Chrome is losing four handy tab options that Google says you're not using

Google Chrome
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Google is stripping some of the fat from Chrome, and has decided to remove several options from the context menu that appears when you right-click a tab.

The options to create a new tab, close every tab except the current one, bookmark all open tabs and reopen a closed tab are all destined for the chop, after developers concluded they weren't used often enough to justify their existence.

You can see the changes now by downloading the latest version of Chrome Canary (a preview version of the browser intended for developers and anyone who wants to try new features first).

Keeping tabs?

As BleepingComputer reports, some developers at Google have wanted to strip back the tab context menu for years, believing it to be unnecessarily cluttered.

According to usage data, only 8.92% of users used the menu to reopen closed tab option, 6.63% used it to open a new tab, 2.2% used it to close other tabs, and 0.64% used it to bookmark all tabs.

Chrome developer Peter Kasting explained that there are still ways to access advanced tab controls without trawling through menus: "To flush your excess tabs, click the first tab you want to close, shift-click the last tab to select the whole range, then hit Ctrl+W."

That's not exactly intuitive, but we've already seen that Google isn't too fussed about annoying a few power users. It recently pressed ahead with its decision to chop the www off URLs in Chrome's address bar, despite protests from users and developers who didn't like the idea of being given less information about websites.

Via Techdows

Cat Ellis
Homes Editor

Cat is TechRadar's Homes Editor specializing in kitchen appliances and smart home technology. She's been a tech journalist for 15 years and is an SCA-certified barista, so whether you want to invest in some smart lights or pick up a new espresso machine, she's the right person to help.

Latest in Chrome
Google Chrome browser icon
A new split-screen feature is coming to Google Chrome, and it's surprisingly powerful
A finger touching the google chrome icon in the Windows 10 start menu
A new Chrome browser highjacking attack could affect billions of users - here's how to fight it
Close-up of Asus Chromebook CM14 ports on left side
Are you an educator or student? Google's new features for Chromebooks and more will make your life way easier
Chrome icon on Android
Google plans on a handy fix for all those duplicate Chrome tabs, but it's only for Android
A trophy with the Chrome logo on it and a star with "2024" written in it
These are the best Chrome Extensions of 2024 – according to Google
Close up of Chromebook
Chrome slowing down your laptop? Google’s new performance controls could help the browser run faster
Latest in News
DeepSeek
Deepseek’s new AI is smarter, faster, cheaper, and a real rival to OpenAI's models
Open AI
OpenAI unveiled image generation for 4o – here's everything you need to know about the ChatGPT upgrade
Apple WWDC 2025 announced
Apple just announced WWDC 2025 starts on June 9, and we'll all be watching the opening event
Hornet swings their weapon in mid air
Hollow Knight: Silksong gets new Steam metadata changes, convincing everyone and their mother that the game is finally releasing this year
OpenAI logo
OpenAI just launched a free ChatGPT bible that will help you master the AI chatbot and Sora
An aerial view of an Instavolt Superhub for charging electric vehicles
Forget gas stations – EV charging Superhubs are using solar power to solve the most annoying thing about electric motoring