How to Stop Pop Ups and Notifications in Chrome

How to Stop Pop Ups and Notifications in Chrome

Pop-up windows, ads in the corner of your screen, or alerts saying "Your PC is infected" - even when Chrome is closed. These almost always come from a website you once allowed to send notifications, from a site in your pop-up allow list, or from an extension. None of it is Chrome or Windows warning you.

This guide covers Chrome on Windows and Mac first, then Android and iPhone.

First: Recognise Notification Spam

Web notifications look like system alerts, but they carry the site's name (for example "site-name.xyz" under the message). If you see a scary virus warning with a website name in it, it's an advert, not a real alert. Don't click it. Our guide to the fake virus warning pop-up explains the scam behind them.

Step 1: Remove Sites Allowed to Send Notifications (Computer)

1. Open Chrome and select the three dots (More) > Settings.
2. Select Privacy and security > Site settings > Notifications.
3. Under Allowed to send notifications, look for sites you don't recognise.
4. Select the three dots next to each one and choose Block or Remove.
5. To stop all sites asking, choose Don't allow sites to send notifications at the top.

Quicker route: click a notification's settings (gear) icon or right-click it - it often opens the site's notification setting directly.

Step 2: Check Pop-Up Settings

Chrome blocks pop-ups by default, but sites can be added to an allow list.

1. In Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings, select Pop-ups and redirects.
2. Make sure Don't allow sites to send pop-ups or use redirects is selected.
3. Under Allowed to send pop-ups and use redirects, remove any site you don't trust.

If a site you need (a bank or a booking site) must open a pop-up, allow only that one site.

Step 3: Check Your Extensions

An extension can inject ads and pop-ups into every page.

1. Type chrome://extensions in the address bar and press Enter.
2. Turn off any extension you don't recognise or didn't install on purpose, then select Remove.
3. Watch for a few hours. If the pop-ups stop, the extension was the cause.

Chrome's Safety Check (Settings > Privacy and security > Safety Check, or in some versions Settings > Safety Check) also flags harmful extensions and sites with notification permissions you rarely visit.

Step 4: Check Your Search Engine and Start Page

Adware often changes these too.

1. In Settings > Search engine, choose the search engine you want and remove unknown ones under Manage search engines and site search.
2. In Settings > On start-up, remove any page you didn't set.
3. If a setting says it is managed by your organisation on a home PC, a program may have changed Chrome's policies - run a malware scan (Step 6).

Step 5: Reset Chrome Settings (Optional)

Settings > Reset settings > Restore settings to their original defaults > Reset settings. This resets your start page, search engine, pinned tabs and site permissions, and turns off extensions. Your bookmarks, history and saved passwords stay.

Step 6: Scan the Computer for Unwanted Programs

If pop-ups appear even when Chrome is closed and no site has notification permission, a program on the PC may be showing them.

1. Open Settings > Apps > Installed apps and uninstall programs you don't recognise, especially ones installed around the time the pop-ups started.
2. Run a full scan with Windows Security (or your antivirus).

Our guide on how to remove viruses and malware from your PC has the full steps.

Chrome on Android

1. Open Chrome and tap the three dots > Settings.
2. Tap Site settings > Notifications and turn off notifications for unknown sites (or all sites).
3. Tap Site settings > Pop-ups and redirects and make sure it's off (blocked).

You can also long-press a notification in the notification shade and turn off notifications for that site. If ads appear outside Chrome - on the home screen or over other apps - the cause is usually an app, not Chrome. Check recently installed apps in Settings > Apps.

Chrome on iPhone and iPad

iPhone doesn't let websites in Chrome send push notifications the way desktop and Android do, so problems are usually pop-ups:

1. In Chrome, tap the three dots > Settings > Content Settings > Block Pop-ups and make sure it's on.
2. Safari's setting is separate: Settings > Apps > Safari > Block Pop-ups.

A "calendar virus" (spam events on your calendar) comes from a subscribed calendar, not Chrome - delete the calendar subscription in Settings > Apps > Calendar > Calendar Accounts.

Still Getting Pop-Ups?

If pop-ups continue after all these steps, back up your files and check with a second opinion scanner, or ask the GetQuickTechSupport team to look at it with you. And if you clicked a pop-up and entered a password, change that password now.

---

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Similar Posts : How to Stop Pop Ups and Notifications in Chrome, This Site Cannot Be Reached in Chrome How to Fix It, Chrome Keeps Crashing or Freezing How to Fix It, 12 Ways to Fix Google Chrome Using Too Much RAM, How to Clear Cache and Cookies in Chrome Edge and Firefox,

See Also:chrome pop ups notifications