42 42 people found this article helpful Updated on November 30, 2021 Easily manage multiple Google sign-ins
What to Know
Google allows you to switch between multiple Google accounts easily. One of those accounts will be assigned as your default Google account, which is typically the account you signed into first (according to Google).
How Your Default Account Works
Google uses your default Google account automatically when you use Google services like Google Search, Gmail, YouTube, Drive, Photos, and more. If your default Google account isn't the one you want it to be, you'll have to switch to the appropriate account every time you access one of these services from a web browser.
You might want to change your default Google account if:
- You want to automatically sign in to your Google account on your personal computer or devices
- You want to automatically sign in to your work-related Google account on your work-related computer or devices
- You're currently spending more time and effort than usual using Google services for a different Google account
Resetting Your Default Google Account
The only way to change your default Google account is to sign out of all your Google accounts and then sign back into the primary Google account you want to set as your default one first, before you sign into any additional Google accounts. Follow these steps to make sure your default Google account has been changed to the right one.
Navigate to myaccount.google.com in a web browser and select your profile picture or icon.
Select Sign out of all accounts.
You might be shown a message about your syncing being paused. If you see this message, select Continue.
You'll see a Choose Your Account screen with all your signed-out accounts listed.
Select the Google account you want to be your default, enter your password, and select Next. Since you signed back into this account first, it automatically becomes your default Google account.
To sign back in to another Google account, select your profile picture or icon, then select the account and sign in as usual. Repeat this process for any other Google accounts.
To verify that the first account is your default, select the profile icon of another signed-in account. You'll see "default" next to the first account you signed back into.
When using your default Google account, you won't see the "default" label after you click your profile. You'll see the default label in the dropdown list only while you're actively using another Google account.
An Important Note About Your Google Account Settings
According to Google, each Google account has its own separate settings, but when you're signed into multiple Google accounts, sometimes Google can't tell exactly which one you're using. In this case, some settings might be applied from the wrong Google account.
For instance, when you open up a new web browser window while signed into two of your Google accounts, Google might not be able to tell which one you want to use in that new window. Settings for that new window will then typically be applied from your default Google account.
Change your default Google account whenever you want. Default Google accounts are device-specific. If you use multiple computers or devices, you'll need to reset the default Google account for each device.
What About Setting the Default Google Account on Google Mobile Apps?
If you use official Google apps like Gmail or YouTube, you can sign in to multiple accounts and switch between them just as you can with a web browser. Select your profile and then choose the Google account you want to use.
Unlike using Google services via the web, however, there doesn't appear to be a default label next to any particular Google account. The app simply remembers which Google account you used last and keeps you there until you manually switch to a different one.
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Stop using Incognito mode to log into your other Google accounts
Google marks one account as your default in each browser on your desktop computer—much like Google sets one of your accounts as a default on Android, too. The practice makes it easier for users to sync data like settings, bookmarks, and more across Chrome on different computers, but it also dictates which account is loaded by default when using Google services. If you find that you constantly have to switch to your secondary account after opening a Google website, you may want to change the default.
What is my default Google account?
The Google ID that you use to sign in for the first time in a browser is set as the default account. The desktop browser will use this Google account on all the company’s web services like Drive, Calendar, Gmail, and so on. It's the one that will appear on the top of the account switcher menu in the top right corner of each Google website. If you don't want to keep switching to your secondary but more commonly used account manually, it’s time to change the default.
Default Google account on desktop: Google Chrome vs. other browsers
Your default Google account is much more capable on Google Chrome compared with Microsoft Edge, Safari, Firefox, and other browsers on the desktop. Chrome will sync bookmarks,history, passwords, payment, and address information to your default Google account.
Other desktop browsers will use the default account to determine which account to default to when visiting a Google service on the web. Your browsing data remains separate from your Google account.
Change the default Google account on the web
You can’t simply select another Google account as the default one and get the job done. You are required to sign out of all accounts and sign back in with your preferred Google ID first.
Here's how to change the default for good:
- Visit any Google service on the web. In the screenshots below, we are using Google Drive as an example.
- Click on the circular profile icon in the upper right corner. If you haven’t set a profile picture for your Google account, you will see your initials instead.
- From the dropdown menu, select Sign out of all accounts.
- You are now signed out from all the added Google accounts.
- You can either select one of the signed-out accounts or use a new Google account when you login again. Remember that the first Google account you use here will be set as the default.
- Once you select a Google ID from the list or add a new Google account, the following screen will ask you to enter the account password.
- If you have set 2FA (two-factor authentication) for your Google account, the company will ask for further verification.
- Complete the authentication process.
- Enjoy a new default Google account on the web.
From now on, you will see the new default account in action whenever you visit any Google service through a browser.
Any changes you make only apply to your Chrome browser. If you try to use another browser on the desktop, it will continue to use the first Google ID that you used during setup as the default. You must go through the same steps again if you wish to change the default Google account on a different browser.
Now that you've got your default Google account all sorted on Chrome, take a few minutes to set up Google Messages on your browser, so you can send text messages without picking up your phone.