Run Google Chrome as a different user to test

In an on-prem environment, it’s convenient to be able to run Chrome as a test user with general permissions instead of my admin permissions. This possibility makes it so I don’t need to remote to another machine or log out and in with another account just for a simple check.

Using Internet Explorer? Here’s how to do the same with that.

If you have a shortcut to Chrome on your desktop (not your task bar), skip ahead to step two.

1. Search “Chrome” from the start menu, right click and select “Open File Location”

2. Hold “Shift” on your keyboard and right-click the Internet Explorer icon. Select “run as different user”

3. Enter the credentials for the second user (your screen/prompt may look different) and click OK/Login. In some cases, you may be prompted to enter these more than once.

Chrome will now run as if the other user is logged in.

You can also use the “Check permissions” feature in SharePoint to see which groups a user belongs to for a site or resource, and which abilities/privileges they have.

5 Replies to “Run Google Chrome as a different user to test”

  1. “In an on-prem environment, it’s convenient to be able to run Chrome as a test user with general permissions instead of my admin permissions. This possibility makes it so I don’t need to remote to another machine or log out and in with another account just for a simple check”.

    As someone from the UK who dropped in here via a Google search …

    What is an on-prem environment?
    I don’t know what “remoting to another machine” means.

    IT consultant for 50 years…

    1. Hi Roger, on-prem is short for on-premises, meaning physical servers are managed locally rather than using cloud server solutions like Azure.

      And remoting in to another machine is connecting to a separate computer remotely/online by using a specific application or the default remote desktop connection client. Often allows IT staff to quickly help see and resolve issues experienced by users in the organization. Or server admins to easily manage server machines from their own machine.

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