Why Chrome Keeps Opening New Tabs (and How to Stop It)

Chrome opens new tabs by itself for one of four reasons: its On startup setting tells it to open certain pages, a website is allowed to open pop-ups and redirects, a site is sending you notifications, or an extension or program you didn’t mean to install is doing it. Google lists “pop-up ads and new tabs that won’t go away” as a sign of unwanted software (Remove unwanted ads, pop-ups & malware). Check the causes in this order. The first ones take seconds.

Tabs open when Chrome starts: check “On startup”

If the extra tabs appear only when you open Chrome, look at the startup setting first (Set your homepage and startup page):

1. Open Chrome and select More (the three dots at the top right) > Settings, or paste chrome://settings/onStartup into the address bar.
2. Under On startup, see which option is selected:
   • Open the New Tab page: each new window opens on the New Tab page and nothing else.
   • Continue where you left off: Chrome reopens the tabs you had open when you quit. That is normal, not malware. Close the tabs you don’t want before you quit, or pick another option.
   • Open a specific page or set of pages: check the list. Next to any page you didn’t add, select More > Delete.

Google says that a startup page you didn’t set yourself may mean your computer has malware. If a page you deleted comes back, skip to the last section.

Tabs open while you browse: block pop-ups and redirects

1. Paste chrome://settings/content/popups into the address bar, or select More > Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings > Pop-ups and redirects.
2. Choose Don’t allow sites to send pop-ups or use redirects.
3. Under Allowed to send pop-ups and use redirects, block any site you don’t trust: select More next to it, then Block.

These steps are from Google’s Block or allow pop-ups in Chrome. Google notes that not all pop-ups are ads or spam, and some legitimate sites show content in pop-up windows, so allow those sites one at a time if you need them.

Tabs open even when Chrome is idle: block notifications

If tabs or alerts appear when you aren’t using a site, you may have allowed a site to send notifications. Google says that if pop-ups keep coming after you block them, you may be subscribed to a site’s notifications. Open chrome://settings/content/notifications and block or remove any site you don’t recognize. Our guide to notifications that won’t stop has more detail.

Check your extensions

1. Paste chrome://extensions into the address bar.
2. Turn every extension off and use Chrome for a while.
3. If the tabs stop, turn extensions back on one at a time until they start again. That one is the cause.
4. Select Remove on it, and on any extension you don’t recognize (Google’s extension help).

Still happening? Clean out unwanted software

If the tabs keep coming, or settings you fixed change back, a program on the computer is probably responsible. Follow the full clean-up in how to remove a browser hijacker from Chrome: uninstall programs you don’t recognize, run a full antivirus scan, then reset Chrome’s settings.

If Chrome itself opens when you turn on your computer, which is a different problem, see how to stop Chrome opening on startup.