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5 Expert-Level Ways To Permanently Disable 'Resume Browsing' In Google Chrome (2025 Update)

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Are you frustrated by Google Chrome constantly reopening your old tabs every time you launch it? You are not alone. The "Continue where you left off" feature, while intended to be helpful for session management, often becomes a major annoyance, especially when you want a fresh start or when the browser crashes. As of late 2025, the standard setting can be unreliable, forcing users to dig into advanced settings and hidden flags to regain control over their browser's startup behavior.

This deep-dive guide provides the most current and effective methods—from simple settings adjustments to advanced system hacks—to permanently disable the "resume browsing" functionality and ensure Chrome always opens to a clean slate, boosting your browser's performance and privacy.

The Standard Fix: Chrome’s 'On Startup' Settings

The most straightforward method to stop Chrome from restoring your previous session is to adjust the primary startup setting. This is the first step, and while it often fails for some users due to conflicting settings or extensions, it must be verified first.

Step-by-Step Guide to Changing Startup Behavior

  • Open Google Chrome.
  • Click the three-dot Menu icon in the top-right corner.
  • Select Settings.
  • In the left-hand sidebar, click on On startup.
  • You will see three main options. Ensure that "Continue where you left off" is NOT selected.

Instead, choose one of the following two options:

  1. Open the New Tab page: This is the cleanest option, opening Chrome to its default blank page.
  2. Open a specific page or set of pages: This allows you to set a specific URL, such as your company intranet or a preferred search engine, as your startup page.

Pro Tip: If you've already selected "Open the New Tab page" and Chrome is *still* resuming your session, the issue is likely a persistent session file or a conflicting setting, which requires the more advanced methods below.

Method 2: Disabling the 'Infinite Session Restore' Flag

When the standard settings fail, the next step is to look at the experimental features within Chrome Flags. These flags often control the underlying mechanics of how Chrome manages its sessions, and one flag, in particular, is frequently cited as the culprit for persistent session restoration.

Using the chrome://flags Interface

The "Infinite Session Restore" flag is an experimental setting designed to aggressively try and restore a previous browsing session, even after a crash or a forced close. Disabling it can be the permanent solution you need.

  1. Open Google Chrome.
  2. In the address bar (Omnibox), type chrome://flags and press Enter.
  3. In the search bar at the top of the Chrome Flags page, type infinite session restore.
  4. The flag titled "Infinite Session Restore" should appear.
  5. Click the dropdown menu next to the flag and change the setting from "Default" to "Disabled."
  6. A prompt will appear at the bottom asking you to Relaunch Chrome. Click this button to apply the change.

This method explicitly tells the browser not to attempt an aggressive session restore, making it a powerful tool against the unwanted feature.

Method 3: Deleting the Session Files Manually

If Chrome is consistently ignoring your settings, it's often because a corrupted or persistent session file is telling the browser to restore the last state. Manually deleting these files forces Chrome to start fresh.

Locating and Removing Session Data

This method involves navigating to your Chrome profile folder while the browser is completely closed. You must use the Task Manager to ensure all Chrome processes are terminated before proceeding.

  1. Close Chrome completely. Use the Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc on Windows) to verify that no chrome.exe processes are running.
  2. Navigate to your Chrome user profile folder. The path varies by operating system:
    • Windows: %LocalAppData%\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default
    • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default
    • Linux: ~/.config/google-chrome/Default
  3. Inside the Default folder (or the name of your specific Profile folder), locate and delete the following files:
    • Current Session
    • Current Tabs
    • Last Session
    • Last Tabs
  4. Restart Chrome. It should now open to the New Tab page.

By removing these specific session files, you eliminate the data Chrome uses to remember which tabs were open during the last browsing session.

Method 4: Advanced Windows Registry Hack

For users on Windows, especially those in managed environments or who find the previous methods temporary, editing the Windows Registry offers a near-permanent solution. This method is highly effective because it sets a system-level policy that overrides the in-browser settings.

Warning: Editing the Windows Registry can cause system instability if done incorrectly. Proceed with caution and consider backing up your registry first.

  1. Press Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog.
  2. Type regedit and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.
  3. Navigate to the following key (you may need to create the Google and Chrome keys if they don't exist):
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome
  4. In the right-hand pane, right-click and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
  5. Name the new value RestoreOnStartup.
  6. Double-click the new RestoreOnStartup value and set its Value data to 5.
    • A value of 5 corresponds to "Open the New Tab page."
    • A value of 1 corresponds to "Continue where you left off."
  7. Close the Registry Editor and restart your computer for the policy to take full effect.

This Registry Hack sets a firm policy for the Chrome startup behavior, making it resistant to changes from the standard settings menu or accidental session saves.

Method 5: Removing the 'Continue with these tabs' Card

A separate, but related, annoyance is the "Continue with these tabs" card that sometimes appears on the New Tab page, prompting you to resume a previous session. This is part of Chrome's "Journeys" or "Cards" feature and can be disabled separately.

This card is often tied to your browsing history and can be removed by a simple action or a specific setting.

Disabling the New Tab Card

  1. Open a New Tab in Chrome.
  2. If the "Continue with these tabs" card appears, you may be able to click the three-dot menu on the card itself and select an option like "Hide card" or "Don't show this again."
  3. If that option is unavailable, the most reliable method is to clear your browsing history, specifically selecting "Browsing history" and "Cache" for the time frame you wish to clear. This removes the "journey" data the card relies on.
  4. In some versions, a setting under the New Tab page customization (usually a small pencil icon in the bottom right) may have a "Cards" or "Shortcuts" section where you can uncheck the option to show session restore cards.

By implementing one or a combination of these five methods, you can gain complete control over how Google Chrome starts up, ensuring that you always begin your browsing session with a clean, fast, and private New Tab page, free from the persistent and unwanted session restore feature.

5 Expert-Level Ways to Permanently Disable 'Resume Browsing' in Google Chrome (2025 Update)
disable resume browsing chrome
disable resume browsing chrome

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