Chrome Profiles

Chrome Profiles: a reader asks…

I use a Windows 11 PC and Google Chrome. Both my wife and I use the same computer. We don’t want to have to log into separate user accounts, but would like to each have our own set of Chrome bookmarks, history, and open tabs and tab groups. Currently we’re logged into my Chrome Profile. Can you walk me through the steps to setup a separate one for my wife please?

Can do! With Chrome open, click the three vertical dots on the top-right of the window. That brings up a Chrome menu.

• Partway down that menu, you’ll see your name & profile. Click the right-angle caret (>) for that entry.
• That opens up a sub-menu. Click the “Add new profile” menu entry.

That will open a new window titled “Set up your new Chrome profile” with a blue sign-in button. Click that and log in to your spouse’s Google account. After completing the login, you’ll see a second profile in the Chrome menu (click the > to view the first sub-menu).

Also on that sub-menu, you’ll see a “Manage Chrome profiles” – select that to customize each of your profiles. You’ll see a window open, “Who’s using Chrome?” with avatars for each of the profiles you have on that computer. After completing the above, you should have two. At the top right of each profile icon and name, there are three vertical dots. Click on them, and a menu appears. Click “Edit” to customize each profile individually. On this Customize profile window, you can change the name of your profile, choose a theme color (15 pre-set options plus an eyedropper so you can choose whatever color you like), choose an avatar, and at the very bottom, you can slide a slider on to create a desktop shortcut for that profile.

I suggest you customize each of your profiles with different theme colors and icons. Additionally, create a desktop shortcut for each, allowing each of you to open your own Chrome profile directly.

That’s all there is to it. There is an occasional issue when dealing with multiple profiles, where no button is available to add a Chrome profile. If you encounter this issue, please refer to my article: No Chrome Add Profile Button.