How to Turn Off Google Chrome Auto Sign-In

Jim Tanous Read more October 7, 2020

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Previously when using the Chrome Browser, users could sign into various Google websites like Gmail, Google Docs, or Google Drive without needing to sign into the Chrome browser itself. Starting in Chrome Version 69, however, Google quietly introduced an “auto sign-in” feature that would automatically sign you into Chrome when you signed into a Google service such as Gmail.

This was frustrating for many users, as some only prefer to use a local account in Chrome and use Google services separately. In some instances, they may share the browser with other users and don’t want to unexpectedly leave their account signed in. A lot of users found it a pain to not be able to turn off that auto sign-in feature.

Thankfully, Google heeded the feedback from its privacy-conscious users, and enabled the option to turn off auto sign-in with the release of Chrome 70. In this article, we will give you a walk-through on how to disable the auto sign-in in Google Chrome.

Disable Chrome Auto Sign-in in Your Desktop

First, make sure that you’re on Chrome 70 or newer. You can check your Chrome version by selecting the Chrome pull-down menu then selecting About Google Chrome.
It will then lead you to a screen showing the version of your Google Chrome.

To disable auto sign-in in Google Chrome in your desktop, please follow these instructions:

Select the Chrome pull-down menu in the top right of your browser window.
Select Settings from the pull-down menu.
You and Google should be the default option selected, click on Sync and Google Services.
Toggle Allow Chrome sign-in to the off position.
Click Turn-off to confirm you want to Turn off sync and personalization.

To test that this worked, close and then re-open Chrome. With Chrome auto sign-in disabled, you can sign into Google sites like Gmail or Docs and, just like in older versions of Chrome, remained signed out of the browser.

Disable Chrome Auto Sign-in for Android

By default, the Google Chrome App for Android devices enables the auto sign-in feature. However, you can manually turn it off by following these steps.

Open your Google Chrome App.
Tap on the three dots icon on the upper right side of the screen.
Then, tap Settings.
Tap Passwords.
Tap the check box beside Auto Sign-in to remove the check mark.

Keep in mind that auto sign-in appears to be enabled by default in the current version of Chrome, so while you can turn it off, you’ll need to remember to do so when setting up a new browser to avoid unintentionally linking your account.

To Be or Not to Be Auto Signed-in

There are advantages to having the auto sign-in feature such as having your history and bookmarks synced across devices and computers. This can come in handy and can save you time signing in, so you can always turn auto sign-in back on if you want to take advantage of those features.

Do you have any tips or tricks for improving your privacy using Google Chrome? If so, please tell us about it in the comments below!