7 Chrome settings you can change to improve your browsing experience and protect your data

• On the Chrome settings page, you can find a wealth of options for personalizing and optimizing how Chrome works.
• Open Chrome settings from the three-dot menu at the top-right of a window or type chrome://settings into the address bar. 
• Here are seven of the most useful ways to customize your Chrome settings.

Google Chrome is a popular web browser for many reasons. It’s cross-platform, which means there’s a version of Chrome you can use on the Mac, in Windows, and on your Android or iPhone. It’s fast and efficient, and works with an enormous library of extensions that add extra features and capabilities. 

Whether you’re new to Chrome or have been using it for years, though, odds are that you haven’t explored all the ways to customize and improve your browsing experience using Chrome settings. 

How to open Chrome settings

There are two easy ways to get to Chrome settings, and you can use whichever better suits how you like to work.

• In Chrome, click the three-dot menu at the top right of the window,  then click Settings. The Chrome settings page will open in a new browser tab, preserving whatever page you were already on.
• In the Chrome address bar, type chrome://settings and press Enter. The current webpage will redirect to your Chrome settings page. 

Chrome settings you should consider changing

Chrome’s settings page is filled with dozens of options that can affect your browsing experience in a wide variety of ways, both big and small. Here are seven of the most important settings you can change to personalize or optimize your browsing experience and protect your data.

Customize your Chrome startup page

When you start Chrome, it probably opens a new, blank page each time — that is the default behavior for the browser. But if you prefer, you can open a specific set of pages or re-open previous pages so you can pick up where you left off in a previous browsing session. 

To control this setting, go to Chrome settings and then click On startup from the navigation pane on the left. In the On startup section, choose how you want your browser to begin. 

Change your browser color theme

Tired of the default color scheme in Chrome? You can choose your own colors, and even vary the Google account icon you see at the top right of the browser window.

Open Chrome settings and then click You and Google in the navigation pane. Click Customize your Google profile. Now you can choose a theme color and change your avatar.

Take control of your extensions

If you install Chrome extensions from time to time, your browser might be a rat’s nest of extensions you no longer need or use. Every once in a while, it’s a good idea to visit the Extensions page and clean things up.

To get to the Extensions page, go to Chrome settings and then click Extensions in the navigation pane. Now you can turn off extensions you don’t currently need by swiping the blue button to the left, or click Remove to uninstall the extension entirely.

Disable notification requests

These days, it seems like every website on the internet is trying to make your browsing experience noisier by offering to send you notifications. If you find the constant barrage of notification requests to be annoying, you can tell Chrome to prohibit them. 

To control notifications,  go to Chrome settings and then click Privacy and security in the navigation pane. In the Privacy and security section, click Site Settings. Finally, in the Permissions section, click Notifications and click Don’t allow sites to send notifications. If you prefer to allow notifications, you can opt for Use quieter messaging and customize the behavior of specific websites with notifications. 

Review your passwords and security

Chrome has its own built-in security checks. Not only can you review the passwords you’ve asked Chrome to remember, but you can run a fast security check that assesses how safe your browsing is — it’s a good idea to run this periodically. 

Open Chrome settings and then click Privacy and security in the navigation pane. In the Safety check section, click Check now to run the test and see the results. 

After running the safety check, click Review to the right of Passwords to see your saved passwords, change passwords that may have been compromised and manage your full set of passwords. 

Take control of microphone and webcam access

Your microphone and webcam are a potential security risk, so you want to ensure only the websites and services that really need access to these devices have permission. You can see the full list and manage permissions in Chrome’s settings.

Open Chrome settings and then click Privacy and security in the navigation pane.  In the Privacy and security section, click Site Settings. Then in the Permissions section, click Camera. Here, you can allow or prohibit websites from using your webcam and revoke privileges for any sites you’ve already given permission. When you’re done, click the Back arrow and then repeat this security check for Microphones. 

Block non-essential cookies

Cookies play an important role in making the internet convenient and personalized for you. Many websites use cookies to store your login status so you don’t need to log in every time you visit, for instance. But many so-called third-party cookies serve little or no practical use to you and simply allow companies to track your activity online. If you want, you can disable these third-party cookies. 

Open Chrome settings and then click Privacy and security in the navigation pane.  In the Privacy and security section, click Cookies and other site data. In General settings, click Block third-party cookies.