Quick Answer
You can effortlessly close all tabs except one – which will keep the browser open – in Google Chrome on your desktop by doing this: right-click one of the tabs and select Close other tabs from the drop-down menu.
For smartphone users: open Chrome > click the tab icon at the top of the browser > tap the three-dot menu icon in the top-right corner of the tabs view > select Close all tabs.
Do you find yourself, like myself, with numerous tabs opened in your Chrome browser? While it may seem like a way to multitask, having an excessive number of tabs open mostly results in a cluttered browsing experience (that’s why I consider Chrome’s tab grouping feature extremely useful).
Other than that, having numerous tabs open consumes resources on your desktop and could be the cause of your PC’s sluggish performance.
How can we efficiently close all tabs in Chrome without doing it individually? Typically, the direct method is to close the browser entirely. However, Chrome tends to restore tabs on its last window whenever you reopen the browser.
In this article, I’ll walk you through the best methods to close all Chrome tabs at once on both desktop and mobile devices. Let’s dive right in.
Table of Contents
How to Close All Tabs on Chrome (Desktop) at Once
Here are the different methods you can use to close all tabs within your Google Chrome browser:
Sl No | Method | Description |
|---|---|---|
1 | Right Click | Close all tabs except the selected one by right-clicking on the tab and choosing "Close other tabs" |
2 | Close Browser Window | Close all tabs by closing the browser window, ensuring all tabs are closed upon reopening |
3 | Keyboard Shortcut | Use Ctrl + Shift + W on Windows or Command + Shift + W on Mac to close all tabs |
4 | Chrome Extension | Utilize a Chrome extension like "Close Tabs" to close tabs from the extension menu |
Method 1: Right Click Your Current Tab
Chrome has a menu option that enables you to close all tabs but one with a single click. This method helps in closing all other tabs in the browser except for the one you select. To close tabs with this approach, right-click the tab you’d like to leave open and select Close other tabs.
Method 2: Close The Browser Window
Closing all tabs on your Chrome browser is the same thing as quitting the Chrome browser. You simply have to click the X icon at the top-right corner of Chrome’s window for Windows PCs or the red button at the top-left corner of the window for Mac PCs.
There’s, however, a caveat; Chrome tends to restore the tabs on the closed when you open the browser again on your desktop. However, you can disable the Chrome startup setting that restores those tabs by following the steps outlined below.
- Click the three-dot icon at the top-right corner of the Chrome browser.
- On the resulting drop-down menu, navigate to Settings and click on it.
- Now, select On startup from the menu options on the left panel and choose Open the New Tab page.
This ensures that when you close the browser, all tabs will be closed and won’t be restored upon reopening the browser.
Also See: 13 Ways to Make Google Chrome Faster on PC and Mobile
Method 3: Use Keyboard Shortcut
You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + W on Windows and Command + Shift + W on Mac PC to close all tabs in Chrome. This will also be handy if you have turned the Chrome Startup option to Open the New Tab page as discussed earlier, because those hotkeys quit the Chrome windows like in the method above.
Method 4: Use a Chrome Extension
You can also use a Chrome extension (Close Tabs) to close tabs on Chrome. You simply have to install the extension using the link provided earlier. After that, access the extension via the extension list on Chrome’s menu bar, click the three-dot icon next to the extension, and hover your cursor on the Close Tabs option to close tabs.
How to close All Tabs on Chrome Mobile Browser
You can close all tabs on Chrome on your smartphone by opening the browser and clicking the tabs option.
Next, click the three-dot icon at the top-right corner of the tabs page and select Close all tabs. This will get rid of all tabs on Chrome at that particular point.
Why Should You Close All Unused Tabs on Chrome?
Chrome tabs are handy when we’re multitasking across multiple web pages. Yet, once we’re finished with them, we tend to leave them open and continue to open even more.
I came across a Reddit post where someone had over 5000 tabs open on their mobile Chrome browser (you might have even more), some dating back years.
Tabs generally don’t consume resources on mobile devices but can hog resources on your PC. Additionally, having too many open tabs can clutter your browsing experience and decrease productivity.
Therefore, it’s best to close tabs as soon as you’re done using them, and that can be done at once by following the steps we have discussed in the previous section of this article.
Final Thoughts
Unlike in Moxilla Firefox which allows you to set a time for your tabs to close so as to avoid having too many redundant tabs on your browser, Chrome gives very little attention to features that help in closing tabs. However, the different methods I have outlined in this article can help you close all Chrome tabs and have a more organized browser.
FAQs about Closing All Tabs On Chrome
How can I reopen closed tabs?
If you have accidentally closed tabs in Chrome, you can easily reopen them with the key combination Ctrl + Shift + T. This practical hotkey restores the last closed tabs one after the other in the order in which they were closed.
Is it important to close tabs?
As mentioned earlier, having too many tabs open in your browser can affect your concentration, which in turn can affect your productivity. That’s one reason why it's important to close tabs as soon as you no longer need them.
Further Reading:
- 3 Easy Ways to Lock Incognito Tabs on Google Chrome (Desktop and Phone)
- Block Ads on Android Using Private DNS: Find Out How
- 13 Proven Ways to Fix Google Chrome Crashing on Windows 11
- How to Clear Cache and Cookies for a Specific Site on Chrome
