Juggling Multiple Google Accounts
Like most people, I have multiple Google accounts which can get confusing. The best way to keep home and work accounts separate is to use the “Add Person” feature which is found in the Chrome Menu under “Settings”. It’s important to distinguish this method of toggling users from the often used, but not recommended “Add Account” feature within Google Apps. Follow the steps below or view the short tutorial video to learn how to best manage multiple G Suite accounts in Chrome.
Accessing Chrome Settings Menu to Add People
To set up multiple people, you need to be signed into the Chrome Browser. This is done by accessing the Settings menu. To access the “Settings” Menu, click the 3 lines or 3 dots at the top right corner of your Chrome Browser.
When you sign into your Google Account, you will be prompted to “Link Data” which will allow any settings you change, bookmarks or Extensions you add to be updated in all of your other Chrome sessions with that account. Chrome will open up a new browsing session window with the additional account. Note: This feature is not available on a Chromebook or mobile device.
Switching Between User Accounts
Once you set up additional people, you can easily toggle into those additional accounts by simply clicking on the user icon that appears at the top right corner of your browser window will open up a drop down list of users you have set up to toggle between. Click Manage People to add more users.
Add Account vs Add Person
It’s important to understand the difference, and advantage of managing multiple accounts this way rather than by simply using the “add account” feature, which is less clean and can lead to issues since not all Google Apps support multiple sign-ins within the same Chrome Browser Session.
Incognito Browsing for Public or Shared Devices
If you are browsing on a public or shared computer, it’s best to use the “Incognito” Browsing feature in Chrome. This will allow to open a browser session that will not retain your history (including login information). Incognito browsing does NOT circumvent filtering. I use Incognito browsing when I am trying to trouble-shoot an issue if I suspect one of the Chrome Extensions I’m using or other personal settings or cookies may be the source of my issue. Another user for incognito browsing is to test public links before I share them with parents. Please share your tips for working with multiple accounts of ways in which you’ve used incognito browsing in the comments below.
