PlayInfoBox

Home /Utilities /How to Use Fast User Switching in Windows

How to Use Fast User Switching in Windows

Tap a step to see it in order.

  1. Click the Start menu

    Click the Start button in the bottom-left corner of the screen.

  2. Click your account icon

    Click your profile picture (account icon) shown in the Start menu.

  3. Select the account to switch to

    Click another user account from the list that appears.

  4. Your current session keeps running in the background

    Since this switches accounts without signing out, whatever you were doing on your original account stays open and running behind the scenes.

  5. Why it is worth doing

    When a household shares one computer, this lets someone else log into their own account for a moment without forcing you to sign out and lose your open work.

Sharing one computer without stepping on each other's work

On a shared family or household computer, fast user switching means one person can hop in to check email or look something up on their own account while the other person's open documents, browser tabs, and unsaved work stay exactly as they left them in the background.

Multiple signed-in accounts do use more memory

Every account that stays signed in in the background continues consuming some memory, so on an older or lower-spec machine, leaving several accounts switched-in at once for a long time can make things feel sluggish. Fully signing out of accounts you are not actively using is worth doing occasionally.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does leaving multiple accounts switched in slow the computer down?

Each signed-in account uses additional memory in the background, so if you have several accounts and a lower-spec machine, you may notice some slowdown. Fully signing out unused accounts periodically helps.

Is there a keyboard shortcut for switching?

Yes -- press "Windows+L" to go to the lock screen, then choose a different account from the bottom-left corner of that screen to switch the same way.