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How do I start different profiles with Google Chrome with different favorites, and so on?

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New version of Chrome (16) supports multiple users natively, so this isn't necessary anymore :) – user109565 Dec 14 '11 at 15:33

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You have to create a new profile folder and use a different Chrome shortcut with --profile-directory command-line argument to specify the profile's location

Here's how you can go about doing it;

  1. Create another user from Chrome → Settings as described in this answer.

  2. There will be a "default" profile directory & a "profile 1" directory in %localappdata%\Google\Chrome\User Data directory.

  3. Create a new shortcut to Chrome: Name the new shortcut as you see fit (for example, "Chrome 2nd profile")

    Right-click the new shortcut, choose Properties, paste --profile-directory="profile 1" at the end of the Target field. The result on Windows 7 should be:

    C:\Users\YOUR-USER-NAME-HERE\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe --profile-directory="profile 1"

  4. That's it - you can now use the regular Chrome or "Chrome 2nd profile" and any changes made in one won't correspond in the other.

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Ok great thanks! – Chris_45 Oct 21 '10 at 14:08
Thanks for the tip about --user-data-dir. BTW if you set that option to an empty directory, Chrome will populate it with new default settings, creating a new profile from scratch rather than basing it on an existing one. – intuited Mar 6 '11 at 15:52
This is no longer necessary. Chrome now supports [multiple users natively])superuser.com/questions/588639/…). – Dan Dascalescu Apr 28 at 2:16
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Just install two copies of Chrome (for example the regular version and the canary version). Use one for one account and the other for the other. Don't know if it this can be done on windows, it certainly works on the Mac. BTW use the regular and the canary version. They have different icons.

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This is a naive idea, and unnecessary. Starting with version 16, Chrome supports multiple users natively. – Dan Dascalescu Apr 28 at 2:15

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