Multiple accounts? Let your avatar be your guide

Let me draw your attention to an account-management feature that you will find on your Blogger dashboard and many other Google pages.

At the top right of your browser window, Google shows your account avatar, the little round image associated with your account.

Plain

Mine is an apple. Yours should be different.

This inconspicuous image is the gateway to some useful account-identification and account-management features.

If you are ever in doubt about which account Google thinks you are in, this avatar can clear things up.

Hover

Hover

If you hover your mouse pointer over your avatar, you will see a pop-up with identifying account information.

Click
If you click on your avatar, another pop-up menu will let you switch accounts or sign out of the current account.

If the account you want is not listed, you can click the add account button.

Click

Blogger, GMail, and many other Google services permit multiple account sign-in.

For those services the pop-up menu lets you switch accounts. If you have an account that is not listed there, you can add it. (None of my other ones are listed above.)

"Add account" means "add an existing account to this browser's list of Google accounts." It does not mean "create a new account."

You can't add accounts to single-log-on services, but you can still sign out of accounts there.

If you sign out, you will be prompted to sign in, which allows you to select a different account.

So if you are not in the right account, sign all the way out of Google and then back in, using the correct user ID and password for the account you want.

Tip: Google shows the avatar of the active account. So, giving every account its own avatar will help you navigate the tangled world of Google accounts.

Update: This post was revised to reflect Blogger's new status as a multi-sign-in service.

Links:

• Here's more about managing Blogger accounts.