The AutoFill Annoyance
When you attempt to fill out an online form—such as entering your shipping details during checkout or signing up for a new service—Google Chrome’s AutoFill feature is designed to save you time. As soon as you click on a text box, Chrome will automatically present a drop-down list suggesting your full name, home address, and phone number based on data you’ve previously entered elsewhere. While this is convenient for some, it can be highly annoying if the suggested information is outdated, or if you share a computer and prefer to keep your personal contact details completely private.
How to Disable Address Suggestions in Chrome
You can turn off the address suggestion feature entirely within Chrome’s settings. Once disabled, Chrome will stop recording new addresses you type, and it will stop offering suggestions when you click on form fields.
1. Open Google Chrome.
2. Click the three vertical dots in the top-right corner to open the main menu.
3. Select Settings.
4. In the left-hand navigation pane, click on Autofill and passwords.
5. Click on the section labelled Addresses and more.
6. At the top of this menu, you will see a toggle switch labelled Save and fill addresses. It includes information like phone numbers, email addresses, and shipping addresses.
7. Click the toggle to switch it to the Off position (the switch will turn grey).
From now on, when you click into a text box on a website, Chrome will no longer overlay a drop-down menu with your personal data.
How to Delete Previously Saved Addresses
Disabling the feature stops Chrome from offering suggestions in the future, but it does not automatically delete the data Chrome has already collected.
1. Still in the Addresses and more settings menu, scroll down slightly.
2. You will see a list of all the addresses and phone numbers Chrome has saved.
3. To remove an entry, click the three vertical dots located to the right of the specific address.
4. Select Remove from the drop-down menu.
5. Repeat this process for every address in the list until the section is completely empty.
This ensures that your private contact information is completely purged from your local browser profile.