Manage tabs in Chrome

You can open multiple tabs in Chrome. You can also check and switch between all your tabs. When you open a new tab, Chrome opens a personalized New Tab page.

Some of the ways you can customize your New Tab page content are with:

• Different themes
• Your shortcuts

Learn how to customize your New Tab page.

Open a new or inactive tab

Open a new tab

1. On your iPhone or iPad, open Chrome .
2. Tap More New tab .

Open an inactive tab

If you have tabs that haven't been used in a while, they'll move to the Inactive Tabs section.

To manage your inactive tabs:

1. On your iPhone or iPad, open Chrome .
2. Tap Switch Tabs Inactive Tabs.
   • The Inactive Tabs section is only available if you have inactive tabs to view.
3. Select the tab you want to open.

Tips:

• Inactive tabs are sorted newest to oldest.
• Once a tab becomes active again, the active tab count will be updated.
• You can’t reorder tabs in the inactive tab section.
• Inactive tabs are located at the top of the Tab Switcher.

Close a tab

Close tabs on iPhone

Close a tab

1. On your iPhone, open Chrome .
2. At the bottom, tap Switch tabs .
3. At the top right of the tab you want to close, tap Close .

Close all tabs

1. On your iPhone, open Chrome .
2. At the bottom, tap Switch tabs .
3. At the bottom left, tap Close All.

Close tabs on iPad

1. On your iPad, open Chrome .
2. On any tab you want to close, in the upper right corner, tap Close .

Close all inactive tabs

Close inactive tabs

1. On your iPhone or iPad, open Chrome .
2. Tap Switch Tabs Inactive Tabs.
3. At the bottom of your screen, tap Close All Inactive Close All.
   • To reopen the tabs that you’ve closed, at the bottom left, tap Undo.

Close pinned tabs

When you unpin a tab, it returns as a selectable tab in the Tab Switcher. If you want to remove the tab from the Tab Switcher, you can close the tab.

1. On your iPhone, open Chrome .
2. Tap Switch Tabs .
3. At the bottom of the screen, find the currently pinned tabs.
4. To select the tab you want to close, press and hold on the tab.
5. Select Close Tab .

Manage your tabs

Hide or unhide inactive tabs

1. On your iPhone or iPad, open Chrome .
2. Tap More Settings .
3. Tap Tabs Hide Inactive Tabs.
4. Select the time period when you want to hide inactive tabs.
   • To turn off this feature, select Don’t Hide.

Pin a tab

You can pin your favorite sites for easy access later. To pin sites that you browse on Chrome:

1. On your iPhone, open Chrome .
2. Tap Switch Tabs .
3. To select the tab you want to pin, press and hold on the tab.
4. Select Pin Tab .
5. When you open the Tab Switcher, find your pinned tab at the bottom of the screen.

Tip: Once a tab is pinned, it won’t appear among selectable tabs in the Tab Switcher.

Drag to pin a tab

You can drag to pin tabs from selectable tabs in the Tab Switcher.

1. On your iPhone, open Chrome .
2. Tap Switch Tabs .
3. Press and hold to select the tab you want to drag.
4. Drag the tab towards the bottom of the screen.
5. Drop the tab:
   • Next to other pinned tabs in the blue field.
   • On top of the text, “Drag to Pin Tab.”

Unpin a tab

When you unpin a tab, it won’t appear among your pinned tabs in the Tab Switcher.

1. On your iPhone, open Chrome .
2. Tap Switch Tabs .
3. At the bottom of the screen, find the pinned tabs.
4. Press and hold to select the tab you want to unpin.
5. Select Unpin Tab .

Tip: Your unpinned tabs appear in the group of selectable tabs in the Tab Switcher.

Drag to unpin tabs

1. On your iPhone, open Chrome .
2. Tap Switch Tabs .
3. Press and hold to select the tab you want to drag.
4. Drag the tab towards the top of the screen.
5. Drop the tab next to an existing tab.

Switch tabs on iPhone

1. On your iPhone, open Chrome .
2. At the bottom, tap Switch tabs .
3. Tap the tab you want to switch to.

Switch tabs on iPad

1. On your iPad, open Chrome .
2. Tap the tab you want to switch to.

You can also: 

• Swipe left or right at the top to switch tabs. 
• Select the Tab switcher  to find all tabs and switch between them.

Reorder tabs

1. On your iPad, open Chrome .
2. Touch and hold the tab you want to move.
3. Drag the tab to a different position.

Search open tabs

You can search for a keyword in your open tabs.

