When signing in to your UMN email account, you may receive a pop-up message in Google Chrome that states: "Your organization will manage this profile" and "This account ([account name]@umn.edu) is managed by umn.edu." Learn more about the University's role in managing Google Chrome profiles and how to stop the pop-up from appearing when you log in.
Understanding the University's Access to Your Profile Data
The pop-up suggests that you are adding a managed profile to the browser, and that your administrator has control over the profile and can access its data, including synced bookmarks, history, passwords, and other settings.
This pop-up message is misleading, as the University of Minnesota does not have access to view or manage your bookmarks, browsing history, passwords, or any other information stored in your Chrome profile.
Understanding the University's Role in Managing Chrome Profiles
- The only information UMN receives when you sign in to a Chrome profile is your email address, your operating system (OS), OS version, and the date/time you first and last synced the profile. This information is not monitored.
- The only management control UMN has is the ability to sign you out of the profile on that specific device. This would only occur in the event of a security breach (such as a lost or stolen device).
- UMN does not have access to view or manage your bookmarks, browsing history, passwords, or any other information stored in your Chrome profile.
- UMN does not manage your Chrome usage in any way.
Stopping the Pop-Up from Appearing
To prevent the pop-up notice from appearing every time you log in to your UMN Google account in Google Chrome, you can choose to either Turn sync On/Off or Use Guest Mode.
Turning Sync On/Off
If you are signed in to Chrome, turning sync on or off will prevent this pop-up from appearing. Follow Google's instructions for turning sync on or off.
What will happen when you turn sync on or off:
- Turning sync on: Your Chrome profile will have the same bookmarks, history, and passwords available any time you sign in to Chrome on any device.
- Note: Data is accessible to anyone who may log in as you. Using a strong password and Duo multi-factor authentication is critical to protecting your privacy.
- Turning sync off: Your Chrome profile will not sync across multiple devices and the pop-up will no longer appear once you are signed in to Chrome.
Using Guest Mode
If you don't want to sign in to a Chrome profile at all, the only way to do this is to use Guest mode every time you browse.
When using Guest mode, you will need to sign into Google Workspace applications like Gmail and Google Drive every time you use Chrome.
Additional Information
Google Chrome Desktop 102 Pop-Up Change
The pop-up started appearing for UMN users in late May or early June 2022 when Google Chrome version 102 was released.
It appears in several circumstances:
- Signing into your UMN Google account using the desktop Google Chrome Browser version 102 (or newer) for the first time.
- After starting a fresh Chrome instance.
The notice may also appear on other Chromium-based browsers, such as Microsoft Edge, Brave, or Opera.
Google Change Caused Pop-Up Message
No policies or configurations have been changed by the University.
Google, not UMN, made this change. Google implemented this change with Chrome 102 to provide better separation between personal and enterprise-managed data. The pop-up tries to make it clearer to you that you are using Google Chrome via a Google account managed by UMN.
Get Support
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