When you open a new tab in Google Chrome, you expect to see the standard Google search bar and perhaps a few shortcuts to your most visited sites. However, Chrome recently introduced a feature called “Journeys” (often labelled as “Resume your research”).
This feature automatically analyses your recent browsing history, groups related websites together by topic, and plasters a massive, unmissable block of your past searches directly in the middle of every New Tab page. If you were recently researching a medical condition, looking for a new job, or shopping for a surprise gift, Chrome will actively broadcast this private activity to anyone looking at your screen. Fortunately, you can disable this specific feature.
How to Disable “Resume Your Research” (Journeys)
You can turn off these intrusive history suggestions directly from the Google Chrome Settings menu.
- Open the Google Chrome browser.
- Click the three vertical dots in the top-right corner of the window.
- Select Settings from the drop-down menu.
- In the left-hand navigation sidebar, click on You and Google.
- In the main window, click on Sync and Google services.
- Scroll down to the section labelled “Other Google services.”
- Look for the toggle switch labelled Show Journeys on the New Tab page (or in some versions, simply “Resume your research on the New Tab page”).
- Click the toggle switch to turn it Off.
You can verify the change immediately. Click the “+” button at the top of your browser to open a fresh New Tab. The massive block of your previous search queries will be completely gone, leaving you with a clean, private, and distraction-free search page.