Separation For Your Digital Life
Are your digital accounts out of control? Things might be easier if each human only had one email address and only one device to use that email address on. But that's not the world we live in. Most people have at least one work or school email and one personal email. Many people have multiples of both. In addition, we've got laptops, desktops, tablets and phones surrounding us. Add on the fact that our children have various digital accounts, and it's a recipe for chaos. See my suggestions for sorting all this out. These recommendations apply to people using a Windows PC or a Mac. This won't help with smartphones.
Suggestion #1: Use separate computer logins for each person
Your computer allows you to create separate accounts for each person. When one person is done using the computer, they will need to sign out. The next person to use the computer will need to sign in. Here are instructions, depending on your computer.
Suggestion #2: Use different web browsers
No web browser is perfect, but generally Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome work pretty well. One way to separate things is to use one browser for your personal email and social media, a different browser for your work, and a third for other accounts, such as a place you volunteer or a college email.
This can also be helpful if you would rather not create separate user accounts on the computer as suggested in #1. In that case, you could use a separate web browser for each member of the family.
Suggestion #3: Use browser profiles
Most modern web browsers allow you to create separate profiles. Each profile is a separate instance of the browser that is isolated from the other instance. Accounts, emails, and logins on one profile, won't affect the other.
Create a profile on Microsoft Edge
Add profile on Edge browser
Add profile on Chrome browser
Suggestion #4: Use a private browser tab
For temporary access to an additional account, you can open a private browsing window. Firefox calls it a Private Window, Chrome calls it an Incognito Window, and Edge calls it an InPrivate Window. This opens a completely separate browsing session where no accounts are logged in. Once you close the private browsing window, your browsing history and any logins are removed. This is also useful if you want to test a link and see how it will look to someone else.
