Chrome Story

How to Disable Tab Groups on Google Chrome

To disable tab groups in Chrome, open chrome://flags in a new tab, and disable the “Tab Groups” flag.

A new way to group tabs on Google Chrome is getting ready. This feature is now official and available for everyone.

I used it for a few weeks and realized that I don’t quite like it. I could get used to tab groups on Android. However, on my Chromebook and my laptop, I disabled it soon after testing it for a while. When this feature launches and you find that you don’t like it, here is how you can disable it.

Disable Google Chrome Tab Groups

Google has not enabled this feature by default. That means we do not have an option under Settings to disable it. You can, however, do this using a Chrome flag.

On a Chromebook, Chrome for Mac or Windows 10:

  1. Open chrome://flags
  2. Search for “Tab Groups”
  3. For the Tab Groups flag, select “Disabled” from the dropdown
  4. Restart Chrome.

Chrome tab groups should now be disabled.

Disable on Android

Follow the same procedure on your Android phone too. Open chrome://flags in a new tab, disable the “Tab Groups” flag and restart Chrome.

However, I would recommend trying out tab groups in Android before disabling it. The way the interface is designed works much better on Android and there is a possibility that you will like it and wouldn’t mind continue using it. Here is a video demo of tab groups in Android:

Most of you will like grouped tabs and will leave the feature enabled. However, there will still be a lot of Chrome users who may not need tab groups or may not like it. If you fall into this second group, I am sure you will find this guide useful. When the feature is officially available, I will update this guide if there is any way to disable it from Settings, without the flag.

If you liked tab groups, I would love to hear from you. Drop-in a comment and let me know your thoughts.

In

6 responses to “How to Disable Tab Groups on Google Chrome”

  1. Leesh

    This particular feature actually gets on my nerves as it only creates more mess, so thank you for telling us how to disable it.

    Reply
    1. Dinsan – Bangalore, India – Digital Minimalist & Content Developer. Drinks Tea and writes Stuff (mostly about Chromebooks). My views are mostly copied from others.
      Dinsan Francis

      You are welcome!
      This flag might go away in the future. Let’s hope that they will add something into Settings to disable it. If that happens, I shall update this article.

      Reply
  2. Hemitime

    I truly hate the tab groups!!! Thank you for sharing this info. I keep disabling it and my phone keeps enabling it. I hope they come out with a setting option in the future

    Reply
  3. zenwick

    The problem with tab groups on a phone is that you can’t see enough of the title of each tab to know which is which. It’s nice to have a way to disable the feature, but unfortunately, tab groups come right back whenever I restart Chrome. There seems to be no way to get rid of them permanently.

    Reply
  4. xophr
    Chris

    It’s a stupid feature that Google thought would be a great idea to force on its users. Just like on YouTube, Google seems to enjoy going out of its way to annoy its end users. I’m (not) eager to see what other annoying “feature” that will add in the future.

    Google, for the love of God, STOP CHANGING STUFF!!! At least give us an option to not have it enabled.

    Reply
  5. Pete

    Doesn’t work for me… and I HATE tab groups! Slows me down and complicates things for me.

    Reply

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