New Profile Persistently Created

Support and Troubleshooting Desktop Support
#1

Description of the issue:
Same thing happening in this thread, only I’m not sure if it is only happening after start-up. This started a few weeks ago. New profile created on next day startup - #7 by justsomeone1
How can this issue be reproduced?
I can’t show steps to reproduce

Expected result:
New profile is not created.

Brave Version( check About Brave):
[Version 1.20.108 Chromium: 88.0.4324.182 (Official Build) (x86_64)
Additional Information:Screen Shot 2021-02-22 at 10.12.02 AM

Screen Shot 2021-02-22 at 10.18.10 AM
Screen Shot 2021-02-22 at 10.18.10 AM624×605 66 KB

I tried following these instructions from thread, but I do not see Brave Software in this folder (see image). Further direction? This occurs on 2 Macs. I have sync turned on for everything within Brave. Previous thread is closed: If you delete the profile, then go, on your OS, to ~Library/Application Support/BraveSoftware/Brave-browser , you should still see a Default folder here, but do you see a folder here labeled “Profile” or “Profile 1” or “Profile 2” etc?

#2

@Mattches I saw you were the one who addresses this in the previous thread New profile created on next day startup - #4 by justsomeone1

#3

@752bfc1c933407ba6a19,
You certainly should have a BraveSoftware folder there. When you installed it, did you drag the icon to the Applications folder as you do with other apps, and then open it? Or did you open the browser from the .dmg directly?

#4

Screen Shot 2021-02-22 at 1.24.51 PM
Yes, I dragged it, like I do all my apps that download. See it is listed in my Applications folder. Should I try a complete uninstall and reinstall and see if the BraveSoftware folder shows up?

#5

@752bfc1c933407ba6a19,
You may not actually need to uninstall at all. Can you first try simply re-running the installer (the same one you originally downloaded from brave.com/download) and see if the BraveSoftware directory gets generated?

Additionally, can you confirm for me that the profile that keeps reappearing and you’re unable to delete is named Profile 1?

#6

Just re-ran the installer as you said and BraveSoftware directory was not generated.

And yes, the profile that keeps reappearing is named “Profile 1.” Strangely, this behavior is on both of my Macs. I assume it has something to do with sync being turned on, but I really don’t know why or why the BraveSoftware directory is not appearing.

#7

@752bfc1c933407ba6a19,
Thanks for testing.
So for the Profile 1 issue you’re seeing – this appears to be an underlying Chromium issue that requires an upstream fix. Issue is logged here:

I’m still looking into the issue why your BraveSoftware folder is not generating – in the interim, can you try downloading Brave Beta and see if the Beta will generate a BraveSoftware folder in Application support? Note that this will not overwrite or delete any data from your current Brave installation and you can uninstall it after testing if you’d like.

#8

Dang, this bug has been going on for almost 2 years? Not optimistic it’ll get fixed.

I downloaded Brave beta, ran it, and it still didn’t produce a BraveSoftware folder. I just took this screenshot after downloading. 1

#9

@752bfc1c933407ba6a19,
The plot thickens. Can you try going to brave://version and at the bottom, tell me where both the Executable path and Profile path point to on your system?

image
image2100×1328 412 KB

#10

Bizarre. The same thing shows on my MacBook. Could it be hidden somehow?
Screen Shot 2021-02-24 at 9.34.08 PM

#11

Found it! It was hidden. Com+Shift+Dot revealed a hidden library folder. Not sure why there are 2 or why one is hidden. I’ll go back to the old thread and see if I can fix the extra profile being created.

1 Like
#12

@752bfc1c933407ba6a19,
That’s excellent news. I will note again though that you will be unable to remove Profile 1 at this time.

#13

UPDATE: Fixed. After seeing the other library folder hidden, I was able to go to BraveSoftware and delete the folder that said “Profile 1.” After restarting my Mac it did not reappear. I have no idea why a new profile was created. I can’t help but think it has something to do with syncing everything with Brave between Macs. IDK, but the sync feature is awesome. It made for easily signing in and having all my extensions, etc. right there.

2 Likes
#14

@752bfc1c933407ba6a19,
Wow that’s fantastic news. Thank you for confirming and great sleuthing :slight_smile:
Appreciate your feedback and support. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any further questions or concerns.

#15

Spoke too soon. The profile is back today, but didn’t automatically appear after restarting last night, so I don’t really know if restarting and the new profile is related. Whatever. Not a huge deal. I’ll play around with one one day when I have more time to figure it out.

2 Likes