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Google updates Chrome with multiple user profiles

Multiple user profiles in Chrome have been in the works for months and we first spotted this feature in the Chrome Canary build before it found its way into the beta channel. Today, it gets official as the search Goliath announced in a blog post an update to the stable Chrome build, bringing the new Sign in to Chrome feature – previously known as Chrome Sync – which is available from the browser’s wrench menu. You will be asked to provide your Google Account credentials in order to authorize your copy of Chrome on whatever device you are running it.

“Signing in to Chrome lets you take your Chrome stuff with you, so you can always have your personal Chrome experience on all of your devices”, says Google. Changing something on one device – such as adding a bookmark – instantly changes it on all your other devices. You can also create multiple user profiles in Chrome on your machine (say, one for dad, the other for you, another one for your sister) and switch between them so each user can have its own personalized environment separate of the other users.

A user profile holds your bookmarks, the sites you visited, saved forms and passwords, installed web apps and extensions and other items supported by Chrome’s syncing mechanism. To add a new user to Chrome, go to Options (Preferences on a Mac), click “Personal Stuff,” and click “Add new user. Bear in mind that anyone with access to your machine can switch between users because the feature is not password-protected. A more detailed description is available over at the Google Chrome blog and in this support document.

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