What "default Google account" means and why you might want to change it
Your default Google account is the one that automatically signs you in when you open Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, YouTube, or any other Google service. It is the account Google remembers and uses unless you tell it otherwise. If you have more than one Google account — say, one for work and one personal — your default is whichever one you signed into first, or the one Google has been using longest on that device.
You might want to change your default if you have switched jobs, if you now use a different account more often, or if you share a device and want your account to load first instead of someone else's. Changing it does not delete anything or sign you out of other accounts — it just changes which one appears when you first open a Google service.
The steps differ slightly depending on whether you are on a computer, phone, or tablet, and whether you are using Chrome (Google's web browser) or another browser. The computer method is the most straightforward, so start there if you have the choice.
Key Takeaways
- Your default Google account is the one that signs in automatically when you open Gmail or other Google services.
- On a computer, you change your default by signing out completely, then signing back in with the account you want to be default.
- On a phone or tablet, go to Settings, find Google or Accounts, and reorder your accounts so your preferred one is listed first.
- Changing your default does not delete anything — all your accounts stay on the device, and you can still switch between them anytime.
- If you use Chrome, you can also set a default by making sure your preferred account is the one signed into Chrome itself.
Changing your default on a Windows or Mac computer
Open any Google service — Gmail, Google Drive, or YouTube — and look at the top right corner of the screen. You will see a small circle or square with your initial or profile picture. Click it. A menu will drop down showing all the accounts currently signed in on this computer. At the bottom of that menu, click Sign out of all accounts.
Once you are signed out completely, go back to Gmail or Google Drive and click Sign in. Enter the email address and password for the account you want to be your default. After you sign in, that account becomes your default — it will be the one that loads automatically next time you open a Google service on this computer.
If you want to add your other accounts back so you can switch between them without signing out, click your profile picture again after signing in, then click Add another account. Sign in with each additional account. They will all stay on the device, but the first one you signed back in with remains the default.
Changing your default on an iPhone or iPad
Open the Settings app on your device. Scroll down and tap Google (or Accounts and Passwords on older iOS versions, then tap Google). You will see a list of all Google accounts currently on your device.
The account at the top of the list is your default — the one that Gmail, Google Drive, and other apps will use first. To change which account is default, tap Edit in the top left corner, then drag the account you want to be default to the top of the list. Tap Done. The next time you open a Google app, your new default account will sign in automatically.
If you do not see a Google option in Settings, look for Mail, Contacts, or Calendar, tap Accounts, and find Google in that list. The reordering process is the same.
Changing your default on an Android phone or tablet
Open Settings and scroll down to find Accounts or Users and accounts. Tap Google or Add account if Google is not listed. You will see all your Google accounts. The one at the top is your default.
To change your default, tap Manage your accounts or the three-dot menu, then look for an option to reorder or set primary account. Drag your preferred account to the top, or tap it and select Set as primary. The exact wording varies by Android version, but the principle is the same: the account listed first becomes your default.
If you cannot find a reorder option, try this instead: go to Settings > Apps > Gmail (or Google), tap Storage, then Clear data. This removes Gmail's memory of which account you used last. When you open Gmail next, it will ask you to sign in, and whichever account you sign in with first becomes the new default.
Using Chrome to set your default Google account
If you use Google Chrome as your web browser, you can also influence which Google account is your default by controlling which account is signed into Chrome itself. Click the profile icon in the top right corner of Chrome (it looks like a circle with your initial or picture). If you see You are not signed in, click Sign in to Chrome and use the account you want to be your default.
If you are already signed into Chrome with a different account, click your profile icon, then click Sign out. Then sign back in with your preferred account. When you are signed into Chrome with a particular account, Google services tend to default to that account when you open them — though the device-level default (set in Settings on phones, or by signing out and back in on computers) takes priority.
You can also have multiple accounts signed into Chrome at once. Click your profile icon, then Add another person, and sign in with a second account. Chrome will remember both, and you can switch between them by clicking your profile icon and selecting the account you want. However, only one account can be your "primary" Chrome profile, and that is the one that determines your default for Google services.
What happens to your other accounts when you change your default
Changing your default does not remove your other accounts from the device. If you had three Google accounts signed in before, you still have three signed in after. You can still switch between them anytime by clicking your profile picture and selecting a different account — you just will not start out on that account when you first open Gmail or Google Drive.
Your data, emails, files, and settings in each account stay exactly where they are. Changing your default is purely about which account loads first. If you want to completely remove an account from your device, you can do that separately: click your profile picture, find the account you want to remove, and look for a Remove or Delete option. But you do not have to remove an account just to change which one is default.
Troubleshooting: your default keeps changing back
If you set a new default but Google keeps signing you back into the old one, the most common cause is that you are still signed into the old account in Chrome (on a computer) or that the old account is still listed first in your device Settings (on a phone or tablet). Check both places: make sure your preferred account is signed into Chrome, and make sure it is at the top of your account list in Settings.
Another reason this happens is if you use multiple devices. Your default account on your phone might be different from your default on your computer, and that is normal — each device has its own default. If you want the same default everywhere, you will need to change it on each device separately.
If you recently changed your password or enabled two-factor authentication on your Google account, you might be signed out of some devices automatically for security reasons. If that happened, sign back in with your preferred account, and it will become your new default on that device.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I have two default accounts?
No, only one account can be your default on any given device. However, you can have multiple accounts signed in at the same time, and you can switch between them when ready by clicking your profile picture. The default is just the one that loads first when you open a Google service.
If I change my default account, will my emails or files move to the new account?
No. Your emails stay in the account they belong to, and your files stay in the Google Drive they belong to. Changing your default only changes which account signs in automatically — it does not move or copy anything between accounts.
What if I share a device with someone else and want them to have a different default?
On a phone or tablet, each person can have their own user account in Settings, and each user account can have a different Google account as default. On a computer, you can create separate user profiles in Windows or macOS, and each profile can have a different Google default. This is more find than sharing one profile.
Do I need to change my default if I only use one Google account?
No. If you only have one account, it is already your default, and there is nothing to change. You only need to change your default if you have multiple accounts and want a different one to sign in first.
Will changing my default account affect my Google passwords or two-factor authentication?
No. Your security settings stay with each account no matter which one is default. If you have two-factor authentication turned on for an account, it stays on whether that account is default or not.