Profiles
A profile is a separate set of sign-ins, history, bookmarks and extensions on this computer. Use one for work, one for home, or one for each person who shares the computer. Profiles are local. There is no account and no sync.
What a profile keeps apart
Separate in each profile
- Sign-ins, cookies and site data
- History and the downloads list
- Bookmarks and Favorites
- Saved passwords
- Extensions
- Site permissions
- New tab page choices
- Toolbar and menu layout
- The Pull requests folder in the sidebar, if you added it
- Ad and tracker blocking, content filters and the proxy
- Workspaces
Shared by all profiles
- Finish, colors and interface size
- Tab layout and window view
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Secure DNS and Global Privacy Control
- Protection lists
- Interface language
Two settings are shared by default but can be set for one profile: Light, Dark or Auto, and the address-bar search engine. When you have two or more profiles an Applies to row appears under them. Choose All profiles or This profile. See Appearance and Search engines.
Workspaces belong to a profile. They use that profile's sign-ins, history, bookmarks and Favorites. See Workspaces.
Switch profiles
Select the profile button at the right of the toolbar. It shows your profile's picture or initial. It is on by default; you can hide it in Customize toolbar. You can also press Ctrl+Shift+M (Cmd+Shift+M on a Mac) for Switch profile.
The Profiles panel lists each profile.
- Click a profile's name to switch this window to it (Switches this window). The current profile has a check mark and the label This window.
- Click the small window icon at the right of a row to open that profile in its own window (Opens in its own window).
- Add profile… opens Settings with the add form ready.
- Below the profiles, the panel lists this profile's workspaces and offers New workspace….
- New private window opens a window where nothing is kept.
- Manage profiles… opens Settings › Profiles.
Windows of different profiles can be open side by side. A new window keeps the profile of the window it comes from.
Create a profile
- Open Settings › Profiles and choose New profile. You can also choose Add profile… in the Profiles panel.
- Type a Name. The hint reads Work, school or home.
- Pick a Color. Acira suggests one that no other profile uses.
- Choose Create profile.
The new profile starts empty. A name can be up to 40 characters.
Bring in another browser's account
If Acira finds profiles in other browsers on this computer, Settings › Profiles shows Bring in another account. Nothing is copied until you choose one. Choose Import as new profile next to it. It becomes its own Acira profile, named and pictured like the original, with its bookmarks and history imported into it, and its Favorites and Spaces when the source is Arc. Sign-ins are not copied. A profile that is already imported, or whose email matches one of your Acira profiles, is not offered again. See Bring your data.
Edit a profile
In Settings › Profiles › Your profiles choose Edit next to a profile, change the fields, then choose Save. Cancel discards changes. While the editor is open the button reads Done. The photo and the default profile switch apply at once, without Save.
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Name | Up to 40 characters. |
| Initial | The letter or digit shown in the avatar. Empty uses the initial of the name. |
| Optional. Shown under the profile's name in Acira. Never sent to websites. | |
| Color | One of nine: Burgundy, Rose, Amber, Olive, Emerald, Ocean, Indigo, Violet or Graphite. |
| Add photo…, Change photo…, Remove photo | Use a PNG or JPEG picture instead of the initial. |
| Default profile | Opens for links from other apps and when Acira starts with nothing to restore. New windows keep the profile of the window they come from. The default profile's row says Default. |
A check mark (Current profile) and the label This window mark the profile in this window. Choose Open on another profile to open it.
Remove a profile
- Choose Edit next to the profile, then Remove profile….
- Read Remove {name}? and choose Remove {name}. Choose Keep profile to cancel.
The profile's sign-ins, history, bookmarks, downloads list and site permissions are deleted from this computer. This cannot be undone. If you remove the profile in this window, the window closes.
The Remove profile… button shows only when you have more than one profile. Acira also refuses in these cases: Keep at least one profile., the profile is still starting or closing, a page in the profile asked to stay open (close it and try again), or the profile is a private window.
Private windows
A private window has its own temporary profile. It shows Private window and Nothing from this window is kept. It does not use any of your profiles' sign-ins. Passwords and bookmarks are off there, and extensions run only if you allowed them. See Private tabs and windows.
Limits
- Profiles are separate on this computer. They do not sync.
- Profiles are not a security boundary against someone using your Windows or Mac account. For a lock that needs Windows Hello on Windows, or macOS verification on a Mac, see Locked workspaces (beta).
- Extensions are installed for each profile. Add one in each profile that needs it. See Extensions.
Last updated November 8, 2026