Embedded Files
Chrome uses "profiles" to bundle everything that makes you "you". Every non-AI working in your team would ideally have at least two profiles - one for their business "you", one for their personal "you". Chrome profiles solve many problems, and it's important to know how they work.
Do you have multiple accounts?
Would you like your bookmarks and history to sync?
Do you get "Sign in to Google" notices all the time?
Do you get "Your work profile does not allow you to use [service]" notices?
Chrome profiles confuse a great number of people. It stops now.
Chrome profiles allow you to become someone else.
Basics: How Chrome organizes your data
Basics: How Chrome organizes your data
Your data is organized into something called "profile". Each profile should be associated with a Google account (more on that later). When you open a new window, it will automatically load your profile's history, bookmarks, settings... Everything that makes a browser window "yours" is saved to that profile.
For completeness only: There are two pictures in the corner. We will be talking about the FIRST ONE. Only Google Chrome has this picture - it's for your Chrome profile.
The second one is visible only in Google products and you would see it with other browsers, too. It shows which Google identities your browser is currently logged in and allows you to complete your Google profile. If you have multiple Google identities (accounts), you should create one Chrome profile for each. Do not mix accounts in the same profile, or you will always have to pay attention to which account you are using.
Let's look at the top button - the Chrome profile.
This is how you see the profile you are using. If you're doing it right, it'll say "company.com" or simply "Holger", in case your name is Holger.
About those menu items:
There are two other profiles I have created (for our development domain and for my Gmail account). This is how I can open Chrome windows that will conveniently be logged into those profiles.
"Guest" will open a Chrome window without any profile information at all. I never used it, but could be great for testing.
"Add" will let you add more profiles.
The little configuration icon lets you rename and delete profiles.
How to create a profile
How to create a profile
If you don't see your name in the top-right corner, but something like "Anonymous" or "Person 1", you want to create a profile. It's very easy:
Manage people (see above!)
Click Add person (see to the right)
Confirm adding the person
It doesn't matter what name you will give that person, nor what picture you chose. Both will get overwritten in an instant.
There's a checkbox called "Create a desktop shortcut for this user". Feel free to leave it checked, you can always delete the shortcut from your desktop.
How to delete a profile
How to delete a profile
In the Account Manager (also known as "Who's using Chrome") , every profile has a small three-dot-menu with a "remove profile" button.
Don't be afraid to lose data - once you sign in to Google, everything is backed up, so remove profiles you don't need.
How to sign in to a Google account
How to sign in to a Google account
Final step: Click the profile's name again and click "turn on sync". If you are adding your company account, you will be prompted to authenticate. A series of prompts will open, just go along with them. If asked, click "link data" in the end to acknowledge that this account is controlled by your company.
If you are adding a non-company account (private Gmail for example), input your Gmail username and password.
To the right, you will find the complete workflow.
Bonus: What else are Chrome profiles good for?
Bonus: What else are Chrome profiles good for?
You should use Chrome profiles to completely separate work and anything else. If you research something for your private life, I recommend you do that in your "private" profile. If you sign into other sites, such as a non-Google email account (you must like spam) or newspapers - do that in your private profile. This way, your browsing gets synced and you can pick up from your phone, for example (that's why it's a good idea to use Chrome on iOS).
You create a private Chrome profile even if your territory will not allow you to sign into your private Gmail account. It will still be a bundle of data and services. Get used to separating your non-work data from from your work data. You want to run services like Google Maps and YouTube in your private Chrome profile, because they are not part of Google Workspace. You may run into issues when you access them using your company profile.
Bonus: What are Guest profiles and Incognito Windows?
Bonus: What are Guest profiles and Incognito Windows?
Both are tools to browse the web semi-anonymously. They are important for testing and can be used for "hey, can I quickly access my email on your computer", which is not really possible in today's environment (and may get both of you fired). An incognito window (in Chrome's menu) will not keep history and will not recognize most previous logins.
Guest profiles are temporary profiles. The profile separation runs deeper, so it is the better alternative for logging into Google temporarily.
Both will lose most of what you did when you close the window.
You're all done! Setup might be a bit of a hassle, but once you understand it, it's very easy. Switching between profiles is as easy as clicking your name in the top-right corner and selecting another of your multiple personalities. Thank you for reading, and please send this post to people who might run into problems.
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#chromePublished 2018-06-22 by Holger Matthies.Re-published 2021-04-06.Modified 2021-04-06 by Holger Matthies.Written listening to Headstrong - Helpless 2011 (Aurosonic progressive mix)
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