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Configuration profile to disable fast user switching on Mac
Multiple users can access a single Mac without having to log out and close all applications using the feature known as fast user switching. Enabling the feature allows us to quickly switch between user accounts when there is more than one user logged in simultaneously. But when organizations do not want to allow multiple users to access a Mac using fast user switching in order to secure the information on the device, they can disable the feature using a custom configuration profile. IT admins can use Hexnode’s Deploy Custom Configuration feature to remotely deploy this configuration profile to multiple macOS devices enrolled in the organization.
This configuration profile is supported on macOS 10.7 and later devices enrolled in Hexnode.
The configuration profile provided below is adapted from a third-party open-source site.
Configuration profile to disable fast user switching on macOS devices
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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd"> <plist version="1.0"> <dict> <key>PayloadContent</key> <array> <dict> <key>MultipleSessionEnabled</key> <false/> <key>PayloadIdentifier</key> <string>com.example.disablefastuserswitching</string> <key>PayloadType</key> <string>.GlobalPreferences</string> <key>PayloadUUID</key> <string>c5234012-e0sw-2066-6fl8-3bd5p8125op7</string> <key>PayloadVersion</key> <integer>1</integer> </dict> </array> <key>PayloadDisplayName</key> <string>Global Preferences</string> <key>PayloadIdentifier</key> <string>com.example.configprofile</string> <key>PayloadType</key> <string>Configuration</string> <key>PayloadUUID</key> <string>25e8e2h6-167d-305e-t26y-2e9b717o2687</string> <key>PayloadVersion</key> <integer>1</integer> </dict> </plist> |
The device management profile contains the MultipleSessionEnabled key which inputs boolean values, true and false. To disable fast user switching, the key value has to be turned false.
What happens at the device end?
macOS users will have the fast user switching options configured to open in the Menu Bar or Control Centre. You can verify the associated settings from System Settings/System Preferences.
Once the policy and custom configuration are associated, the fast user switching option in the Menu Bar and Control Center gets removed.
You can verify if the policy is associated successfully from the Action History tab of the device.
- To create and customize configuration profiles, you can use tools like Apple Configurator, Profile Manager or manually create them using text editors.
- Use non-encrypted .mobileconfig, .xml, or plist files to deploy profiles across macOS devices.
- Ensure that you do not associate conflicting configurations with the devices.
- Use wildcards to fetch key values from the portal.
- It is recommended to manually validate the configuration profile execution on a system before executing the action in bulk.
- Hexnode will not be responsible for any damage/loss to the system on the behavior of the configuration profile.
