Open a new tab and click the button at the bottom right. Select the Shortcuts section.
Master Your Tab Game: How to Manage Chrome’s Most Visited Sites
You can easily toggle between your own manually set shortcuts and those suggested by Chrome. chrome most visited sites
Functionally, the Most Visited feature is an algorithm in miniature. Chrome monitors a user’s browsing history, tracking both the frequency and recency of visits to specific URLs. A site visited ten times a day for a week will likely outrank a site visited once. This is not merely a list of bookmarks; it is a real-time mirror of behaviour. Unlike bookmarks, which represent conscious intent to save a page, the Most Visited list is passive. It doesn't ask what the user values; it observes what the user does . This distinction is critical: the list prioritises habit over aspiration, often showcasing social media, news cycles, or email clients rather than long-term research or niche hobbies.
Hover over any shortcut tile and click the "X" (or three dots) to remove it from your view. Open a new tab and click the button at the bottom right
Yet, there is a darker cognitive dimension. By constantly presenting the user with their own most frequented sites, the feature reinforces existing habits, creating a feedback loop of digital inertia. A user trying to reduce time on a distracting site (e.g., Reddit or Twitter) will see that site’s icon every time they open a new tab, acting as a constant temptation. Conversely, a site they wish to visit more often—such as an online learning portal—may never appear if it hasn't yet achieved critical mass. The algorithm thus favours the past over the future, making deliberate behavioural change more difficult. As designer Tristan Harris has argued, such features exploit a “bottom-of-the-mind” reflex, replacing conscious choice with automatic behaviour.
In the modern browsing experience, the "New Tab" page has become a crucial piece of digital real estate. For millions of users, Google Chrome’s default New Tab page is dominated by a simple, unassuming grid: the “Most Visited Sites” (often labelled as "Frequently Visited" or, when manually set, "Top Sites"). At first glance, it appears to be a mere convenience feature—a set of thumbnails saving users a few keystrokes. However, a deeper look reveals that this small grid acts as a powerful digital habit tracker, a psychological anchor, and a subtle arena for corporate influence. Functionally, the Most Visited feature is an algorithm
For power users who want access to these sites even when they aren't on the New Tab page, there is a specialized Most Visited extension available in the . It provides a quick drop-down menu of your top sites from anywhere in the browser. 4. Pro-Tip: Pinned Tabs
There are two ways to remove sites: deleting a single shortcut or hiding the entire section.