Google Chrome is adding support for ephemeral (AKA temporary) Guest profile mode for administrators who manage Chrome Browser or Chrome devices for an enterprise like a business organization or school.
This additional support will enable the employees to work from their personal laptops or shared devices that they trust. The administrator can force a Chrome profile to be ephemeral or temporary by the policy. This means that if you are an admin, you can enforce ephemeral mode on Chrome profiles of your employees, which will reduce the chances of any browsing information on their devices to be left behind.
The word ‘Ephemeral’ actually means a fleeting, temporary thing that lasts for a very short time. An employee having an ephemeral Guest profile on Chrome will not be able to see or change any other Chrome profile’s information. Once this ephemeral Guest profile leaves the Guest mode, all their browsing activity will be deleted from the computer. It will be as if they never visited or did anything on that particular device.
Now, Google Chrome already has an option to switch to Guest profile from the profile menu, but this new support that Chrome is bringing seems to be a mild tweak to this feature that can enforce a profile to come in ephemeral mode by the policy.
When users are in the ephemeral guest mode, they can access the full extent of a browser session. They can Sign in for Chrome Sync, have access to Cloud Print, Cloud Policy, Password Storage, Bookmarks, etc. They can autofill and access any other data that is normally present in their profile. They can also access any corporate assets that are enabled in ephemeral mode. These corporate assets include corporate webmail, intranet pages, and documents.
According to ChromeStory, if you are using the ephemeral mode, it is strongly advised to connect yourself through the Chrome Sync as well. If Chrome Sync is enabled, any changes that you make to the browser’s settings or the Chrome data, including history, apps, bookmarks, etc. while you are in the ephemeral mode during a single session, will be saved for the next session in future.
All these settings will be saved in your Google account in the cloud. However, if you do not enable Chrome Sync, all the changes you make will be lost once you exit the session and the browser.
It is not known when it will be available for testing and will come on the Canary channel.
H/T: CS.
Read next: Google Chrome Will No Longer Be Supporting Paid Extensions
This additional support will enable the employees to work from their personal laptops or shared devices that they trust. The administrator can force a Chrome profile to be ephemeral or temporary by the policy. This means that if you are an admin, you can enforce ephemeral mode on Chrome profiles of your employees, which will reduce the chances of any browsing information on their devices to be left behind.
The word ‘Ephemeral’ actually means a fleeting, temporary thing that lasts for a very short time. An employee having an ephemeral Guest profile on Chrome will not be able to see or change any other Chrome profile’s information. Once this ephemeral Guest profile leaves the Guest mode, all their browsing activity will be deleted from the computer. It will be as if they never visited or did anything on that particular device.
Now, Google Chrome already has an option to switch to Guest profile from the profile menu, but this new support that Chrome is bringing seems to be a mild tweak to this feature that can enforce a profile to come in ephemeral mode by the policy.
When users are in the ephemeral guest mode, they can access the full extent of a browser session. They can Sign in for Chrome Sync, have access to Cloud Print, Cloud Policy, Password Storage, Bookmarks, etc. They can autofill and access any other data that is normally present in their profile. They can also access any corporate assets that are enabled in ephemeral mode. These corporate assets include corporate webmail, intranet pages, and documents.
According to ChromeStory, if you are using the ephemeral mode, it is strongly advised to connect yourself through the Chrome Sync as well. If Chrome Sync is enabled, any changes that you make to the browser’s settings or the Chrome data, including history, apps, bookmarks, etc. while you are in the ephemeral mode during a single session, will be saved for the next session in future.
All these settings will be saved in your Google account in the cloud. However, if you do not enable Chrome Sync, all the changes you make will be lost once you exit the session and the browser.
It is not known when it will be available for testing and will come on the Canary channel.
H/T: CS.
Read next: Google Chrome Will No Longer Be Supporting Paid Extensions
