Google-chrome – How to disable Bookmark Suggestions in the Chrome Search bar in 2020

address-bargoogle-chromesearch

While searching/navigating the web I often use the address bar to get to where I want to go, but I see that Google Chrome is combing through my bookmarks to make suggestions based on my bookmarks. While I can see this might be a useful feature to some, it is not something I wish to have happen when using the address bar.

So my question is: How do I disable Bookmark Suggestions in my Chrome Search bar in 2020?

  • Using Chrome build: Version 81.0.4044.138 (Official Build) (64-bit)
  • Windows 10 Pro 1909 build 18363.815

Best Answer

Google Chrome does not allow disabling specific types of inputs in the prediction service. According to the Chromium project, bookmarks were added to the prediction service in June of 2015 and have been in place continuously since that time. If you have the prediction service turned on, it may include any of these types of inputs:

case TYPE_BOOKMARK:
case TYPE_BUILTIN:
case TYPE_CLIPBOARD:
case TYPE_DOCUMENT:
case TYPE_HISTORY_QUICK:
case TYPE_HISTORY_URL:
case TYPE_KEYWORD:
case TYPE_ON_DEVICE_HEAD:
case TYPE_SEARCH:
case TYPE_SHORTCUTS:

Incidentally, the option to disable autocomplete has moved as of Version 81.0.4044.138. To disable the prediction service, open Chrome, click the 3-dots menu, and choose Settings. Under Sync and Google Services / Other Google Services you will find Autocomplete searches and URLs. However, this STILL does not disable bookmark recommendations in the search bar.

Possible solutions:

1) Use a Chromium branch that has added an option for this like CentBrowser v4.1.7.182.

2) Use a bookmark extension that does not store bookmarks in the standard Chrome bookmark manager.

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