How to Disable Windows 8 Mode for Chrome Browser

The Windows 8 mode for the Google Chrome web browser runs Chrome as a Windows 8 app. The browser goes full screen, shows an app launcher, a shelf and allows you to use the web in a comfortable interface and without getting distracted by any Windows annoyances. While some users may like the Windows 8 mode very much, other may find it quite overwhelming. If you are one of those users who do not like to go full screen while surfing the web, then you can disable the Windows 8 mode for the Chrome browser easily.

If you have never tried the Windows 8 mode for Chrome, then you can read our earlier article about how to use the Chrome web browser in the Windows 8 mode. Of course, you would need to be running the latest version of Chrome on a Windows 8 PC for this to work.

When you are tired of using the Windows 8 mode, you can switch it off instantly. In order to turn off the Windows 8 mode for Chrome browser, you can click on the menu icon (three horizontal lines) near the top-right corner and select Relaunch Chrome on the desktop from the drop-down menu. That’s it. Chrome app will close and the desktop version of the Chrome browser shall be launched.

Chrome Windows 8 Mode

You may also notice the Chrome app in the system tray (notification area) of Windows. This indicates that Chrome keeps running in the background always for easy access. But this also means that Chrome will consume a lot of memory while running in the background all the time. You can click on this icon and uncheck Let Google Chrome run in the background from the menu that shows up. This will close the system tray icon, background process and will prevent Chrome from running in the background in the future.

Chrome Windows 8 Mode

Conclusion: The Windows 8 mode for the Chrome browser is very comfortable for some users, while it can be a little overwhelming for other. In the latter case, you can easily switch back to the desktop mode and use Chrome just like any other desktop application.