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On a computer, open Chrome and go to More > Settings > You and Google > Google services, then turn off Improve search suggestions. This stops Chrome from sending what you type to your default search engine for autocomplete suggestions, but it does not disable every address-bar prediction: Chrome may still suggest matches from local search and browsing history.

Turn off search-engine suggestions in Chrome on a computer

  1. Open Chrome and select More (the three-dot menu) in the upper-right corner.
  2. Select Settings.
  3. Open You and Google, then select Google services.
  4. Turn off Improve search suggestions.

This is the desktop path listed in Google Chrome Help. The control affects whether text you type in the address bar is sent to your default search engine to generate autocomplete suggestions. It is not a universal switch for everything Chrome might show.

Why suggestions may remain

Chrome can suggest entries based on local search and browsing history even after Improve search suggestions is off. Google explicitly notes that this may happen. A suggestion that remains may therefore be a history match, not a prediction supplied by the search engine.

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If a particular suggestion comes from a URL in your browsing history, manage or remove that entry through Chrome’s browsing-history controls. You do not need to clear browsing history just to stop sending typed text to the default search engine. Google says that deleting a URL from browsing history stops it from influencing personalized suggestions. If browsing history is synced to your Google Account, Google says undeleted synced history is stored for up to one year, depending on account settings.

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Chrome’s address bar and Google Search autocomplete are different

Chrome’s address bar combines web addresses and searches. Its suggestions can come from local history and from the default search engine. The setting above applies to the search-engine suggestion source.

Autocomplete on Google.com is a separate Search feature. Google Search Help describes controls for Search personalization, trending searches, and Search customization. Its published desktop directions include Google.com Search settings > Other settings > Desktop > Autocomplete with trending searches; it also describes turning off Search customization for related searches when signed out. Google warns that these Search settings are being updated, so labels and availability may differ from those directions. See Google’s instructions for managing autocomplete predictions.

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What Chrome says it sends when suggestions are enabled

According to Google Chrome Help, when Improve search suggestions is enabled, Chrome sends information to the default search engine when you focus or type in the address bar. As you type, that can include the text, your IP address, and search information stored on the computer as cookies. If Google is your default search engine and Make searches and browsing better is enabled, Google says Chrome also sends the current page URL to improve suggestion relevance. With a different default search engine, suggestion requests and searches are logged under that engine’s privacy policy.

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Google also says Chrome detects certain potentially sensitive entries, such as passwords, local filenames, or HTTPS URLs with paths, and does not send entered text for autocomplete suggestions when it determines the text may be sensitive. This describes Google’s stated behavior, not a guarantee that every sensitive string will always be detected.

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What Google autocomplete predictions are based on

Google Search autocomplete can draw on common matching queries, language, location, trending interest, and past searches. For signed-in users, Google says predictions can also reflect past-search history and activity-based personalization. These are Search-page prediction inputs; they are separate from Chrome’s control for sending address-bar text to the default search engine. Google notes that autocomplete predictions are not assertions of facts or opinions, although they can sometimes be perceived that way. More detail is available in Google’s explanation of how autocomplete predictions work.

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