How to Stop Google Chrome from Automatically Downloading Multiple Files

As a security measure to prevent malicious websites from bombarding your hard drive with malware, Google Chrome includes a feature that blocks “automatic downloads.” If a website attempts to download more than one file sequentially after a single click, Chrome pauses the process and displays a small pop-up near the address bar asking for your permission to allow multiple files.

While this is excellent for security, it can be incredibly tedious if you frequently use trusted web applications—such as cloud storage providers (Google Drive, Dropbox) or bulk image converters—that legitimately need to download five or six files to your computer simultaneously. You can disable this protection to allow multiple downloads automatically.

How to Allow Automatic Multiple Downloads in Chrome

You can whitelist specific trusted websites or disable the block entirely from the Site Settings menu.

1. Open the Google Chrome browser.
2. Click the three vertical dots in the top-right corner of the window, and select Settings.
3. In the left-hand navigation sidebar, click on Privacy and security.
4. In the main window on the right, click on Site settings.
5. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and click to expand the Additional permissions menu.
6. Click on Automatic downloads.

From here, you have two options depending on your security preference:

• The Secure Method (Recommended): Leave the default setting on “Sites automatically follow this setting”. Click the Add button next to “Allowed to automatically download multiple files.” Type in the URL of your trusted cloud storage or work portal (e.g., [*.]google.com) and click Add.
• The Nuclear Method (Not Recommended): Select the radio button next to Sites can ask to automatically download multiple files and change it to Sites can automatically download multiple files. This disables the protection globally across the entire internet.

Once configured, your trusted websites will be able to dispatch ZIP files and documents to your Downloads folder simultaneously without requiring you to manually click “Allow” for every single file.