How to Prevent Chrome from Opening Old Tabs at Startup

When launching Google Chrome, users might find that the browser reopens tabs from previous sessions, causing clutter and unwanted browsing. This usually happens because of Chrome’s “Continue where you left off” setting, which restores the last session when starting up. While this can be helpful, it may be inconvenient for those who want a fresh start each time they open the browser.

Other reasons for this issue include Chrome running apps in the background after closing and extensions set to reopen specific tabs.

Now that you have a basic understanding of the problem’s nature, we will proceed with the solutions.

1. Change the Startup Configuration

A fresh browsing experience begins with the right settings. By changing Chrome’s startup setup, you can stop the browser from loading old tabs by default. Set it to “Open the New Tab page” or choose specific pages to prevent the browser from reopening previous sessions, giving you a clean start every time.

1. Open Chrome and click on the three vertical dots in the top right corner.
2. Select “Settings” from the list and scroll down to the “On Startup” section.

   

3. Select the “Open the New Tab Page” option by clicking on the “Circle” next to it.

   

4. Restart the browser and check to see if the issue persists.

2. Prevent Background Usage

Chrome’s background activity often keeps it running, which can cause old tabs to reopen at startup. By turning off this setting, you ensure that Chrome fully closes, preventing unwanted tabs from reappearing.

1. Open Chrome and click on the three vertical dots in the top right corner.
2. Select “Settings“, scroll down, and click on “Advanced“.

   

3. Scroll to the “System” section and toggle off “Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed“.

   

4. Minimize Chrome by clicking the “–” icon in the top right corner.

   

5. Press “Windows + X” keys and select “Task Manager“.

   

6. In “Details“, find “chrome.exe” and click it.
7. Select “End Task” to close Chrome fully.

   

8. Repeat for all “chrome.exe” instances to close the browser completely.
9. Open Chrome again to check if the issue persists.

3. Disable the “Fast Tabs” Feature

Chrome’s background activity often keeps it running, which can cause old tabs to reopen at startup. By turning off this setting, you ensure that Chrome fully closes, preventing unwanted tabs from reappearing.

1. Open a new tab in Chrome.
2. Enter

   chrome://flags/#enable-fast-unload

   in the address bar and press “Enter“.

   

3. Select “Disabled” from the dropdown menu.

   

4. Click “Relaunch Now” to restart Chrome.
5. Verify if the issue persists after the browser restarts.

4. Reset Chrome Flag Configurations

Sometimes hidden experimental settings in Chrome, called flags, can accidentally change the browser’s startup behavior, making old tabs open again. Resetting these Chrome flag settings returns them to their default state, which removes potential conflicts and ensures Chrome works properly.

1. Open a new tab in Chrome.
2. Type “chrome://flags” in the address bar and press “Enter“.

   

3. Click “Reset All“.

   

4. Click on “Relaunch Now“.
5. Verify if the issue persists after Chrome restarts.