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 here to help you choose the right devices for your home and do more with them. When not working she's a keen home baker, and makes a pretty mean macaron.

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
WhatsApp
WhatsApp just made its AI impossible to avoid – but at least you can turn it off
ChatGPT vs Gemini comparison
I compared GPT-4.5 to Gemini 2.0 Flash and the results surprised me
Apple iPhone 16 Plus
Apple officially delays the AI-infused Siri and admits, ‘It’s going to take us longer than we thought’
The Meta Quest Pro on its charging pad on a desk, in front of a window with the curtain closed
Samsung, Apple and Meta want to use OLED in their next VR headsets – but only Meta has a plan to make it cheap
AMD Ryzen 9000 3D chips
AMD officially announces price and release date for Ryzen 9 9900X3D and 9950X3D processors
Google Pixel 9
There's something strange going on with Google Pixel phone vibrations after the latest update