The Difference Between a Chrome Profile and a Google Account
This morning as I was starting to get caught up on a backlog of email I answered a question from a reader who wanted to know if I had a video about Chrome profiles that she could share with her staff. I do, here it is. In the video I demonstrate and explain the difference between signing into a Chrome profile and signing into your Google account. The video is embedded below.
The key points to remember are:
- Your Chrome profile handles all of your Chrome browser preferences and settings including the extensions you like to use, bookmarks, saved passwords, and display settings (default fonts and color schemes).
- Signing into your Google account is how you access things like Gmail and Google Docs.
- Whenever you’re done using a shared computer, you should sign out of both your Chrome profile and your Google account.
On a related note, I find it helpful to use a different profile icon for each of my Google accounts. It provides a visual reminder of which account I’m currently using. Doing that helps me avoid creating a work document in a personal account or trying to send a personal email from a work account. Here’s a little video about that.
