Sign Into Gmail Without Signing Into Google Chrome

Unfortunately, Google has made changes to Chrome since this blog post was posted which removed the options noted below. Sorry :(

I'll update the blog post if I find another way.

Recently, Google released an update to Google Chrome that effectively forces you to sign into the Google Chrome browser when you sign in to your Gmail account.

If you're like me and either use multiple google accounts for different purposes or just dont like Google looking all your browsing history against your gmail account, this update is problematic.

And I'm not alone in thinking so, see a few recent articles complaining about the new update...

To de-couple the login of your Gmail account and your Google Chrome login status requires digging into the bowels of Chrome's internal settings, Follow these four steps below...

Pause reading for 5 seconds...

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Ok, lets continue.

Steps to de-couple the login of your Gmail account and your Google Chrome browser...

Step #1

First cut and paste this URL into your browser URL box...

chrome://flags/#account-consistency

It will take you to your Chrome Browser's internal feature flags that enable/disable hidden settings.

Interestingly, I can't find any official documentation about Chrome's flag features. If anyone finds a link please tweet me: @mattccrampton

Step #2

Find the option that says...

Identity consistency between browser and cookie jar

When enabled, the browser manages signing in and out of Google accounts. – Mac, Windows, Linux, Chrome OS, Android

#account-consistency

Find Identity consistency between browser and cookie jar settings

And switch it from "Default" to "Disabled"...

Disable Identity consistency between browser and cookie jar

Step #3

Now click "Relaunch Now" to restart Google Chrome so your changes take effect...

Step #4

Success! Now we can see that even though I'm logged into my gmail account, I continue to not be logged into my google chrome browser.

Thanks for reading, I hope you followed along and were able to get this working for yourself. If you're having issues or want to chat, ping me on twitter: @mattccrampton

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