Switching between work and personal profiles in your browser is about to get a whole lot easier thanks to a new Microsoft Edge update.
A new feature will automatically switch user profiles between work and personal, giving users more flexibility and privacy when using Microsoft Edge.
The change means that users will no longer have to manually switch profiles when looking to open a work-focused link when using their personal profile (or vice-versa).
Microsoft Edge profiles
The entry in the Microsoft 365 roadmap (opens in new tab) goes into more detail about the change to the GuidedSwitchEnabled policy. This will now allow Microsoft Edge to prompt the user to switch to the appropriate profile when the browser detects that a link is a personal or work link.
Quite how Edge will detect the difference between a personal or work link isn't mentioned, and the feature is still listed as in development for the time being, but has a general availability date of June 2022, meaning users shouldn't be waiting for too long.
When released, Microsoft says the update will be available to all Edge users across the world, using the web-based version of the tool.
With hybrid working becoming ever more popular for employees across the globe, the need to ensure work and personal lives don’t overlap too much has become paramount for many companies.
In a similar vein, Google Workspace recently announced an update that puts borders between work and home apps (opens in new tab), making sure users aren't disturbed by alerts when at the office, or when trying to relax at home. Mobile users will be able to create distinct profiles for the two sections which can be switched between when you need to focus, or to relax.
Google Calendar also recently introduced the ability to share your working location, allowing you and your co-workers to show exactly where you are.
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