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How to Remove New Tab Shortcuts in Google Chrome

You can replace them with custom shortcuts too

By Molly McLaughlin Molly McLaughlin Senior Editor & Content Strategist Molly K. McLaughlin has been a technology editor and writer for over a dozen years. She runs product reviews for Lifewire, overseeing the process from hands-on testing to publishing. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on September 9, 2021 Reviewed by Jon Fisher Reviewed by Jon Fisher Wichita Technical Institute Jonathan Fisher is a CompTIA certified technologist with more than 6 years' experience writing for publications like TechNorms and Help Desk Geek. lifewire's editorial guidelines Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Browsers Chrome Safari Firefox Microsoft

What to Know

To get rid of all of them, open a new tab and click Customize Chrome > Shortcuts, and toggle on Hide shortcuts. To delete one, hover over a shortcut on the new tab page, and click the three-dot menu icon that appears. Select Remove. You can also remove shortcuts by clearing your Chrome browsing history. This article explains how to hide and delete shortcuts on Chrome’s new tab page and add custom shortcuts.

How to Hide New Tab Shortcuts

When you open a new tab page in Chrome, you’ll see shortcuts to websites you frequently visit under the search bar. If you don’t want those to appear, your best bet is to hide them. Here’s how. Open a new tab in Chrome. Click Customize Chrome on the lower right. Click Shortcuts. Toggle on Hide shortcuts. Click Done to save. Then when you open a new tab, you'll see not much more than the Google search bar.

How to Delete Shortcuts

If you like having the shortcuts on the new tab page, you can remove any that you no longer want to show up. You can only delete one shortcut at a time. Open a new tab in Chrome. Hover over a shortcut and click the three-dot menu icon. Select Remove. You’ll see a notification that the shortcut was removed. Click Undo to restore it. Click Restore default shortcuts to bring back all of them.

Clear Your Browsing History

Another way to get rid of the new tab shortcuts is by clearing your browser history. From a new Chrome tab page in Windows, press Control + Shift + Delete to open settings. On a Mac, press Command + Shift + Delete. Tick off Browsing history if it’s not already. Choose a time range from the drop-down menu; the default is the last 24 hours. Click Clear Data. Clearing your browsing history will delete all the shortcuts on the new tab page, if you've enabled Most visited sites. In that case, new ones will appear as you surf the web. However, if you've select My shortcuts then removing the history will not delete those shortcuts.

How to Add Custom Shortcuts

Chrome offers two options if you want to see shortcuts on the new tab page: My shortcuts and Most visited sites. The latter option is automatically updated based on your browser history. You can add as many custom shortcuts to your favorite websites to the new tab page as you want. To display your custom shortcuts, open a new tab, and click Customize Chrome > Shortcuts > My shortcuts. Click Add shortcut on the new tab page. Input a name and URL, then click Done. The shortcut will now appear on your new tab page. How to Group Tabs in Chrome Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire How to Add or Remove Shortcuts on Facebook How to View the HTML Source in Google Chrome Search History: How to View or Delete It How to Clear Internet Cache in Every Major Browser How to Clear Your Search Bar History What Is the Google Chrome Browser? How to Fix It When Google Chrome Is Not Responding How to Remove Safe Finder From Mac How to Clear Cache on an iPad How to Clear Your Internet Explorer History The Best Windows Keyboard Shortcuts in 2022 How to Activate Full-Screen Mode in Google Chrome How to Control iPhone Safari Settings and Security How to Remove Junk Files From Windows 11 How to Clear Cookies for a Specific Site How to Use Google Chrome Commands Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies