How to Recover Deleted Files from Mac Guest Account [2024]

"I used my sister’s Mac as a guest user several minutes ago. I create 2 documents and saved some pictures there. However, it restarted, nothing left. All files in the guest user account is gone. Is there any way to recover deleted files from Mac guest account?"

If you’re familiar with the Guest account, you must know how it works and what will happen when a guest user log out, namely all files and data created in the guest account are removed when the user log out, shut down, or log out. What??? Then how to recover deleted files from guest account on Mac? Do not worry. In the following, you’ll learn how to restore Mac guest user deleted files.

Part 1. About Mac Guest User Account

To avoid incidents by using guest user account on Mac, you should know the basic information about guest user account:

• It’s separated from the admin user account, which ensures the guest user can not change any of your Mac settings, files, or any other things.
• No remote login is allowed, it ensures the security of your privacy.
• Any data created with the guest user account is removed when the user logs out, or computer shut down or restart. In this case, to avoid data loss in the guest user account on Mac, the guest user need to save created files in an external hard drive or upload them to cloud storage, like Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.
• Besides logging out cause data loss in a guest user account, other accidents, like system crash, unintentional deletion, transferring abrupt interruption can also result in data loss.

No matter what happened to the guest user account files, you can recover deleted or lost files from Mac guest account with the following 2 ways.

Part 2. Retrieve deleted files from Mac guest account with Software

Though the macOS deletes guest user account as well as files created there automatically. They existed, right? Once they existed, then they’re recoverable with the best Mac deleted file recovery software – iBeesoft Data Recovery for Mac. Before getting down to recovering deleted files from Mac guest account, keep your Mac still. Here are the steps for how to recover Mac guest user deleted files.

1. Free download Mac file recovery software

Click the DOWNLOAD to get the Mac version of iBeesoft Data Recovery on your computer. After then install it on your Mac. Please make sure you have enabled the system preferences as "allow apps downloaded from App Store and identified developers".

If you want to recover files from guest user account on Windows PC, you can download the Windows version of data recovery software.

2. Select file types to scan

Launch the Mac file data recovery software after installing it. From the first window, you can see all supported file types are selected. The software is ready to scan your Mac, looking for deleted files from guest user account. You can let them all selected or only keep wanted file types, and then click "Start".

3. Select disk to scan

Next, you’re supposed to select the hard drive where the guest user's account is set up and click "Scan", letting the software start to recover deleted files from Mac guest account right away.

4. Recover deleted files from guest account on Mac

Just do your other tasks, letting the software run in the background for the scanning process. When it finished the scanning process, you can see all its found files are put into file categories in the left panel. You’re able to select file types as well file extension, checking out the details for the found files. When finding the files deleted from the guest user account on Mac, select them and click "Recover" to save them on your Mac.

See the "Deep Scan" option in the result window? It’s an option to scan your Mac deeper, looking for all the possible files you need. You can try it to scan your hard drive again and more files are found for you.

Part 3. Recover deleted files from guest account on Mac by Restoring from Backup

If you have enabled back up features either via third-party software or Time Machine on Mac, you can restore the deleted files previously saved on Mac guest account from the backup files. If you haven’t had any backup for the deleted files in the Mac guest user account, you still have to try the iBeesoft program to recover deleted files on Mac. Here are the simple steps for how to restore guest user account deleted files with a Time Machine backup.

1. On your Mac, go to the Menu bar and choose "Time Machine".
2. Find and open the folder that contains the Mac guest user account deleted files.
3. Preview the files. When finding the wanted one, click the "Restore" button to restore it from the Time Machine backup.

My suggestions to prevent data loss from Mac guest user account are:

• Make sure you have a copy of the important files and save them to an external hard drive or keep them on cloud storage services, or even save them on your email.
• As a guest user on Mac, you or your friends must know that the guest user account will delete all files. In this case, do not save the important files there. If your friends or family members do not know it, you should remind them
• No matter when you lost or deleted files on your Mac, stop using it before you get down to the recovery process.
• Install a file rescue tool and perform the data recovery as soon as possible when you find files are deleted.

Anyway, to keep your data safe and accessible, try the above-mentioned ways. They all work! You can even install the best file recovery software for Mac on your disk.