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Alexmoore7
User level: Level 1 (4 points)

My account info appears on a Mac I never used

My friend has 2 older MacBook pros which both ran the last software version of Ventura. He lent me one to use before I bought my current MacBook Air running latest MacOS. I created a user account and the Pro appeared in my Apple account as expected. Months later, when I removed my data, deleted my user group from the MBP and the computer from my Apple account, I returned it to him and thought job done. The issue is that my name and "account" has appeared on his other MBP (which I never even saw or used) and it has no options to remove or access. My password, which I know is correct, does not grant access to this ghost account. How has this happened? On the login screen there is my name with an orange tick before it, the password hint is correct but no access.

Posted on Oct 17, 2026 1:10 AM

2 replies

WheelieNick
User level: Level 9 (74,110 points)

Oct 17, 2026 1:18 PM in response to Alexmoore7

Your account details likely synced to your friend's second MacBook Pro through Apple's iCloud ecosystem or via a shared Time Machine/Migration Assistant backup.


Since you no longer have physical access to the machine and your password won't log in, your friend must log into his own administrator account on that second MacBook Pro to delete the ghost entry.


He should follow these steps:

  1. Open System Settings from the Apple menu.
  2. Click on Users & Groups in the sidebar.
  3. Look for your name in the list. If it appears under "Other Users," click the "i" (Info) icon next to your name and select Delete User.
  4. If prompted, choose the option to Delete the home folder to completely wipe the cached data.


Alexmoore7 Author
User level: Level 1 (4 points)

Oct 20, 2026 1:54 AM in response to WheelieNick

Hi WheelieNick, thank you for your reply.


Your suggestion was something that we (myself and my friend who owns the MBP) had initially tried to do. I am sorry, I should have been clearer in my initial post, but it is a strange situation to try and describe.


I have included two (annotated) screenshots from the Mac that I had never signed into or even used until my friend brought it over to me.


The first is the login screen which shows my name (and profile?) with an orange tick, which indicates I am signed in -- even though I am not, and the profile has been deleted on the original MBP I had used. Plus, my login credentials no longer work.

The second screenshot shows the proposed solution of navigating to the "Users and Groups" settings and deleting the profile by clicking on the "i" symbol. As you can see, the "i" is missing and there are no options to access or delete this user (me). This was accessed in my friend's profile with full admin privileges.

Is there anything else I could try? Or is this going to cycle out through a future sync refresh? Is the only solution at this point, a full reset?


Thank you for any advice you might be able to share.

Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256377695