Download Google Chrome 16 beta now! The giant of search has released a new built of its web browser to the beta channel, and this time they also added a new feature called “Users” (a.k.a users profiles) that for many people, including me, is by far one of the best features in this awesome web browser.
This version of Google Chrome is going to be more focus on integration as the company said “[…]Chrome just isn’t the same when you’re not on your main computer. You don’t have all your bookmarks, apps, and extensions. Your settings aren’t quite right, you have to retype all your saved passwords, and your omnibox doesn’t know which sites you visit often.”
This new version is set to fix all that. Now when you sign in to Google Chrome you’ll be able to seamlessly synchronize all your stuff (e.g., personalize settings, bookmarks, etc.) to all the devices where Chrome is available.
Now, let’s talk for a second in more detail about the “Users” feature. This is an awesome new feature that is going to be handy in many scenarios such as sharing your computer with your friends or family, it is more than likely that you don’t want bookmarks, history, and other settings to be mixed with someone else’s and you wouldn’t want all that stuff synced with in your account, right?.
Or, if you are like me, if you have multiple email accounts (i.e., Gmail, Live, Yahoo!, etc.), there was not an easy way to check your emails without having to log off and log back in with the other user account. Before, you had to either use a Google feature to use multiple Gmail accounts, but this is really limited to one thing; another way was to manually create a new user profile in Google Chrome, or use another web browser like Firefox and IE — All these solutions were not real solutions.
Well, now in Google Chrome 16 beta there is an awesome new feature that will allow users to share Google Chrome with anyone, and allowing everybody to have a more personalized experience. Keep reading to learn how to make this work.
How to enable Users in Google Chrome 16
Once you install the latest beta version of Chrome (16.0.912.21 or greater), just click on the wrench 
, go to Options, then click Personal Stuff on the left menu, and click Add new user. A new instance of Google Chrome will launch, you can customize this any way you wish, you can add a new set of settings, bookmarks, extensions, etc., which is totally separate of your own stuff.
If you noticed a badge in upper-left corner will appear, this gives you a glimpse of which user profile you are in and, of course, you can edit the name for the new user and the icon when you are in the Personal Stuff section. Also clicking the badge a drop down menu with all the user profiles available will appear, and you can switch between them in a split second. Additionally, you or your friend or whoever is using the new Chrome instance can go to Options, Personal Stuff, and sync that particular instance of Chrome with a Google account — you can also refer to this article to learn how to sync on Google Chrome.
Google also pointed out that this new feature is not intended on any way to secure your data in the browser, because with just a couple of clicks you can be in a different user profile. But this new functionality will bring a much needed flexibility to almost all users.
I really love this new feature, what do you think, are you going to use this new feature in Google Chrome 16?
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Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].