Google Chrome is designed to get you to your destination as quickly as possible. When you start typing a website name into the Omnibox (address bar), Chrome automatically looks at your browsing history and attempts to autocomplete the URL. For example, typing “re” might instantly fill in “reddit.com.” While this saves a few keystrokes, it can be a severe privacy concern if you share your computer with family members or frequently present your screen at work, as it can inadvertently reveal websites you have visited. If you want to keep your browsing history private, you can disable this auto-fill behaviour.
How to Disable URL Autocomplete
You can turn off URL predictions deep within Chrome’s Sync and Google services menu.
- Open the Google Chrome browser.
- Click the three vertical dots (the menu button) in the top-right corner of the window.
- Select Settings from the drop-down menu.
- In the left-hand sidebar, click on You and Google.
- In the main window, click on Sync and Google services.
- Scroll down until you find the section titled “Other Google services.”
- Locate the toggle switch labelled Autocomplete searches and URLs.
- Click the toggle switch to move it to the Off position (the blue switch will turn grey).
Chrome will no longer automatically fill in the rest of the web address based on your history. You will now need to manually type out the full URL or explicitly select a suggestion from the drop-down list below the address bar.