Google Chrome has a tab search feature that looks like a small down arrow icon in the upper right corner of the browser window. As of April 2021, it’s enabled by default for some people, but not for others. Here’s how to turn it on or off.
Update: This feature is now enabled by default for all Chrome browsers. As of June 2021, the flag below no longer exists. This means that it is not possible to hide this icon unless Google adds an option to do so in the future.
To add or remove the down arrow icon from the tab search function, you must enable or disable it from the Chrome flags page. It works for Chrome on Windows, Mac, Linux, and Chrome OS.
To do this, open Chrome on your computer. Type the following text in the address bar at the top of the browser window and press “Enter”:
chrome://flags
You are now in Chrome’s flags menu, which hosts all of Chrome’s experimental features. Here, click on the search box at the top and type “Enable tabbed search” (without the quotes).
In the search results, click the drop-down menu next to “Enable tabbed search”. Select “Enabled” to enable the feature, or select “Disabled” to disable it, by removing the button from your browser’s toolbar.
The feature is now enabled or disabled. For your change to take effect, you must click “Relaunch” at the bottom. This closes and then reopens Chrome.
To undo your change, return to this page and select “Disabled” (to remove the icon) or “Enabled” (to restore it).
While you’re at it, how about getting rid of Chrome’s Reading List option if you’re not using it?
RELATED: How to Disable and Delete Reading List from Google Chrome
