Revert new tab page behavior in Google Chrome 29+

111

I don’t like the behavior of the new tab page in Google Chrome 29+. How can I restore the old behavior?

The new tab page (if you have Google set as the default search engine) now shows the Google logo (or, apparently, the doodle of the day if there is one), a search box, and a few recently visited websites. It also added an Apps button to my favorites bar, seemingly the only way to access my apps page, which has easy access to things I use regularly (Calendar, Gmail, Docs, G+, Facebook, Feedly, Google News, Netflix, Play Music, Pandora, Drive, Keep, etc.) I don’t like this behavior. I actually don’t mind having the logo of the day and search box, but I want my apps linked to on my new tab page.

Is there any way to get the old behavior back? I checked the settings and it doesn’t seem like it’s possible to set chrome://apps to be the new tab page (which would restore the old behavior) or to configure the new new tab page to display apps instead of recently visited sites.

google-chrome

Thomas Owens

Posted 2013-09-25T12:14:57.273

Reputation: 3 663

Note, if you want a blank page (à la about:blank), see http://superuser.com/questions/206229/how-to-make-a-blank-page-in-google-chrome-at-start-up/600232#600232 instead.

– Nemo – 2015-05-03T12:04:44.663

Interesting, I'm on the same build as you and I don't have the New™ New Tab Page. Can you try if this extension will do the job?

– Sathyajith Bhat – 2013-09-25T13:06:46.920

@Sathya What OS are you on? My home desktop is Win7 and I've noticed the newer tab page there. My work computer I'm currently posting from is Windows XP. I'm on the latest build, but my tab page is also still the same as it was. – DanteTheEgregore – 2013-09-25T13:10:09.857

1@Zach I have Windows 7 at my workplace & Windows 8 on my home system, both don't have the New™ New Tab Page. – Sathyajith Bhat – 2013-09-25T13:11:27.507

On a side-note, there's a new button on your favorite bar named "applications" which, if middle-button clicked, will mimic previous behaviour. – mveroone – 2013-09-25T13:48:02.183

1@Kwaio That's an unacceptable alternative, IMO. It requires a mouse click, while Ctrl+T can open a new tab. It also adds an extra thing to my favorites bar to work around removed features. Zach's answer is really the best option. – Thomas Owens – 2013-09-25T14:06:15.553

I agree. I was just suggesting an alternative which could seem better to someone with the same problem landing here. – mveroone – 2013-09-25T14:16:47.483

Ah I'm so glad this was posted - I was really missing the 'recently closed' button in the bottom left which actually had sets of tabs in. – Brendan – 2013-11-17T13:09:40.880

Answers

Please note: This solution no longer works as many of the features mentioned have been removed by the Chrome developers. It will be kept for posterity, but is no longer guaranteed to work as intended.

Update January 29, 2014: As of Google Chrome stable Version 32.0.1700.102 m this flag still appears to exist. chrome-internal://newtab does not appear to exist. chrome://apps still exists.

Update Feburary 21, 2014 As of Google Chrome stable Version 33.0.1750.117 m this flag appears to no longer exist. chrome://apps appears to still work. chrome://newtab directs users to the new newtab page.

To disable this feature, go to:

chrome://flags/

And hit Ctrl+F. Search for "Enable Instant Extended API". Click disabled in the dropdown below it, then click relaunch now. This should disable the new tab page. Change the flag to enabled if you'd like to re-enable it at any time.

Edit: Here's the flag:

chrome://flags/#enable-instant-extended-api

Thanks, Jim Bergman.

Other possible solutions

Please see either drzaus's answer or niutech's answer for possible solutions involving Google Chrome extensions and other dark magic. New Tab Reloaded (Extended) is currently the only extension that fully restores the old New Tab Page, though "Recently closed" and "Other devices" are only available in development versions of Chrome, which may be unstable.
Rob Cooper has posted a work around with some more details about how to get rid of the annoying search engine on the new tab page in Google Chrome. Please see his answer for more details.

DanteTheEgregore

Posted 2013-09-25T12:14:57.273

Reputation: 2 417

2Helpful. I also found the option to disable the stupid new dialog boxes. – Thomas Owens – 2013-09-25T13:30:01.073

2I wish I could upvote this more. I stare at that screen a hundred times a day, so I was quite upset when it was different. – HenryAdamsJr – 2013-09-25T14:25:34.700

12fair warning: Google has already said that this flag will be removed from Chrome once the new tab page has been field-tested, so this is a best a temporary fix. – KutuluMike – 2013-09-25T17:02:20.800

3(hrm. the comment about the flag going away appears to have been edited out of the google groups thread, so there may be hope...) – KutuluMike – 2013-09-25T17:08:39.877

I saw screenshots of people with a small menu bar in the top right of the new tab page. http://i.imgur.com/50Hm2id.png I can't see it on my Windows PC.

