Chrome will let you switch between personal and work accounts on iOS
How did your country report this? Share your view in the comments.
Diverging Reports Breakdown
Chrome will let you switch between personal and work accounts on iOS
Google is introducing the option to easily switch between personal and work profiles in its Chrome browser on iOS. Like on desktop, users switch by tapping their account icon and then selecting the other profile to browse with. The new option is part of Google’s enterprise software package, and doesn’t allow non-enterprise users to switch freely between two Google accounts in the browser.
Google is introducing the option to easily switch between personal and work profiles in its Chrome browser on iOS, with data kept separate between the two. The new option is part of Google’s enterprise software package, and doesn’t allow non-enterprise users to switch freely between two Google accounts in the browser.
Companies that adopt Chrome Enterprise can let employees sign in to managed Google accounts on iOS and switch freely between their personal and work accounts within Chrome. Like on desktop, users switch by tapping their account icon and then selecting the other profile to browse with.
Browsing data including tabs, history, and passwords will be kept separate between the two accounts, and IT admins will be able to access security reports and restrict browsing to certain sites while in the work profile.
iOS Chrome users can now switch between profiles with two taps. GIF: Google
Android has no direct analog to this feature, but instead supports device-wide work profiles that cover the full suite of Google apps, including Chrome. This is presented as a different version of the Chrome app, and so unlike on iOS, Android users can’t switch to a work profile from within Chrome itself. Chrome users are unable to switch freely between non-enterprise Google accounts on either mobile operating system, despite having the option on desktop versions of the browser.
Google Adds Limited Multiple-Account Support to Chrome for iOS, iPadOS
Chrome for iOS adds the ability to switch between work and personal Google accounts. The feature is already available on the browser for other platforms. It requires that your employer create and manage a Google account for you. Google says it’s a simpler solution to the longstanding problem of preserving your privacy while doing work on a personal device. The new iOS feature also covers Chrome for iPadOS and Android’s existing Work profile feature.
The company announced this change Monday, pitching it as a simpler solution to the longstanding problem of preserving your privacy while doing work on a personal device.
“People often use their mobile devices for both work and personal tasks, requiring them to sign in and out with different Google Accounts,” Google says. “To simplify this experience while tightening security, Chrome on iOS is now offering seamless account switching with data separation for managed accounts.”
This is not the same as switching between multiple Google accounts in Chrome for macOS, Windows, and ChromeOS. (Like if you have a regular Gmail account and a legacy-free Google Apps account). This new iOS feature, which also covers Chrome for iPadOS and Android’s existing Work profile feature, requires that your employer create and manage a Google account for you.
“When users sign in or switch to their managed account in Chrome, browsing related to their organization will be kept separate from their other browsing on the device,” Google says.
Without that, the only way to quarantine a browsing session in older versions of Chrome for the iPhone and iPad is to use incognito mode, at the cost of not being able to pick up that session on another device.
This is one area where all browser developers could stand to improve their work: While the desktop versions of Chrome, Apple’s Safari, Microsoft’s Edge, and Mozilla’s Firefox all support some version of multiple profiles (Safari and Edge call it “Profiles” and Firefox’s version goes by “Containers”), their mobile browsers lack a comparable feature.
Source: https://www.theverge.com/news/710582/chrome-ios-personal-work-profile-account-switching-google