To reset Chrome to its default settings on a computer, open Chrome and follow these steps. Your bookmarks and saved passwords are not deleted.
- At the top right, select the three-dot More menu > Settings.
- Select Reset settings.
- Select Restore settings to their original defaults.
- In the box that opens, select Reset settings.
To skip the first two steps, copy this address into Chrome’s address bar and press Enter: chrome://settings/reset
These are the steps in Google’s own guide, Reset Chrome settings to default.
What a reset changes
Google lists these settings as going back to their defaults on your Chrome profile, on every device where you’re signed in to Chrome with the same account:
- Your default search engine
- Your homepage and the tabs Chrome opens at startup
- The New Tab page
- Pinned tabs
- Content settings, such as letting a site show pop-ups or use your microphone
- Cookies and site data, such as items in an online shopping cart
- Extensions and themes
After a reset you have to turn some extensions back on. Select More > Extensions > Manage extensions and turn on only the ones you trust.
What a reset keeps
- Bookmarks
- Saved passwords
- Some settings, such as fonts and accessibility settings. Google says a reset is not a full reset.
For a completely fresh start, Google’s suggestion is to add a new profile in Chrome.
If your settings keep changing back
When your search engine, homepage or new tabs keep changing on their own, a program you installed may be doing it. Google’s advice is to check for unwanted programs before you reset:
- Windows: open the Start menu and select Settings > Apps > Installed apps. Select any program you don’t recognize and choose Uninstall.
- Mac: open Finder and select Applications. Right-click any program you don’t recognize, select Move to Trash, then empty the Trash.
Then reset Chrome with the steps above. Google’s guide to removing unwanted ads, pop-ups and malware has the full process, and our guide covers a search engine that keeps changing.
Chrome also checks your settings each time it starts. If it finds that a program changed them, it can put your default search engine, homepage, startup pages, pinned tabs and extensions back to their defaults on its own. That is why you may sometimes find Chrome has reset itself.
If Settings won’t open
If the Settings page is missing or won’t open, Google says to uninstall Chrome and install it again from the official site. Our reinstall guide walks through it on Windows, Mac and Linux.
On a phone or tablet
Google’s reset steps are for Chrome on a computer, and the Chrome app on Android, iPhone and iPad has no reset option. If Chrome on your phone or tablet is misbehaving, you can clear browsing data, such as cookies and cached files. Leave saved passwords unchecked unless you mean to remove them: Google says that when you delete data saved to your Google Account, it is removed from every device where you’re signed in.