The Unwanted Apps
Google Chrome supports Progressive Web Apps (PWAs). These are websites designed to function like native desktop applications (for example, Spotify’s web player, Twitter, or Google Keep). Occasionally, when you visit a highly optimized PWA, Chrome might automatically prompt you to “Install” the app, or in some enterprise environments, policies might dictate that Chrome automatically creates a desktop shortcut for the PWA upon your first visit. If you rely on a clean desktop and prefer to keep all your web browsing strictly contained within the browser’s tabs, having Chrome automatically drop new web app icons onto your Windows desktop or macOS Launchpad is highly intrusive.
Managing Web App Installations
To keep your desktop clean and stop Google Chrome from automatically creating shortcuts for Progressive Web Apps, you must manage your installed apps and alter your site settings.
First, clean up any apps Chrome has already installed. Open Google Chrome and type chrome://apps/ into the address bar, then press Enter. This page displays all currently installed web apps. If you see apps you didn’t manually install, right-click the icon and select Remove from Chrome. To prevent future automatic installations (especially the aggressive prompts), click the three vertical dots in the top-right corner of the browser and select Settings. Click Privacy and security in the left sidebar, then click Site Settings. Scroll down and click on Additional permissions to expand it. Look for Protocol handlers. Change the default setting to Don’t allow sites to handle protocols. This prevents websites from automatically bridging the gap between the browser tab and your operating system’s native application framework, stopping the silent shortcut creation.