– Mastergalen – 2013-09-25T21:32:36.557

1@mastergalen Sometimes this: i.imgur.com/Ixrfr1C.png is my new tab page, sometimes this: i.imgur.com/X1Xsfwa.png. Here's my history page too: i.imgur.com/N0yaQrB.png – DanteTheEgregore – 2013-09-26T18:47:59.857

Hmm, I really wouldn't mind the new tab layout if the top right menu bar actually showed up. In Incognito mode I was able to see the top right menu bar. I then tried to delete all cookies and session storage data, but the top right menu bar still did not appear. – Mastergalen – 2013-09-26T22:07:28.070

Why is this not easy to do?! Searched for ever and found it in a COMMENT on a post about the feature, that led me here. +1000 if I could! This almost pushed me back to using a different browser! – GalacticJello – 2013-09-27T04:01:01.543

1In Japanese: "Instant Extended API を有効にする", I guess other languages do not translate "Instant Extended API" either so if not English search with this string. One more reason to switch to another Chromium-based browser, or Firefox. – Nicolas Raoul – 2013-09-27T07:41:22.453

This answer only removed the colorful "Apps" icon for me. I still have a toolbar under the URL bar with many of my bookmarks/favorites. This is the bar in which the colorful "Apps" icon was in before I set this option to disabled. How can this entire toolbar be removed? – MacGyver – 2013-09-27T16:03:45.583

@MacGyver Something's wrong then. What Chrome build and OS are you on? Try clearing your cache and see if that helps. Here's the tab page for me after I disable the flag: http://i.imgur.com/7c6QOKp.jpg

– DanteTheEgregore – 2013-09-27T16:09:16.640

2This is great. When I have a blank tab open, my boss shouldn't walk in, see a Google Doodle, and assume I'm just playing games. – Cory Dee – 2013-09-27T16:17:08.133

1@MacGyver -- CTRL+SHIFT+B to disable the bookmarks toolbar (also right-click it, and in Settings) – drzaus – 2013-09-27T17:54:26.710

@MacGyver Misread the question. Follow what drzaus said. – DanteTheEgregore – 2013-09-27T17:56:31.570

3You can link directly to a setting: chrome://flags/#enable-instant-extended-api – Jim Bergman – 2013-09-29T07:43:47.347

This flag no longer exists in Chrome 33, see my answer for a workaround. – niutech – 2013-12-15T00:51:31.550

With the latest stable build - this solution (and those linked) no longer work. I did manage to find a work-around though.. Check out my answer below. No extensions required. – Rob Cooper – 2014-01-22T18:15:07.070

@RobCooper The flag would appear to be working for me on the latest stable build. Are you certain it has been removed? – DanteTheEgregore – 2014-01-29T16:18:30.107

Another alternative is to use the Replace New Tab Page extension and set the new url to chrome://apps (which is the url from the new bookmark icon).

I assume this lets you take advantage of the other parts of the flag "Enable Instant Extended API" rather than disable it.

drzaus

Posted 2013-09-25T12:14:57.273

Reputation: 379

found this via http://www.guidingtech.com/8004/have-new-tab-page-open-specific-website-firefox-chrome/

– drzaus – 2013-09-27T17:54:57.490

5I need something like chrome-search://most-visited/ – Davut Gürbüz – 2013-09-30T11:10:57.213

1The side effect of using this or the New Tab Redirect extension is that it leaves chrome://apps in the OmniBox so you have to erase it before typing a new URL, that's a major speedbump. The fastest way to clear omnibox is to highlight it by hitting Ctrl+L but that's still an extra keystroke that's NOT in my muscle memory :( – Dmitry Pashkevich – 2014-01-18T21:49:39.423

1@DmitryPashkevich this is unfortunately true; you can alternatively use F6 if it helps you get used to it faster, which you might need to since Chrome removed the flag ;) – drzaus – 2014-02-24T18:30:23.460

+1 I'm on chrome Version 33.0.1750.117. I had that Enable Instant Extended API disabled earlier. But one fine day, it automatically disappeared from my chrome://flags page! Crazy right? So yes, this helped me! Thanks. It's a shame that this cannot be configured via chrome settings. – Nikhil – 2014-02-27T06:37:32.820

DanteTheEgregore's answer doesn't work in Google Chrome 33+ because Google has removed that flag. However, you can revert the old New Tab Page by following my workaround:

Install the New Tab Redirect extension
Set the URL in options to: chrome-internal://newtab or chrome://apps

niutech

Posted 2013-09-25T12:14:57.273

Reputation: 763

Really an updated answer. that is a google's beast.!! – SIslam – 2015-04-06T04:30:37.480

chrome://newtab "works" in Chromium 40, but it's again the new tab page which contains bookmarks and 8 screenshots of frequently visited websites... which takes ages to load. – Nemo – 2015-05-03T11:44:48.930

newer versions of chrome have also the chrome-internal scheme removed

– wimh – 2014-01-18T11:44:41.053

4There is no chrome-internal://newtab. They removed it. – Derek 朕會功夫 – 2014-01-18T21:43:31.170

Indeed, recently they have removed it. Comment on this issuse to tell them to revert it.

– niutech – 2014-01-22T00:05:20.400

This is annoying the hell out of me as well - after some tinkering and reading the docs on Google. I've found a solution - one that Google might not like either..

