Does Chrome Lock Up After Renaming Your Linux Username

When you change your Linux username, you might encounter an unexpected problem with Google Chrome. Even when launched from the terminal, it may display an error code like this :

Chrome has locked the profile so that it doesn't get corrupted. If you are sure no other processes are using this profile, you can unlock the profile and relaunch Chrome.

Why This Happens

On Linux, Google Chrome stores your browser data in a folder located at :

/

├── home/

│ └── <username>/

│ └── .config/

│ └── google-chrome/

Chrome generates lock files inside this folder, such as:

• SingletonLock

• SingletonSocket

• SingletonCookie

These files ensure that only one Chrome process can access your profile at a time. When you rename your Linux user, the home directory name changes, but the lock files still reference the old username.

As a result, Chrome thinks the profile belongs to a different user or computer and refuses to start.

This issue isn’t limited to Ubuntu. It can happen on any Linux distribution if you rename the user account without handling application config files properly.

Steps to Fix

Step 1: Close Chrome Completely

Run : pkill chrome

Step 2: Go to Chrome Config Folder

Run : cd ~/.config/google-chrome/

Step 3: Remove the Lock Files

Run :  rm -f SingletonLock SingletonSocket SingletonCookie

Step 4: Restart Chrome

After this, Chrome should start normally without any issues.

What You Should Know :

• Renaming a Linux user without updating paths can break Chrome.

• Chrome uses lock files to prevent profile corruption.

• On Windows, renaming a user does not affect Chrome because of how profiles are managed.

• The safe approach on Linux is to rename users using usermod and update the home directory correctly.