1. On your iPhone or iPad, open Chrome .
2. At the bottom, tap Switch tabs .
3. At the top left, tap Search .
4. To find the tab you want, enter related keywords.

Share & save tabs in Chrome

When you open one or more tabs, you can share, bookmark, or add it to your reading list.

1.  On your iPhone or iPad, open Chrome .
2. At the bottom of the screen, tap Switch tabs .
3. To find the menu, press and hold the tab you want to use. 
4. In the menu, tap your preferred option.
   • Add to bookmarks .
   • Add to reading lists .
   • Share tab .
   • Close tab .

Tip: To move a tab, tap and drag it.

Group your tabs

You can organize your tabs with groups. When you create or edit a tab group, changes are automatically saved and synced across devices where you're signed in with the same Google Account.

1. On your iPhone or iPad, open Chrome .
2. Tap Switch tabs .
   • To create a tab group:
     1. Touch and hold a tab.
     2. Tap Add Tab to New Group.
     3. Enter a name for your tab group.
        • You can also assign a color for a group.
     4. Tap Create Group.
   • To add a tab to an existing group:
     1. Touch and hold a tab.
     2. Tap Add Tab to Group.
     3. Select the group you want to add your tab to.
   • To add multiple tabs in a group:
     1. At the bottom, tap Edit Select Tabs.
     2. Select the tabs you want to add in a group.
     3. At the bottom, tap Add To… Add Tabs to New Group or Add Tabs to Group.
     4. At the top right, tap Done.
   • To merge tab groups:
     1. Touch and hold, then drag a tab into a group you want to merge it with.
        • This action deletes the dragged tab group across devices.
   • To search for a tab group:
     1. At the top left, tap Search .
     2. Enter the name of the tab group you want to find.
   • To rename a tab group:
     1. Touch and hold the tab group.
     2. Tap Rename Group.
     3. Edit the group name.
     4. Tap Done.
   • To remove tabs from group:
     1. Tap the tab group.
     2. Touch and hold the tab you want to remove.
     3. Tap Move to Tab Group Remove from Group.
   • To close a tab group: At the top right of the tab group, tap Close .
   • To delete a group:
     1. Touch and hold the tab group.
     2. Tap Delete Group.
   • To close all tab groups:
     1. Touch and hold a tab group.
     2. At the top right of the tab group, tap Close .
     3. At the bottom of the screen, tap Close All Tabs and Groups.
   • To open or re-open a closed tab group:
     1. Tap Grid .
     2. Under “Tab Groups,” select the tab group name you want to open or re-open.

Tips:

• To keep tab groups from automatically syncing across your devices, tap Settings Tabs, and then turn off Automatically open tab groups from other devices.
• On your iPad, to manage your tab groups, you can also touch and hold a tab or tab group in your tab strip.

Delete a tab group

Important: When you delete a tab group, it’ll be removed on your device and other devices that use the same Google Account.

1. On your iPhone or iPad, open Chrome .
2. Tap Switch tabs Grid .
3. Select the tab group name you want to delete.
4. Tap Delete Group.
5. To confirm, tap Delete Group.

Ungroup your tabs

Important: When you ungroup tabs, it leaves the tabs open on your device. However, it also deletes the group on your device and other devices that use the same Google Account.

1. On your iPhone or iPad, open Chrome .
2. Tap Switch tabs .
3. Open a tab group that you want to ungroup.
4. Tap Ungroup.
5. To confirm, tap Ungroup.

Drag URLs across apps

1. On your iPad, open Chrome .
2. At the bottom, tap Switch tabs .
3. Open another app in Split View.
   • To drag a tab’s URL to another app: Touch and hold a tab, then drag it to another app. When you let go, the URL is pasted into the other app.
   • To open a URL from another app in Chrome: Touch and hold the URL in the other app, then drag it to the Chrome window. When you let go, a new tab is created in Chrome.

Reload tabs on iPhone

1. On your iPhone, open Chrome .
2. Tap More   Reload .

Reload tabs on iPad

1. On your iPad, open Chrome .
2. At the top left, tap Reload .

Use windows in Chrome on iPad

Open new windows

1. On your iPad, open Chrome .
2. Select More   New Window .
   • To open a link in a new window: Touch and hold the link.
   • To move windows around: Slide the divider between windows to the left or right.

Show or close all windows

1. On your iPad, touch and hold Chrome .
2. Select Show All Windows.
3. To close each window, touch the window and swipe up.

Related resources

• Set your homepage and startup page
• Browse in Incognito mode
• Customize your New Tab page in Chrome