Note: creating a separate system user is not an option for me.
In Google Chrome, I can create separate "users" and launch a new Chrome window. Tabs that are opened in this window have their own sessions (cookie jars) that I can keep separate from other user's sessions.
This is great for me because, as a developer, I have personal and work "users" with separate logins for many of the same services.
E.g., I have a personal and a work gmail account – instead of combining them in gmail, I prefer to keep them separate. In my personal Chrome window, I login to gmail to read personal email. In my work Chrome window, I login to gmail (Google Apps for your domain) to read work email.
Another common one is digitalocean, github, and bitbucket. I have personal accounts for each, and work accounts for each. Keeping these things in separate Chrome windows is very helpful for me.
Another great thing about it is Chrome will save my tabs for me. When I'm at work, I can close my personal user window and open my work user window. All of my tabs from the last time I was working will be there. When I'm done with work, I open my personal user window and all my personal tabs are restored.
That said, Chrome is a bloated pig and hogs my RAM and battery. On a brand new Macbook Pro, with Chrome running, I'll get around 4 hours of battery life. With it closed, I can get much closer to 8 hours.
I'd like to ditch Chrome and try Safari, but without such a user profile feature, I'm afraid it will not be useful for me. If it's not natively possible, is there a plugin/extension available?
Thanks for any information.
Best Answer
I, too, have looked for this ability in Safari, but it just doesn't exist. I've submitted an enhancement request at Apple's Safari Feedback page every time a new version has come out.