Links from other apps open in whichever Chrome profile was most recently active, because macOS passes the link to Chrome without saying which profile you meant. The fix is to make the profile you want active first, to copy the link into the right window, or to use a link-routing utility that picks a profile by site or app.
Why it happens
When another app asks the default browser to open a link, macOS tells Chrome the address and nothing else. Chrome has to guess a profile, and it uses the last one you worked in.
Ways around it
- Click the Dock icon for the profile you want first, then click the link.
- Right-click the link and copy it, then paste it into the right profile's window.
- Use a small utility that routes links by domain or by the app they came from.
With a Dock icon per profile the first approach takes one click.
Tip: colours
Give each profile a loud colour. Even if a link opens in the wrong one, you will notice before you sign in somewhere.
A routine that avoids the problem
- Decide which profile each kind of link belongs in (for example, work links in Work).
- Before clicking a link in Mail or Slack, click that profile's Dock icon so it is the active one.
- Click the link. It opens in the profile you just activated.
Why Chrome cannot just ask
Browsers receive a bare address from the system. There is no standard way for the app that sent the link to include a profile preference, so any fix has to live in a utility that sits between the app and the browser, or in your own habits.
Questions people ask
Is there a Chrome setting for this?
Chrome does not offer a general setting that routes outside links to a chosen profile.
Try Casement
Casement is a menu-bar app for Mac that puts each Chrome profile in the Dock as its own icon and adds snap layouts, hover-to-focus, a window switcher, Dock window lists, a drop shelf and display controls..