# New Tab in Chrome showing visited sites. Turn it off! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 5, 2014, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tab-in-chrome-showing-visited-sites-turn-it-off/682933 "2014-03-05T16:23:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tab-in-chrome-showing-visited-sites-turn-it-off/682933/1 "2014-03-05T16:23:33Z")
I’ve been hunting elsewhere, but I can’t seem to find an answer. When I open a new tab in Chrome, I get a graphical recommendation of sites I’d like to open. Can I turn this feature off somehow? I don’t want, for example, a little screen grab from the SDMB showing up whenever I open a new tab. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tab-in-chrome-showing-visited-sites-turn-it-off/682933/2 "2014-03-05T16:28:12Z")
As far as I know, you can’t turn that off. If you hover your cursor in the top right corner of the square an X will appear and you can click it to remove that website from your list of most visited so if there’s anything you don’t want someone to see if they borrow your computer, you can eliminate it that way. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tab-in-chrome-showing-visited-sites-turn-it-off/682933/3 "2014-03-05T16:33:16Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > As far as I know, you can’t turn that off. If you hover your cursor in the top right corner of the square an X will appear and you can click it to remove that website from your list of most visited so if there’s anything you don’t want someone to see if they borrow your computer, you can eliminate it that way. Side question/hijack, is there anyway to bring that back? I’ve accidentally clicked the X and besides purged history/cookies and restarting from scratch that is. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tab-in-chrome-showing-visited-sites-turn-it-off/682933/4 "2014-03-05T16:38:52Z")
If you delete another one and look at the bottom of the most visited sites, it will say Thumbnail Removed: Undo and Restore All. Sounds like Restore All is your best bet. This option will vanish after a short while. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tab-in-chrome-showing-visited-sites-turn-it-off/682933/5 "2014-03-05T16:54:55Z")
Thanks. What a horrible “feature”. I use a work laptop both at work and at home (with the blessing of my employer), but it feels so unprofessional to have non-work-related graphics show up there when I’m showing people things on my computer. I guess I can ‘remove’ the most glaring offenders, so that’s something. Thanks for the tip! ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tab-in-chrome-showing-visited-sites-turn-it-off/682933/6 "2014-03-05T16:55:13Z")
Not the greatest solution, but you can get an extension that replaces the New Tab page with something else. You can’t turn it off within Chrome settings. [http://blogs.computerworld.com/internet/23563/chrome-new-tab-page-update](http://blogs.computerworld.com/internet/23563/chrome-new-tab-page-update) ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tab-in-chrome-showing-visited-sites-turn-it-off/682933/7 "2014-03-05T17:02:21Z")
I think you mean a Speed Dial, invented by Opera, showing thumbnails of sites. In Firefox this can be changed ( for now, but then I’m not planning to upgrade again, since the new Australis form is hideous ) in\* about:config\* to a blank page. Looking _Chrome_ up and _remove speed dial_ just shows old discussions and pages about a virus of the same name; but there must be some way of getting rid of the stupid… Chrome, and now all browsers’, developers really really don’t want people to modify their fugly choices. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tab-in-chrome-showing-visited-sites-turn-it-off/682933/8 "2014-03-05T17:31:40Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > Thanks. What a horrible “feature”. > > I use a work laptop both at work and at home (with the blessing of my employer), but it feels so unprofessional to have non-work-related graphics… Voted best euphemism of the year: “non-work-related graphics”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2014, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tab-in-chrome-showing-visited-sites-turn-it-off/682933/9 "2014-03-05T18:14:13Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Voted best euphemism of the year: “non-work-related graphics”. 😃 Hah! I swear it’s nothing your mother would disapprove of! ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tab-in-chrome-showing-visited-sites-turn-it-off/682933/10 "2014-03-07T02:10:16Z")
Maybe consider two Chrome profiles: > **[Use Chrome with multiple profiles - Computer - Google Chrome Help](https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/2364824?hl=en)** > > With profiles, you can keep all your Chrome info separate, like bookmarks, history, passwords, and other settings. > Profiles are ideal when you want to: Share a computer with multiple people. Ke Or two Windows user profiles. That way work stays work beyond just the New Tab page (meaning it also cleans up your history, autocomplete, web searches, Google accounts, etc.)