Google is making another game-changing update to Chrome

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The rollout of tabbed grouping in Google Chrome is something that aims to address the problem of working with large numbers of tab at once. The new feature makes it possible to group related tabs together and treat them as a single entity for ease of navigation and management.

But Google is not stopping there. The company is already in the process of upgrading the feature with new options; collapsible tab groups are now available to test in the Canary build of Chrome 85.

If you've already experimented with tab groups, you'll almost certainly have noticed that when grouped together, tabs actually end up taking up more space than before because of the label you assign to them. Google has come up with a simple solution which should perhaps have been included right from the start – collapsing tab groups.

This feature lets you click on the label for a group of tabs, and that group will shrink down into its label. Click the label again, and the tabs will all expand back into view. The space saving means that you'll be able to fit more tabs and group in the browser window, and also that you can identify and navigate groups far more easily.

Enable collapsing tab groups

The ability to collapse tab groups is only available in the Canary build of Chrome at the moment, and it is not enabled by default. If you would like to check it out and see if it's something you would benefit from, here's how to enable the feature.

Make sure you are running Chrome Canary 85.0.4148.0
Launch the browser and visit chrome://flags/#tab-groups-collapse
From the drop-down menu to the right, select Enabled
Restart Chrome

You can check the feature is working by creating a group of tabs and then click its label to expand and collapse it.

Check out our full guide to the best browsers

Via Techdows

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Sofia is a tech journalist who's been writing about software, hardware and the web for nearly 25 years – but still looks as youthful as ever! After years writing for magazines, her life moved online and remains fueled by technology, music and nature.

Having written for websites and magazines since 2000, producing a wide range of reviews, guides, tutorials, brochures, newsletters and more, she continues to write for diverse audiences, from computing newbies to advanced users and business clients. Always willing to try something new, she loves sharing new discoveries with others.

Sofia lives and breathes Windows, Android, iOS, macOS and just about anything with a power button, but her particular areas of interest include security, tweaking and privacy. Her other loves include walking, music, her two Malamutes and, of course, her wife and daughter.

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