Google Chrome receives regular updates and like with any other app they’re purpose is to add new features, fix bugs and patch security vulnerabilities. Chrome’s default behavior is to update automatically, sparing us the hassle of doing it manually.
In theory, updates are a good thing but they don’t always work as advertised. It is possible to disable automatic Chrome updates in Windows, should you want to have more control over the process.
How to disable automatic Chrome updates in Windows
To disable automatic Chrome updates in Windows there are multiple methods you can use, so we’re going to show you the most convenient ones.
Stop automatic Chrome updates from System Configuration
To disable Chrome updates from System Configuration, the first thing you need to do is open the Run dialog. Press Win + R to launch the Run command, type msconfig in the text box and hit the OK button.
In the System Configuration window, go to the “Services” tab. At the bottom of the window, disable the option called “Hide all Microsoft services”.
Now, scroll through the list of services and find the ones that are named “Google Update Service (gupdate)” and “Google Update Service (gupdatem)”. Uncheck them and click the “Apply” button to save the changes.
Prevent Chrome updates via the Registry Editor
Automatic Chrome updates can also be stopped using a simple Registry tweak. To access the Registry Editor, open the Run dialog (Win key + R is the fastest way), type regedit and hit Enter on your keyboard.
In the Registry Editor navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -> Policies. Right-click on the Policies folder and select New -> Key. Name the new key “Google”.
To continue, right-click on the Google folder you just created and select New -> Key once again. Name the new key “update”.
In the left pane, right-click and select New -> DWORD (32-bit). Name it “updatedefault”. Then, click on the new DWORD value and make sure the value is set to 0. Change it, if it’s not and click OK.
This will stop Chrome from updating automatically so make sure you manually check for updates every now and then. To do this, open Chrome, click on the three vertical dots in the upper-left corner, and select Help -> About Chrome.
Disable Chrome updates from the Local Group Policy Editor
This method doesn’t work for Windows home editions because they don’t have the Local Group Policy Editor so you should check if you have this feature first.
Assuming your computer has the Group Policy Editor, you will need to download this Google Update template (ADM).
Then, press Win + R to launch the Run dialog and type gpedit.msc to open the Group Policy Editor.
Go to Computer Configuration and right-click “Administrative Templates”. Select the “Add/Remove Templates” option.
Click the “Add” button and select the “GoogleUpdate.adm” template you downloaded earlier. At this point, you can close the Add/Remove Templates window and you’ll return to the Group Policy Editor.
There can be many reasons why you’d want to disable automatic Chrome updates in Windows even though the recommended course of action is to allow the browser to install updates as soon as they’re available. Hopefully, the methods above have helped you stop automatic Chrome updates and control the process manually.
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