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How to Close All Open Tabs at Once in Chrome for Android & iOS

Feb 4, 2015 05:53 PM
Google search interface displayed on mobile devices.

With over 500 million downloads on Android alone, I find it safe to assume that most of us use the Chrome Browser on our mobile devices; it's great for reading articles with Reader mode enabled, syncs open tabs and bookmarks across all your devices (as long as you're signed in to your Google account), and is regularly updated with new features and optimizations.

But after using Chrome for awhile, you might notice those countless tabs accumulating, which isn't necessarily a huge problem—unless you want to close all of them. While you could go one by one, closing each tab individually, there's a way to close them all simultaneously on your Android or iOS device.

Closing All Tabs on Android & iOS Smartphones

On an Android or iOS smartphone, open Chrome and tap the tabs icon to display all of your tabs, then select the three-dot menu icon and tap on "Close All Tabs." It's that easy.

How to Close All Open Tabs at Once in Chrome for Android & iOS
How to Close All Open Tabs at Once in Chrome for Android & iOS
Clear all tabs option in a web browser menu.
How to Close All Open Tabs at Once in Chrome for Android & iOS
How to Close All Open Tabs at Once in Chrome for Android & iOS
Clear all tabs option in a web browser menu.

Closing All Tabs on Android Tablets

It's a little quicker to do this on an Android tablet, like the Nexus 7. The tabs are displayed like they would be on your desktop, so tap and hold the "X" on any one of the tabs and a "Close all tabs" option will appear.

Unfortunately, the Chrome version for iPad requires you to close each tab individually. Sorry, iPad users.

How to Close All Open Tabs at Once in Chrome for Android & iOS
How to Close All Open Tabs at Once in Chrome for Android & iOS
How to Close All Open Tabs at Once in Chrome for Android & iOS
How to Close All Open Tabs at Once in Chrome for Android & iOS

Closing All Tabs in Android Lollipop

On Lollipop, things are a little different due to the fact that Google decided to merge your Chrome tabs with the Overview (aka Recent Apps) view. So before closing your tabs, you'll need to disable that merging.

Open Chrome, select the three-dot icon, enter the Settings, then disable the "Merge tabs and apps" feature.

Google search settings menu on a mobile device.
Error message prompting user to "Separate fails and try again."
Google search settings menu on a mobile device.
Error message prompting user to "Separate fails and try again."

With your tabs back to normal, just follow the same process shown for smartphones. Display your tabs, open the menu, then select "Close all tabs." There's an extra step with Lollipop, but it's just as simple.

How to Close All Open Tabs at Once in Chrome for Android & iOS
How to Close All Open Tabs at Once in Chrome for Android & iOS
How to Close All Open Tabs at Once in Chrome for Android & iOS
How to Close All Open Tabs at Once in Chrome for Android & iOS

Enjoy saving time and taps, and let us know what you think by commenting below, or continue the conversation with us over on Facebook, Google+, or Twitter.

The next big software update for iPhone is coming sometime in April and will include a Food section in Apple News+, an easy-to-miss new Ambient Music app, Priority Notifications thanks to Apple Intelligence, and updates to apps like Mail, Photos, Podcasts, and Safari. See what else is coming to your iPhone with the iOS 18.4 update.

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