The Tab Grouping Clutter
Google Chrome introduced “Tab Groups” to help power users organize massive numbers of open tabs. However, a recent update changed the default behavior: if you right-click a link and select “Open link in new tab,” Chrome will often automatically bundle that new tab into a colored group with the current tab. If you simply wanted to quickly open five different links to read later, you suddenly find your browser header filled with aggressive, bright-colored borders and text labels that consume valuable horizontal screen space.
How to Disable Automatic Tab Grouping
You can turn off this forced grouping behavior using Chrome’s hidden developer settings, restoring the classic behavior where new tabs simply open side-by-side without being shoved into a dedicated folder.
1. Open Google Chrome.
2. Click inside the URL address bar at the top of the browser.
3. Type the following command exactly as written and press Enter: chrome://flags
4. You will see a page with a warning and a search bar at the top. Click into the search bar.
5. Type the phrase Tab Groups Auto Create to filter the list.
6. Look for the specific flag titled Tab Groups Auto Create (or similar, depending on your Chrome version).
7. Click the dropdown menu next to this flag (which is likely set to “Default”).
8. Change the setting to Disabled.
9. A large button will appear at the bottom of the screen prompting you to Relaunch Chrome. Click it to restart your browser and permanently apply the changes.
Manual Tab Grouping
Disabling this flag does not remove the Tab Groups feature entirely; it simply stops Chrome from doing it automatically. If you actually want to group tabs together for a specific research project, you can still right-click any tab at the top of your screen and select Add tab to new group. This gives you complete manual control over when and how your browser tabs are organized.