Starting March 27, 2025, we recommend using android-latest-release instead of aosp-main to build and contribute to AOSP. For more information, see Changes to AOSP.
Manage users and accounts
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User management involves users, accounts, and app data.
- User. Each user is intended to be used by a different physical
person. Each user has distinct app data, accounts, and some unique
settings, as well as a user interface to explicitly switch between users. For more
information, see Multi-user support.
- Account. Accounts are contained within a user but aren't defined
by a user, nor is a user defined by or linked to any given account. Users
contain their own unique accounts but aren't required to have accounts to be
functional. For details, see the
Account
class definition.
- App data. Exists within each user and is sandboxed from
other apps within the same user. Apps within the same user can interact
with each other through IPC.
Note: Automotive doesn't support either an
Automotive-specific version of Android device administration (Android for Enterprise)
or profiles (managed or restricted).
Manage users and accounts: User interface
Android Automotive OS provides a reference user experience and interface
for managing users and accounts.
- CarSettings. The Car Settings app contains the UI for
managing users and accounts. This includes a UI through which admin users can adjust the
roles and restrictions of other non-admin users.
- Quick Settings. Quick Settings (within the Car Settings
app) contains a UI for easy access to switch users.
- User Picker. Upon a device boot, the system UI provides a User
Picker screen for a person to switch between existing and to create new users.
Manage users: Roles and restrictions
Future releases will support a more streamlined customization of the default
restrictions applied through the user role.
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Last updated 2025-08-29 UTC.
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],["Last updated 2025-08-29 UTC."],[],[],null,["# Manage users and accounts\n\nUser management involves users, accounts, and app data.\n\n- **User.** Each user is intended to be used by a different physical person. Each user has distinct app data, accounts, and some unique settings, as well as a user interface to explicitly switch between users. For more information, see [Multi-user support](/docs/automotive/users_accounts/multi_user).\n- **Account.** Accounts are contained within a user but aren't defined by a user, nor is a user defined by or linked to any given account. Users contain their own unique accounts but aren't required to have accounts to be functional. For details, see the [Account\n class](https://developer.android.com/reference/android/accounts/Account.html) definition.\n- **App data.** Exists within each user and is sandboxed from other apps within the same user. Apps within the same user can interact with each other through IPC.\n\n**Note:** Automotive doesn't support either an\nAutomotive-specific version of Android device administration (Android for Enterprise)\nor profiles (managed or restricted).\n\n### Manage users and accounts: User interface\n\nAndroid Automotive OS provides a reference user experience and interface\nfor managing users and accounts.\n\n- **CarSettings.** The Car Settings app contains the UI for managing users and accounts. This includes a UI through which admin users can adjust the roles and restrictions of other non-admin users.\n- **Quick Settings.** Quick Settings (within the Car Settings app) contains a UI for easy access to switch users.\n- **User Picker.** Upon a device boot, the system UI provides a User Picker screen for a person to switch between existing and to create new users.\n\n**Manage users: Roles and restrictions**\n----------------------------------------\n\nFuture releases will support a more streamlined customization of the default\nrestrictions applied through the user role."]]
