A Chrome profile is a separate copy of Chrome for one person or one purpose. Each profile keeps its own bookmarks, history, passwords and settings, and each can be signed in to a different Google Account or to none. Google suggests profiles for sharing a computer or keeping work and personal accounts apart.
The short version, on Windows, Mac or Linux: click your profile picture at the top right of Chrome. Your other profiles are listed there; click one to switch. Add Chrome profile makes a new one, and Manage Chrome profiles lets you rename, recolor or delete them.
Add a new profile
- Open Chrome.
- At the top right, click the Profile picture, then Add Chrome profile.
- Sign in with a Google Account, or choose Continue without an account for a profile that stays on this computer only. If you sign in, the profile takes the account’s name.
- Choose a name, a photo and a color, so you can tell the windows apart at a glance.
A profile signed in to a Google Account can save its bookmarks, passwords and settings in that account and get them back on other devices. A profile without an account keeps everything on this computer.
Switch between profiles
- At the top right, click the Profile picture.
- Click the profile you want to switch to.
Keyboard route: Ctrl + Shift + M on Windows and Linux, ⌘ + Shift + M on a Mac, is Google’s shortcut for switching to a different user or to a guest window.
Manage profiles: rename, change the photo or color
- Click the Profile picture.
- Under “Other Chrome profiles,” click Manage Chrome profiles. A window opens showing all your profiles.
- On the profile you want to change, click More (three dots), then Edit.
- Type a new name or pick a new photo or color theme. Changes save on their own.
For the profile you are using right now, there is a shorter way: Profile picture, then Customize profile. You can also paste chrome://settings/manageProfile into the address bar. On Windows this page also has a Create desktop shortcut switch, covered in making a desktop shortcut for each profile.
Choose a profile every time Chrome starts
- Click the Profile picture, then Manage Chrome profiles.
- At the bottom of the window, tick Show on startup.
Chrome then opens on the profile picker, which helps when several people share one computer.
Delete a profile
Before you start: deleting a profile erases its bookmarks, history, passwords and other settings from this computer. If the profile was signed in to a Google Account, Chrome’s delete warning says you can get the data saved in that account back by signing in to it again.
- Click the Profile picture, then Manage Chrome profiles.
- On the profile you want to remove, click More (three dots), then Delete.
- Click Delete again to confirm.
Profiles on Android, iPhone and iPad
- Android: Google says you can only have one Chrome profile on an Android device. Its advice for letting someone else use Chrome on your phone or tablet is to add them as a user of the Android device, then switch to that user.
- iPhone and iPad: you add Google Accounts and switch between them. Tap your account at the top right (open a new tab if you do not see it), then Add account or the account you want. The first time you sign in with a work account, Chrome asks you to set up a separate space for work, so that account’s tabs, history and passwords stay apart from your personal browsing.
Who can see your profile
Profiles separate your things, but they are not locked. Google points out that anyone using your computer can switch to any Chrome profile on it and see what is in it, such as the sites you visited. Share the computer only with people you trust, and give a visitor a guest window instead.
More on profiles
- Set up a work profile and a personal profile, step by step.
- Tips for running several profiles at once: opening links in another profile, launch commands and finding a profile’s folder.
- A profile that will not load or keeps showing errors: fix a corrupted Chrome profile.