Stop managing Chrome Browser

Applies to managed Chrome Browsers on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

If you have Microsoft® Windows® , Apple® macOS®, or Linux® devices that are no longer being used in your organization, you might decide to repurpose and distribute them for personal use. Or, some users might purchase a second-hand Windows or macOS device, where Chrome Browser was previously managed by an administrator in a school, company, or other group. If devices are not properly reset, Chrome Browser might still be managed by an administrator.

Check if Chrome Browser is managed

On a Windows or macOS device:

  1. Open Chrome Browser Chrome.
  2. At the top right, select More "".
  3. Check the bottom of the menu. If you see Managed by your organization, your browser is managed. If you don’t, your browser isn’t managed.

Stop managing Chrome Browser

Windows

To remove Chrome Browser management policies from a Windows device, you need to clear the Chrome registry settings and then restart Chrome Browser. For details on clearing the registry, see Microsoft’s documentation.
  1. Delete the registry keys:
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Google\Chrome
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Google\Chrome
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Google\Chrome
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Google\Update
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\WOW6432Node\Google\Enrollment
  2. Delete the value named CloudManagementEnrollmentToken from the registry key:
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\WOW6432Node\Google\Update\ClientState\{430FD4D0-B729-4F61-AA34-91526481799D}
  3. Delete the directory where Google Update writes cached cloud policies:
    • %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Google\Policies
Even after the user cleans up the registry, some third-party software products might reset registry settings. Be sure to remove third-party software products and malware that might set Chrome registry values. For details about how to remove programs, see Microsoft’s documentation for Windows 7 and Windows 10.
If you complete these steps and Chrome Browser still appears to be managed, you should contact a professional computer repair shop. In rare instances, you might need to reinstall Windows due to persistent malware.

macOS

On a macOS device:
  1. From the Apple menu, select System Preferences.
  2. Click Profiles.
  3. Select the profiles that you want to remove.
  4. Click – (minus).
  5. Click Remove to confirm that you want to remove the profile.

You also need to remove suspicious apps—ones that you don’t remember downloading or don’t sound like a genuine program.

  1. Open Finder.
  2. On the left, click Applications.
  3. Find and remove suspicious apps.

Linux

On a Linux device, remove files from /etc/opt/chrome/policies.
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