Here’s how to disable side search feature in Chrome 107 and above

With Chrome 107, Google added a new feature to the browser. Similar to Edge, it now allows redirecting its search to the sidebar. With one click you can move search results out of the tab to the panel on the right. Google says it will allow anyone to compare search results, or keep them always visible while you are browsing the sites it found for you.

When you open a page from the search result, the browser will show a google icon in the address bar. Clicking it will restore the original Google's search page, like you see when you go back to it, but it will appear on the right.

How Side Search works in Google Chrome

1. Open Google.com in the Chrome browser and type some search query.
2. Once it opens the result page, click on some link.
3. After the target website opens, you will see a new "google" icon in the address bar.
4. Click the new Google icon to open the original search result page in the sidebar.

When the sidebar is open, the "google" button disappears from the address bar. But once you close the panel, the "G" icon returns to its place, and allows you to return the most recent search once again.

The feature made its first appearance in the Chrome browser in March 2022. By that time, it was hidden in the Canary version of the app, and required you to enable it manually.

Starting in Chrome 107 stable, it is enabled by default with no option in settings to disable it. If you aren't happy to see it, this may be frustrating. However, here's a bit of good news: The same flag we used to enable it we can now use to get rid of it. Here is how.

Disable Side Search in Google Chrome

1. Run the Chrome browser, and open a new tab.
2. Type or copy-paste chrome://flags/#search-web-in-side-panel in the address bar, and hit Enter.
3. Select Disabled from the drop-down list next to the Side Search option.
4. Similarly, disable the chrome://flags/#side-search flag. