Using the same Chrome profile for work and personal browsing gets messy quickly — your bookmarks become a mixed bag, your saved passwords combine work accounts with personal ones, and your browsing history is a jumble of both. Setting up a separate Chrome work profile takes five minutes and keeps everything cleanly separated.
What Is a Chrome Profile?
A Chrome profile is like a completely separate browser instance. Each profile has its own:
- Bookmarks and reading list
- Saved passwords
- Browser history
- Cookies and logins (so you can be logged into different Google accounts)
- Extensions (you can install different extensions per profile)
- Settings and themes
You switch between profiles using the profile icon in the top-right corner of Chrome, and each profile opens in its own window, making it clear which context you are in.
How to Create a Work Profile
- Click your profile picture (or the person icon) in the top right of Chrome
- Click Add at the bottom of the profile menu
- Choose whether to sign in with a Google account — for a work profile, sign in with your work Google account (G Suite / Google Workspace) if you use one
- If you do not use Google Workspace at work, select Continue without an account
- Give the profile a name (e.g. “Work”) and choose a colour theme to make it visually distinct
- Click Done
Chrome opens a new window for your work profile. Everything you do in this window — bookmarks, history, passwords — is stored separately from your personal profile.
Switching Between Profiles
Click the coloured circle (profile icon) in the top-right of any Chrome window to see your profiles and switch between them. Each profile opens in its own separate window, so you can have both open at the same time.
Setting a Profile as Default for Specific Links
Chrome does not natively assign specific websites to specific profiles, but you can set your work profile as the default for your work machine by making it the one that opens when Chrome starts:
- Open your work profile window
- Go to Settings > On startup
- Choose your preferred startup behaviour
Installing Work-Specific Extensions
Extensions are profile-specific. Install work tools (LastPass, Grammarly, your VPN) only in your work profile, and personal extensions only in your personal profile. This prevents personal extension activity from being visible in a work context.
Signing In with a Work Google Account
If your organisation uses Google Workspace, signing into Chrome with your work email means bookmarks, passwords, and settings sync across all your work machines. This is particularly useful if you switch between a desktop and laptop throughout the day.
Using Work Profiles for Microsoft 365
Even if your company uses Microsoft 365 rather than Google, a Chrome work profile is still worthwhile — it keeps your work Office 365 logins separate from personal Google logins and means you do not accidentally save work content to personal accounts.
