Google brings multiple user profiles to Chrome OS

Got multiple people using your Chromebook, the way I do? Each member of my family has a profile on mine so that everyone can have their own custom experience that synchronizes data with their own Google account. The bad news is that Chrome OS doesn’t support fast user switching, so for my kids to use my Chromebook, they have to first sign me out and then sign in as themselves. That may soon be changing.

Chrome OS may be a bit limited compared to Windows or OS X, but Google’s competing software is quickly gaining market share nonetheless. One major issue with the OS, however, is how annoying it can be to quickly switch between multiple Google accounts. This may change though, thanks to a new feature still in testing that could solve the issue and even let users run different accounts in separate windows at the same time. Google employee and Chrome enthusiast François Beaufort broke the news today on Google+, pointing to some experimental code that enables the new features. He also shared a video detailing the new multi-account support. Once an account is logged-in you can access it without re-entering the password, making it easy to switch rapidly between your own personal and professional Google profiles.