How to lock Chrome with a password

Chrome doesn't have a password lock. Anyone who opens it on your computer gets your signed-in sites, your history and your saved tabs. Here are three ways to fix that, from the quickest to the strictest.

The short answer

• Lock the whole browser. A free extension, Web Lock, asks for a password every time Chrome opens. Takes about a minute to set up.
• Lock only certain sites. The same extension can leave Chrome open for everyone and put a password on just your email, chats or bank.
• Give everyone their own computer account. No extension needed, and the strictest of the three, but everyone has to sign in and out of the computer.

Way 1: Ask for a password when Chrome opens

Web Lock's Browser Lock shows a lock screen as soon as Chrome starts. Your tabs come back after you enter the password.

1. Add Web Lock to Chrome and finish the short setup it opens.
2. Click the Web Lock icon beside the address bar, type your new password, and go to Browser Lock.
3. Turn on Lock the browser when it opens.
4. Chrome asks whether Web Lock may "read your browsing history". Web Lock uses that only to reopen your tabs after you unlock, and the list stays on your computer. If you say no, the lock still turns on, without bringing your tabs back.
5. Quit Chrome and open it again to try it.

Settings worth turning on

• Reopen my tabs after I unlock. Leave this on to pick up where you left off.
• Lock the browser now. Locks Chrome on the spot, for when you step away. You can give it a keyboard shortcut in Chrome's extension shortcut settings.
• Stay ready when the browser is closed. Keeps Chrome running in the background so the lock is already there when the first window opens.
• Incognito windows. Chrome keeps every extension out of incognito unless you let it in. The same page shows whether Web Lock has been let in, with the steps if it hasn't.

Browser Lock is marked Beta in Web Lock. It works for most people today, and it's still being improved, so tell us from the Send feedback page if something is off.

Way 2: Lock only the sites that matter

If you share Chrome with family and don't mind them browsing, you may not want the whole browser locked. Lock the sites instead:

1. In Web Lock, go to Locked sites.
2. Add each address you want kept private. One password opens all of them.

The rest of Chrome stays open to whoever is using it. There are walkthroughs for locking any website, Gmail and WhatsApp Web.

Way 3: Separate computer accounts

Windows, macOS and ChromeOS can give each person their own account with its own password. Each account has its own Chrome, with its own history and sign-ins. Nobody can see anyone else's without that person's computer password.

This is the strictest option, and the right one if you need to keep things from someone who knows their way around a computer. The cost is convenience: everyone has to sign out of the computer, or switch accounts, each time.

What an extension can and can't do

We'd rather you know this before you rely on it:

• It covers the Chrome profile it's installed in. Other Chrome profiles, Guest mode and other browsers on the same computer don't have it.
• Someone can remove an extension from Chrome's settings if they know where to look. Web Lock Pro adds uninstall protection that asks for your password first.
• It doesn't lock your files or other apps. For those, lock your computer's screen when you step away.

For the everyday case, keeping family, roommates or coworkers out of your browser, Browser Lock does the job. If someone is determined and technical, use separate computer accounts as well.

Questions people ask

Does Chrome have a built-in password lock?

No. Chrome can ask for your computer's password before it shows saved passwords, but it has no setting that asks for a password before the browser or a profile opens.

Will I lose my open tabs when the browser locks?

Not if you leave "Reopen my tabs after I unlock" turned on. Web Lock remembers your tabs on your own computer and brings them back after you enter your password.

Does Browser Lock cover incognito windows?

Only after you allow it. Open Web Lock's page in Chrome's extension settings and turn on "Allow in Incognito". Web Lock's Browser Lock page shows whether this is on.

Can someone get around it by removing the extension?

Someone who knows where Chrome's extension settings are could remove any extension. Web Lock Pro has uninstall protection that asks for your password first. Separate computer accounts are the strongest answer if that worries you.

Can I lock Edge, Brave or Firefox the same way?

Yes. Browser Lock is the same in Edge and Brave. Firefox has it too, without the "Stay ready when the browser is closed" setting.

Is Browser Lock free?

Yes. Locking the whole browser at startup is part of the free version, with no account.