Guide How to securely share your PC or Laptop with Friends at School or Home on Windows 11

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This guide refers to taking your personal laptop to school, but the basis can still be applied elsewhere. For example, letting your friend use your PC. Instead of allowing access to your own account, it’s safer to create another account or guest access.

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Easiest method for beginners​

If you plan to take your Windows 11 laptop to school, you shouldn't share it with your friends using your primary account. Instead, you should use a guest or secondary account, and in this guide, you will learn how to complete this task.

Although your computer is meant to be personal, sometimes, you may need to help a friend or someone inside or outside school. Usually, when this happens, you simply sign into the account and let the other person work on the device. However, this is not the proper way to share a device since you will open your account settings, browsing history, and files for others to see and change accidentally.

If you want to share your computer with other people, you should create another account. This will protect your account and files while offering a more personal space that other people can use. At any time, you can delete the account and data without affecting your configuration and files.

• How to create a local account for guest access
• How to create a Microsoft account for guest access
• How to delete a guest account on Windows 11

View Guide: How to securely share your laptop with school friends on Windows 11

Using Command Prompt​

It seems that Windows 11 doesn’t allow you to create a guest account via GUI. I have tried the Settings > Accounts tool, but it just creates a standard local account.

• How to create a guest account using Command Prompt

View Guide: How to Create and Delete a Guest Account on Windows 11 - MiniTool Partition Wizard

Using PowerShell or Group Policy Editor​

• How to create a guest account using Computer Management
• How to create a guest account using PowerShell

View Guide: How to set up a guest account to safely share a Windows 11 PC