Namely:

Your default search provider has the option to customise the New Tab page. If Google is your default search provider, you'll see a logo and search box like on www.google.com. If your default search provider isn't Google, you may see a different layout on the New Tab page.

Open "Settings".
Scroll down to "Search".
Under "Set which search engine is used when searching from the omnibox." select "Bing".

Open a new tab and enjoy the lack of Google.

NOTE: If you find you're not getting some results - you can make Google quickly accessible by adding a shortcut to Google via:

Open "Settings".
Scroll down to "Search".
Click "Manage search engines"

Under "Other search engines"..

Scroll to the bottom to where you can add a new entry.
Search Engine: Google
Keyword: go - it didn't seem to like 'g' on mine, but try
URL: https://www.google.com/#q=%s
Open a new tab - type "go" (hit delete if autocomplete kicks in) and type your search query. Hit enter and you're good to go.

Enjoy!

PS: This has been tested and confirmed good on version 32.0.1700.76.

UPDATE - 4th March 2014

I'm now running Chrome 33.0.1750.117, with my default search engine back to Google - and all is well, normal behaviour has resumed. However, I've heard others still have it.. I can only guess that if the above doesn't work - you've falling into some Google A/B test. :(

Rob Cooper

Posted 2013-09-25T12:14:57.273

Reputation: 161

I confirm what @drzaus says for Chromium 40 as well. – Nemo – 2015-05-03T12:02:34.367

Sadly this no longer seems to help in v33.whatever -- even with Bing it's the useless newtabpage, just without a logo. I even made a simple JS page redirecting back to google as an interstitial helper (just so I keep the "benefits" of using Google as my default), no dice.

– drzaus – 2014-02-24T18:48:47.413

Interesting. I am running 33.0.1750.117 and my default search is back to Google - and I'm no longer getting the annoying issue.. I just figured they had listened to feedback and sorted it out. – Rob Cooper – 2014-03-04T11:55:47.560

"Broken" using 33.0.1750.146 m. Using anything other than google as the default search just shows the 8 'top sites' only. This is starting to remind me of the Internet Explorer anti-trust days... – drzaus – 2014-03-04T21:00:08.137

Alternatively to access the old interface of Google Search, open either of the following links in Chrome:

Get Classic Old Interface in Google Search (English)

Get Classic Old Interface in Google Search (Worldwide)

Opening either of the above mentioned links, will give you the old Google Search webpage instead of the new one.

Then bookmark the link by pressing "CTRL+D" keys in your browser window so that you can access it quickly whenever you want. You can also set it as your browser homepage.

Courtesy

Simon

Posted 2013-09-25T12:14:57.273

Reputation: 4 193

In Google Chrome v33 you also can use this extension http://stylet.github.io/GLogo_deactivator/ . I hope it will be helpful.

Stylet

Posted 2013-09-25T12:14:57.273

Reputation: 21

I recommend using the StartHQ extension: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/starthq/ilcpdgfepihaomggobhmfiimflngbcoh . It additionally allows you to customize all of the links, titles and pictures. So that you don't have to rely on the Chrome App Store anymore.

finn

Posted 2013-09-25T12:14:57.273

Reputation: 101

There is a simple way to do it without any extensions or hidden APIs. It should work for all OSes too. For all known versions of Chrome and Chromium and derivatives. At the time of writing, version is 38.

Start Chrome
This step is not really needed, but a precaution: If you have sync set up between multiple PCs, pause it temporarily or just turn off Internet connection.
Close all tabs. Open new tab and use X buttons to remove all thumbnails you don't want. (You can remove all, or leave some).
Close Chrome immediately.
Go to the place where Chrome keeps its settings. On Linux, it is ~/.config/google-chrome/Default, on other OSes look here. In a folder Default find files called Top Sites and Top Sites-journal. Make them read-only. May be you can simply delete the second.
Enjoy your new peek-free Chrome. It can still sometimes create thumbnails for sites you just visited, but will immediately forget them after closing.

Unlike the extensions, this actually makes Chrome to forget your favorite sites. All other methods can introduce privacy leak: You bring your PC somewhere, connect it to Internet, and Chrome tries to access your favorite sites. Than local network admin will know what sites you frequent.

Barafu Albino

Posted 2013-09-25T12:14:57.273

Reputation: 245

-1

You can also install this extension. It will show the apps when opening a new tab in Chrome:

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/show-apps-in-new-tab/nohbdifokmdgjcbbeobglcbaifinhfip

Disclaimer: I created this extension, I don't make any money from it, just had the same annoyance that's why I created it. This post is intended to help, not to self promote. ‍♂️

magikMaker

Posted 2013-09-25T12:14:57.273

Reputation: 107

I've added the disclaimer link. I intended to help, not to self-promote. The extension is not making me any money and it's free. – magikMaker – 2019-09-06T15:43:38.337

You're affiliated with this project. As per the faq, please disclose any and all affiliation when promoting a project in your answer. http://meta.stackoverflow.com/help/behavior

– DanteTheEgregore – 2013-09-30T12:36:59.270