The Cluttered New Tab
Whenever you open a blank New Tab in Google Chrome, you are greeted by the Google Search bar, surrounded by a grid of eight large circular icons. These icons represent your “Top Sites”—the websites Chrome’s algorithm has determined you visit most frequently.
While designed for quick navigation, this feature presents a significant privacy risk. If you open your laptop in a coffee shop, share your screen during a Zoom meeting, or let a friend use your computer, anyone glancing at your screen will immediately see a visual history of your most visited websites. Furthermore, many users prefer a minimalist, clean aesthetic for their New Tab page without the visual clutter of colorful favicons. You can remove these shortcuts entirely.
How to Hide Top Sites on the New Tab Page
You can disable the Top Sites grid directly from the New Tab customization menu.
- Open Google Chrome and click the + button at the top to open a completely blank New Tab.
- Look in the bottom right corner of the browser window. You will see a small button that says Customize Chrome (it may look like a pencil icon). Click it.
- A side panel will slide out on the right side of the screen.
- Look for the section titled Shortcuts.
- You will see a toggle switch next to the option labelled “Show shortcuts” (or “Hide shortcuts” on older versions).
- Toggle the switch to the Off position.
The grid of website icons will instantly vanish from the center of the page. Your New Tab page will now be completely clean and private, displaying only the Google logo and the central search bar.