The Omnibox Clutter
The Google Chrome Omnibox (the main address bar at the top) used to be a simple place to type URLs. In recent versions, Google has stuffed it with various icons and features. One of these is the “Desktop Sharing Hub,” a small share icon that appears on the right side of the address bar. Clicking it opens a menu allowing you to cast the tab, copy the link, create a QR code, or share to social media.
For users who prefer a clean, minimalist browser interface, this icon is annoying visual clutter. Most users simply highlight the URL and press Ctrl + C to share a link, making the dedicated sharing hub redundant. If you want a cleaner address bar and never use the built-in sharing tools, you can turn this feature off.
How to Disable the Desktop Sharing Hub
You must use Chrome’s hidden experimental flags menu to remove the icon.
- Open Google Chrome on your desktop.
- Click into the URL address bar at the top of the screen, type the following exactly, and press Enter:
chrome://flags- At the top of the Flags page, you will see a “Search flags” box. Type Desktop Sharing Hub into this box.
- Look for the specific flag named Desktop Sharing Hub in Omnibox.
- Click the dropdown menu next to it and change the setting from “Default” to Disabled.
- A large button will appear at the bottom of the screen saying Relaunch. Click it.
When Chrome restarts, the share icon will vanish from the right side of your address bar. The Omnibox will be cleaner, leaving more room for the actual website URL. Note: If you do not see this flag, Google has removed the option to disable it in your specific version of Chrome.