The Unwanted Kiosk
Google Chrome is highly customizable via startup arguments and flags. Occasionally, due to a malfunctioning extension, a misguided prank by a coworker, or leftover settings from a public “kiosk” display setup, Chrome might start exhibiting a strange behavior: every time you click the icon to launch the browser, it automatically opens in Full Screen mode (hiding the taskbar, address bar, and tabs). While immersive for watching a movie, being forced into full screen immediately upon opening a browser is incredibly frustrating if you just wanted to quickly check an email while looking at another application on your desktop.
Removing the Launch Argument
To restore standard windowed behavior and stop Google Chrome from automatically opening in full screen mode, you must inspect the shortcut you are using to launch the application.
This issue is almost always caused by a specific command-line argument appended to your desktop shortcut. Locate the Google Chrome shortcut you use to open the browser (whether it’s on your Desktop or pinned to your Taskbar). Right-click the shortcut and select Properties. Ensure you are on the Shortcut tab. Look at the text box labelled Target. It should end with something like \chrome.exe". If the text continues past the quotation marks and includes the phrase --kiosk or --start-fullscreen, that is the culprit. Carefully highlight only the --kiosk or --start-fullscreen text (including the spaces before it) and press Delete. Do not delete the path to the chrome.exe file. Click Apply, then OK. The next time you launch Chrome, it will open as a normal, resizable window.