PWAs Now Support Profiles in Microsoft Edge

Microsoft announced today that it has added support for user profiles Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) that are installed as apps through the Edge web browser.

“If you install the same site or PWA on more than one Edge profile, we’ve introduced a profile switcher on the application title bar to switch between profiles from within your app,” Microsoft’s Josh Bodner announced. “With this experiment, you’ll only see one application tile in Windows for that application. Also, when the application starts, it uses the last profile used by the application.”

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The way this works is simple enough: You will see a Weeble-like profile icon in the title bar of installed PWAs and can use that to switch between profiles. When you select a new profile, a second application window will open using that profile.

Note that this feature requires you to have the same app installed using more than one profile. And that it requires Windows 10 version 2004 or higher, Microsoft says.

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Conversation 13 comments

  • bart

    Premium Member
    25 January, 2021 - 1:44 pm

    <p>Any improvements to PWA's are welcome in my book??</p>

  • todd klindt2

    Premium Member
    25 January, 2021 - 2:04 pm

    <p>Yay! I love Edge more and more each day. </p>

  • ronh

    Premium Member
    25 January, 2021 - 2:32 pm

    <p>I will use this every day.</p>

  • davidblouin

    25 January, 2021 - 4:15 pm

    <p>So this is the origin of the "delete on first open shorcut of web site in app mode pointing to secondary profil" that i've encountered since upgrading to 88</p>

    • davidblouin

      25 January, 2021 - 4:23 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#609906">In reply to davidblouin:</a></em></blockquote><p>I got the profile switcher but it still a one shortcut per website not per profil :(</p>

  • gregsedwards

    Premium Member
    25 January, 2021 - 6:31 pm

    <p>So many questions…like if I have multiple profiles in the browser, then can each of those have multiple profiles in a PWA? And can the same profile be used with PWAs in multiple browser profiles? I mean, I get why stuff like this exists, but honestly, isn't this why the OS supports multiple user accounts in the first place? </p>

    • wright_is

      Premium Member
      26 January, 2021 - 3:58 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#609923">In reply to gregsedwards:</a></em></blockquote><p>Not really. I have 1 user account in Windows at work. I then log onto various apps as either a normal user, an administrator or a test user. I don't want to have to log out of Windows and log back in 20 times a day, just because I am having to set up a new user in our ERP system, for example.</p><p>The same goes for Microsoft 365, sometimes I am setting up a new user and once the user is added in the web interface, I log the user in (usually over a private tab, so their profile will be deleted, once I've finished) and set up the users personal settings to the company default settings, before then going back into the admin console, setting the password to "change on next logon" and giving the user their ID.</p><p>I don't have to close my email, my remote session manager, Team, ERP software, telephone client, log on as admin, log off, log on as the new user (creating a local profile on my PC) log off again, log on as admin and change the password settings for the user, log off and log back on with my user and start working again.</p>

    • Chris_Kez

      Premium Member
      26 January, 2021 - 12:01 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#609923">In reply to gregsedwards:</a></em></blockquote><p>I'm guessing this isn't going to allow nested profiles within profiles. I think the point is that the browser support for multiple profiles didn't previously flow through to the PWA version. Now it does.</p><p>As for the need to have multiple profiles, as wright_is notes, this is really helpful for IT folks. But just for regular users that have both a work and a personal MS account or a work and a personal Google account, this makes life easier. </p>

  • nbplopes

    26 January, 2021 - 3:48 am

    <p>Windows is the best platform supporting PWAs. This is great for devs.</p><p><br></p><p>I think this is the future for most productivity &amp; media consumption software.</p>

    • arthemis

      26 January, 2021 - 6:46 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#609995">In reply to nbplopes:</a></em></blockquote><p>I hope so but Apple and Googles apparent stalling on fully implementing all the PWA goodies are worrying. They of course doesnt want to let go of their App store cash cows. </p>

      • nbplopes

        26 January, 2021 - 8:29 am

        <blockquote><em><a href="#610008">In reply to arthemis:</a></em></blockquote><p><br></p><p>Eventually they will. The market needs to keep in the pressure on platforms offering alternatives to the App Store. The PWA might be one … it seams that MS is already doing a PWA working on iOS and Android for the XCloud</p>

  • Usman

    Premium Member
    26 January, 2021 - 6:02 am

    <p>This is perfect, now I don't need to have 3 pinned OWA for different M365 business accounts</p>

  • nbplopes

    27 January, 2021 - 3:32 am

    <blockquote><em><a href="#610115">In reply to Dan:</a></em></blockquote><p><br></p><p>No consumer knows. And you are correct, it’s does not need to. It is not about PWA.</p><p><br></p><p>Soon you will see in sites all over the place a banner to install the App (PWA) has it happens in mobile. All users see it’s one button … install.</p><p><br></p><p>In 5 seconds you have say Mail, YouTube, Twitter … installed. No need to select between Google Play, iOS App Store …. , redirect to an App Store, look at another screen, click install, wait …. It is far more convenient.</p><p><br></p><p>So the future it’s not the App Store either. It is still pretty much the web and some app stores. In fact the current App Stores get most leads/sales for free from the Web. They work mostly has a fancy repository rather than a conversion system. The iOS App Store sells loads because it’s the only option. The proof is in the Mac App Store were comparatively sales are negligible has both suppliers and consumers have indeed other options.</p><p><br></p><p>Now this tech future is in the hands of Google and MS, vision copy cats. That is the danger. They take everything has a garage project., an experiment. Because if it was in Apple hands and the company was in to it, it would be here already. How long have we been on the PWA subject? At 5 years at least, it’s absurd.</p><p><br></p><p>PS: Even Steve Jobs believed in this model as the path to the future. I bet he was quite surprised that Apple could pull the one App Store to rule all apps idea.</p>

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