Cloud Blog: Chrome Enterprise improves work and personal profile separation and brings more advanced protections for unmanaged devices

Source URL: https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/chrome-enterprise/chrome-enterprise-improves-work-and-personal-profile-separation-and-brings-more-advanced-protections-for-unmanaged-devices/
Source: Cloud Blog
Title: Chrome Enterprise improves work and personal profile separation and brings more advanced protections for unmanaged devices

Feedly Summary: For many employees, the browser has become where they spend the majority of their working day. As more work is being done on the web, IT and security teams continue to invest in enterprise browsing experiences that offer more protections for corporate data, while making it easy for employees to get work done. Chrome Enterprise has given businesses the best of both worlds—allowing workers to use the browser they are most familiar with and giving IT and security leaders the advanced protections and controls to safeguard their business.Whether it is the foundational policies and customizations available to all businesses through Chrome Enterprise Core, or the advanced data protections and secure access capabilities available in Chrome Enterprise Premium, businesses can count on Chrome to help keep employees productive and safe.New improvements to Chrome Enterprise are continuing to level up how employees experience their enterprise browser with better transparency around the separation of work and personal browsing. This helps build more trust from employees, offering them better visibility into how data types are treated differently by their organization when using Chrome, especially when they are using their personal devices for work. IT and security teams can also benefit from enhanced profile reporting and data protections for unmanaged devices using Chrome profiles, ideal for bring your own device (BYOD) environments.More transparency for corporate browsersMany organizations are using the browser as a secure endpoint, enforcing secure access to critical apps and data for employees and contractors right at the browser layer. With the browser playing a more critical role in daily work, it’s more important than ever for IT teams to make it clear to employees that they are logged into a corporate browsing experience that is managed and monitored by their company. Chrome Enterprise makes this easier to signal than ever before by now allowing organizations to customize browser profiles with their company logo.Companies can create a branded Chrome profile experience for their users while they work on the web. This clear visual identity helps employees understand that they are working in a secure enterprise profile, distinct from their personal browsing experience. Within the enterprise profile, additional settings and controls may be in place, and employees can get more information about what their companies are managing.

Employees will see more clearly that they are in a managed browser profile, and they can go a level deeper to understand more about their work browser. This allows IT and security teams to offer more visibility to their users about the protections in place.In the upcoming releases of Chrome, even if IT teams do not customize the browser experience with their logo, if companies apply policies to their browser profile, employees will receive an indication that they are in a managed “Work” profile environment.

More streamlined sign in experienceFor businesses using Google Workspace or Google Identity, employees will see a new sign in experience when they sign into their Chrome profile for work. This updated experience gives users more visibility into what’s being managed and shared with their organization as soon as they sign in, and it allows them to create a separate profile for work to keep their bookmarks, history, and more, distinct from their personal profile.

New Chrome Profile ReportingWhile the experience for employees is improving for Chrome Profiles, we’ve recently also added more capabilities for IT teams. Now, enterprises can turn on reporting for signed-in managed users across platforms including Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android. In one streamlined view they can get critical information about browser versions, the operating system, policies, extensions and whether the device is corporate managed or personal. This is ideal for getting more visibility into BYOD or contractor scenarios.

Applying additional protections through managed profiles on unmanaged devicesThrough Chrome profiles, enterprises can even enforce secure access and data protections on devices that are personally owned or unmanaged. Once signed into a work Chrome profile, organizations can use Chrome Enterprise Premium to apply critical data controls and make access decisions for business apps. For example, your company can require a contractor to log into a work Chrome profile to access a CRM tool, but copy and paste restrictions or screen shot blocking can be turned on for added protections. This offers an easy and secure way to ensure company policies are enforced on both managed and unmanaged devices, right through Chrome.Getting started with Chrome ProfilesOrganizations can customize Chrome to show their organization’s logo and name today using Chrome Enterprise Core, which is available to all businesses at no additional cost. They can also manage Chrome profiles, get reporting at the profile level and get security insights. If they want to apply more advanced data protections and enforce context aware access, they can try out Chrome Enterprise Premium.

AI Summary and Description: Yes

**Summary:**
The provided text discusses advancements in Chrome Enterprise aimed at improving corporate browsing security and productivity for employees. By allowing organizations to customize browser profiles and increasing transparency around managed environments, Chrome Enterprise enhances trust among users, especially in BYOD scenarios, while equipping IT teams with better reporting tools and data protection strategies.

**Detailed Description:**

The current landscape of work has increasingly shifted toward web-based activities, emphasizing the role of browsers in maintaining corporate security and productivity. Chrome Enterprise addresses several critical aspects of this shift:

– **Enhanced User Experience:**
– Chrome Enterprise offers both familiarity for employees and advanced security controls for IT departments.
– Recent updates improve transparency between employee work and personal browsing, fostering user trust.

– **Corporate Identity and Management:**
– Companies can now customize Chrome profiles to display their logos, allowing users to recognize their corporate browsing environment easily.
– Managed profiles inform users of additional security measures and controls specific to corporate usage.

– **Streamlined Signing Process:**
– New sign-in experiences for Google Workspace and Google Identity users enhance visibility regarding what data is managed and shared with the organization.
– Users can maintain separate profiles for work and personal browsing, helping to segregate bookmarks and history.

– **Profile Reporting Capabilities for IT:**
– Chrome Enterprise allows IT teams to enable reporting for signed-in managed users across various platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux, Android).
– This feature provides critical insights into browser versions, operating systems, policies, extensions, and device management status.

– **Data Protection on Unmanaged Devices:**
– Enhanced Chrome profiles facilitate secure access and data protections, even on personal or unmanaged devices.
– Enterprises can enforce company policies, such as access restrictions to sensitive applications, directly through browser profiles.

– **Getting Started:**
– Organizations can set up Chrome with their branding using the core version at no cost.
– For more advanced features, Chrome Enterprise Premium provides greater data protection and context-aware access.

The focus on security and efficiency in Chrome Enterprise not only strengthens corporate data protection but also enhances the user experience, which is crucial as remote work and BYOD become more prevalent. This dual approach is particularly significant for security and compliance professionals as they navigate the complexities of corporate data governance in increasingly decentralized work environments.