.

Now both Photos (under my user) and Messages (under my kid's user) are running.

Can something like this be accomplished?

AngryHacker
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1 Answers1

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The previous answer was 'yes, you can access two or more Mac accounts simultaneously over Remote Desktop' etc… just not locally.

Both users can be logged in at the same time. Switching users does not log one user out. Both your apps would be running, but in separate accounts, which you cannot show simultaneously on one Mac unless you use remote access. In other words, you cannot both work at the same time from a single Mac. You can leave one running & switch to the other user, back & forth. This requires your password at each switch.

Apps in the 'backgrounded' user will run slowly, at reduced priority, but they should continue to run correctly.

User switching is enabled in System Prefs > Users & Groups > Login options…

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This adds a new item to the menu bar, top right.

Tetsujin
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