Practical guide
Borrowed Device? Plan the Exit Before Signing In
Keep a short account task from leaving credentials, files, or continuing access on someone else's computer.
Decide whether the task can wait
A borrowed computer may be convenient without being a suitable place for a sensitive account. Before signing in, ask whether you can complete the task on your own device or postpone it. For example, reading a public event page is different from opening a private inbox containing recovery messages. You do not need to evaluate every possible technical risk to make that distinction. If the owner manages the device and you do not understand its setup, keep your account activity limited.
Decline permanent conveniences
Avoid turning a short visit into a stored login arrangement. Prompts to save credentials, keep access available, or create a sign-in method deserve a deliberate answer. A courteous device owner may still share the machine with another adult later. Privacy should not depend on remembering to explain every setting after the fact. Google specifically cautions against creating passkeys on shared devices. Treat any similar persistent-access choice as something that requires your own device-control decision, not an automatic part of signing in.
Notice what the task creates
Account access can leave more than a page on the screen. You may download an export, open an attachment, print a record, or copy text into another application. Before doing any of these, decide whether the resulting material should exist on this computer at all. If a file is unnecessary, do not create it merely because a button offers the option. A request to check one message should not quietly produce a folder of private account data that you must later track down.
Verify the ending while you are still there
Sign out through the service and confirm that account content is no longer available through the session you used. Close the relevant windows and account for any files or printouts you intentionally created. Later, if the provider offers a device-access review, use your own device to check for access you no longer want. Do not promise yourself that a borrowed computer is now clean in every technical sense. The practical result is a limited task with an explicit, verified ending.
Sources checked
Linked reference pages checked on 2026-09-09. Product details can change. No paid-membership test or sponsorship is implied.
Google Account Help: passkey access on shared devices ↗