You can share your Chrome device with friends and family, even if they don't have Google Accounts. By using the guest browsing feature, you can let them borrow your Chrome device and keep your own account information safe and secure.
How guest browsing works
Guest browsing can be useful for times when you need to quickly browse the web in private, because your browsing data is cleared from the device once you exit the browsing session. You can start a guest browsing session from the main sign-in screen by clicking Browse as Guest from the launcher. If you don't see this option, that means guest browsing is not enabled on your Chrome device.
When browsing as a guest, you can surf the web and download files as normal. Once you're done browsing, click the status area and select Exit guest (or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+Q) to end your guest session. All the browsing information from the session will be deleted from the device, but websites you visited may still have records of your visit.
Enable or disable guest browsing
Guest browsing is enabled by default. If you are the owner of the device, you can turn this feature on or off:
- Sign in to the Chrome device with the account that has been designated as the owner.
- Click the status area in the lower-right corner, where your account picture appears.
- Select Settings and find the "Users" section.
- Click Manage other users.
- Use the "Enable guest browsing" checkbox to control the feature.
Using a Chrome device at work or school? Your network administrator might disable guest browsing for your Chrome device, in which case you won't be able to use this feature. Learn about using a managed Chrome device
Next steps
- If you have owner permissions, you can control who gets to use your device.
- Learn more about owner permissions.
