How to block Chrome from signing you into a Google account automatically
If you are using Google Chrome, you may have noticed something strange. When you sign-in to a Google service, like Gmail or Google Drive, you get signed-into the browser automatically as well.
While some users may prefer that, as it ensures that features such as sync or personalization options are enabled, others may dislike it.
Here are a few reasons:
- You may not want Google Account-specific features in Chrome and prefer to stay signed-out because of that.
- You may want to use different accounts for different Google sites.
- For privacy.
The default setting in Chrome signs you into a Google Account in the browser whenever you sign-in on a Google-owned website.
Tip: check out our guide on disabling toast popups in Google Chrome as well.
Disable the link between Google Account and Chrome
Thankfully, it is easy to disable the disable this in Chrome. Here is how that is done:
- Load chrome://settings/syncSetup in the Chrome address bar. This opens the Sync and Google services settings of the browser.
- Toggle "Allow Chrome sign-in" under "Other Google services" to disable the feature. The control should show up in gray colors when it is disabled.
Note that you may need to restart the browser before you are signed-out off the Google Account in Chrome. You can also sign-out manually during the session by clicking on the profile icon in the Chrome address bar and selecting the "sign out of Chrome" option.
Sign in to Chrome when you sign in to other Google services
Google is working on a new feature linked to sign ins. It is available in Chrome Canary at the time, but maybe not for everyone at the time of writing.
Sign in to Chrome when you sign in to other Google services is the name of the new feature. It is set to "sign in" by default, which replicates the status quo for the most part. In other words, Chrome may sign you in automatically when you sign in on the web into a Google product.
The two other options are "don't sign in" and "ask every time". The first is identical to disabling the "allow Chrome sign-in" option outright. The second shows a prompt whenever you sign in, so that you may decide whether to sign in to Chrome as well with that Google account.
Closing Words
You could also avoid this by using a different browser. It might also improve privacy overall, considering that you would be switching from a browser that is controlled by an advertising company. You might also be able to continue using uBlock Origin in that case.
Speaking of browsers; what is your preferred web browser at the time of writing and why? Feel free to leave a comment down below.
When setting up two new computers, I didn’t even bother to install Chrome. I left MS Edge installed and put a few extensions on it; Firefox is my default for years. That may change quite soon. I am having numerous issues with Firefox incapable of displaying charts, graphs, etc. from the Internet. I even had issues with Gmail today where I couldn’t delete any emails–the site was completely non-responsive. I opened Gmail on MS Edge–no issues, fast and clean. Disappointed w/ FF lately. Seems slow. Some extensions make it slower. 500 Internal Errors–I don’t receive them on MS Edge, so something is wrong.
>”How to block Chrome from signing you into a Google account automatically”
Uninstall Chrome and delete your Google account like a sane person?
The best, is to stop use Chrome :o)
I use a split combo of Vivalid on one screen and Brave on another. Not sure why – but I have over 100 tabs open between them on a regular basis. Vivaldi works well on my phone too – and the sync works nice. I also have a few backup browsers to use in isolated circumstances (like Edge, Duck Duck Go, and even Pale Moon sometimes!)
I’d use Vivaldi too, but on Android it doesn’t block ads as effectively as Brave, even trying to add custom filters doesn’t help, I don’t even know why.
Vivaldi on Linux (at least Mint) doesn’t allow you to drag your mouse cursor to the topmost edge of the screen (or top right corner) and focus on the close/minimize buttons, you have to move the cursor one pixel below the edge of the screen. I’ve reported this bug on their forums around May-June 2024 and they still haven’t fixed it, around October I asked again what’s going on, they asked me for my support ticked, after that I was told that they know about the bug, but haven’t fixed it yet. I keep Vivaldi on my PC installed waiting for that update to fix this, but I still won’t use it over Brave. Their custom UI opens very slow even on a powerful hardware and knowing how long it takes them to fix such issues, I can’t really trust them as my main browser. They are niche among niche for a reason and they deserve it, because they are doing a lousy job.
Same problem is with Opera, they are slow to fix issues and their forums are very censored – every criticism gets deleted almost instantly, only the praise remains.
I’d use Yandex or Slimjet, but they have their own issues, Yandex for example also uses a custom UI, which unlike Vivaldi loads instantly, it just behaves too weirdly and I can’t make it work the way I want, also no matter how I set my regional settings and preferred language for websites, it still defaults some websites in Russian to me. While I know some Russian, I want them to be in English and if the browser won’t cooperate, I won’t bother with it.