If you have more than one Gmail account, you may be growing weary of signing out of one to sign into another. Google has fixed that annoying issue with a new feature that lets you sign into multiple Google accounts from the same browser.
Google started testing the feature in July, and it officially rolled out on Tuesday. Multiple sign-in works for Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Reader, Google Sites, Google Voice, App Engine, and Google Code.
Google’s Motivation
Google’s main motivation may be driving business-user adoption of Google Apps. What does this mean for Google users? Multiple sign-in lets you open Gmail in multiple tabs, log in using different accounts, and read the messages from all your accounts without opening another browser.
“This allows various Google products to be used for different purposes. For example, it adds convenience and, to some degree, improved security if I use Gmail or Google Calendar for personal and business purposes,” said Greg Sterling, principal analyst at Sterling Market Intelligence.
“Those can now can be managed by the multiple sign-in option on the same browser. I don’t have to use multiple browser windows or keep signing in and out of Google to access different accounts for different purposes.”
Opting In To Multiple Accounts
Google users need to opt in to begin using the multiple sign-in service on the Google accounts page. In the personal-settings area, users will see an option for “Multiple sign-in” that is set to Off by default. Users can activate the new feature by clicking on the Change link. Once enabled, a drop-down menu appears next to the e-mail address at the top of the page so users can switch to a new account quickly.
“If you use multiple sign-in, the first account you sign in to will be your default account,” Google explains in its Help Center. “If…