How to Set Up Chrome Kiosk Mode

Introduction

Chrome kiosk mode opens one website full screen, with no address bar or tabs, which suits digital signs and single-purpose screens. On Windows, Mac and Linux you start Chrome with the --kiosk command-line switch. On a Chromebook, a true locked-down kiosk is set up by an administrator in the Google Admin console. This guide covers both.

The --kiosk switch only makes Chrome open full screen without its toolbar. Chromium’s own source describes it as “not Chrome OS kiosk mode”: it does not lock the computer down, and anyone with a keyboard can close it.

Setting Up Chrome Kiosk Mode on Windows

To set up Chrome Kiosk Mode on Windows, follow these steps:

1. Make a copy of your Chrome desktop shortcut.
2. Right-click the copy and select Properties.
3. In the Target field, leave the path to chrome.exe as it is, type a space after the closing quote mark, and add --kiosk https://example.com (use the address you want to show).
4. Click Apply and then OK.
5. Close every open Chrome window, then double-click the modified shortcut to launch Chrome in Kiosk Mode.

Keyboard Shortcut: Press Alt + F4 to close the kiosk window.

Auto-launch on Windows

1. Press Win + R, type shell:startup, and press Enter.
2. Copy the Chrome shortcut you created into the Startup folder. It will open each time that user signs in.

Configuring ChromeOS for Kiosk Mode

On ChromeOS, kiosk mode is set up from the Google Admin console on Chromebooks enrolled in your organization, not from the Chromebook’s own Settings. Following Google’s kiosk app settings help:

1. Sign in to the Google Admin console with an administrator account.
2. Go to Menu > Devices > Chrome > Apps & extensions > Kiosks.
3. (Optional) Select the organizational unit that holds the kiosk devices.
4. Add the app you want to run, then next to Auto-launch app, choose it.
5. When the device next starts, it loads the kiosk app straight away.

Google is phasing out Chrome apps in kiosk mode in stages, so check the end-of-support schedule linked from that page before you build on a Chrome app.

Security Considerations for ChromeOS

• Ensure that only trusted apps are allowed to run in Kiosk Mode.
• Keep ChromeOS updated to protect against vulnerabilities.

Setting Up Chrome Kiosk Mode on macOS

1. Quit Chrome.
2. Open Terminal from Applications > Utilities.
3. Type /Applications/Google\ Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google\ Chrome --kiosk https://example.com and press Enter.

This command will open Chrome in Kiosk Mode directly from the Terminal.

Keyboard Shortcut: Press Command + Q to quit Chrome and leave Kiosk Mode.

Kiosk Mode with Command Line Flags on Linux

1. Close Chrome.
2. Open a Terminal window.
3. Enter google-chrome --kiosk https://example.com and press Enter.

Need Chrome first? Get it for Windows, Mac or Linux.