Disable Image Search Suggestions in Chrome Address Bar

This guide shows you how to stop image thumbnails from appearing in the Chrome address bar (omnibox) search suggestions. When you type a query, Chrome may show a small image next to text suggestions or even a row of image results. Disabling these images makes the dropdown list more compact and can speed up browsing on slower connections. You’ll need a desktop version of Chrome (Windows, Mac, or Linux) — the steps are similar for ChromeOS.

What You’ll Need

• Google Chrome installed and updated (check via chrome://settings/help).
• Access to Chrome’s settings and flags pages (no admin rights required).

Step-by-Step

1. Open Chrome Settings. Click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner, then select Settings. Alternatively, type chrome://settings in the address bar and press Enter.
2. Go to “You and Google� → “Sync and Google services�. In the left sidebar, click You and Google, then click Sync and Google services.
3. Turn off “Autocomplete searches and URLs�. Find the toggle labeled Autocomplete searches and URLs and switch it off. This removes all search suggestions (including images) from the address bar. If you still want text suggestions but no images, proceed to step 4 instead.
4. Disable the “Richâ€� suggestions via Chrome flags (for keeping text suggestions). Type chrome://flags in the address bar and press Enter. In the search box at the top, type omnibox.
5. Find “Omnibox Rich Entity Suggestions�. Look for a flag named Omnibox Rich Entity Suggestions. It may be set to “Default�. Change it to Disabled using the dropdown on the right.
6. Also disable “Omnibox Rich Autocompletion�. If present, find Omnibox Rich Autocompletion and set it to Disabled. This controls the rich text formatting and some image previews.
7. Restart Chrome. After changing flags, click the Relaunch button at the bottom of the flags page. Chrome will close and reopen with the changes applied.
8. Test the address bar. Type a few characters (e.g., “weather�) and check whether image thumbnails still appear. If they do, try the next step.
9. Clear the browsing history (optional but effective). Sometimes cached images persist. Go to chrome://settings/clearBrowserData, select “Cached images and filesâ€�, and click “Clear dataâ€�.
10. Use a guest profile as a temporary test. If images still appear, open a Guest window (click your profile icon → “Guest�). If images are gone there, the issue is tied to your profile’s settings or extensions.

Common Mistakes

• Disabling the wrong flag. There are several “omniboxâ€� flags. Make sure you change Omnibox Rich Entity Suggestions and Omnibox Rich Autocompletion, not “Omnibox UI Hide Steady-State URLâ€� or similar.
• Forgetting to restart Chrome. Flags only take effect after a full restart. Closing and reopening the window may not be enough — use the “Relaunchâ€� button.
• Turning off all suggestions instead of just images. If you disable “Autocomplete searches and URLsâ€�, you lose all suggestions. That’s a sledgehammer approach; use the flags if you want text suggestions to remain.
• Expecting a dedicated “show imagesâ€� toggle. Chrome doesn’t have a simple “disable images in suggestionsâ€� setting. The flags method is the closest workaround.
• Not clearing cached data. Even after disabling flags, old image thumbnails may linger in the cache until cleared.

Tips

• Use the “Disableâ€� option, not “Defaultâ€�. Some flags have multiple states; “Defaultâ€� may still allow the feature. Choose “Disabledâ€� explicitly.
• Keep your flags updated. Chrome updates may reset flags to default. After a major update, check the flags page again.
• Consider a different search engine. If you use a search engine that sends image-rich suggestions (like Google), switching to a text-only engine (e.g., DuckDuckGo) can reduce images, but the address bar suggestions themselves are controlled by Chrome.
• Use the “Tab to searchâ€� feature. When you type a site name and press Tab, you search directly on that site, which often bypasses image suggestions.
• Report feedback to Google. If you’d like a permanent toggle, go to chrome://settings/help and click “Report an issueâ€� to send feedback.

Troubleshooting

Images still appear after disabling flags. First, confirm that you restarted Chrome completely. If not, close all Chrome windows and reopen. If images persist, your Chrome version may have changed the flag names. Search the flags page for “suggestion� and disable any flag that mentions “rich�, “image�, or “entity�. Also, try clearing the cache as described in Step 9.

Text suggestions disappeared too. You likely turned off “Autocomplete searches and URLs� in Step 3. Re-enable that toggle, then rely on the flags to remove only the images.

Flags don’t appear in the list. Some flags are hidden behind a “Default� state. Use the search box on the flags page and type “omnibox� — if nothing shows, your Chrome version may have removed those flags. In that case, the only reliable method is to disable all suggestions (Step 3).

Images appear only for certain sites. This can happen if the site itself provides image data to Chrome. Try disabling “Autocomplete searches and URLs� temporarily to see if that stops it. If it does, you may need to accept that trade-off.

After a Chrome update, images are back. Chrome updates often reset flags. Revisit chrome://flags and reapply the disabled settings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will disabling images affect my search history? No. Disabling image suggestions only affects how suggestions are displayed. Your browsing history and search history remain intact.

Can I disable images only for Google searches? Chrome’s address bar suggestions are uniform across all search engines. There’s no per-engine image toggle. However, if you use a search engine that doesn’t provide image data, you may see fewer images.

Does this work on mobile Chrome? The flags method is primarily for desktop. On Android and iOS, you can disable “Autocomplete searches and URLs� in settings, but there’s no granular control over images.

Will this speed up my browser? It can reduce the amount of data loaded when typing, especially on slow connections, but the effect is usually minor.

Is there a way to remove images without disabling all suggestions? Yes, the flags method (Steps 4-7) keeps text suggestions while removing rich image previews. It’s the recommended approach.

Why does Chrome show images at all? Chrome uses “rich entity suggestions� to show relevant images and icons, aiming to make search faster and more visual. Some users find it distracting, so Google provides flags to disable it.

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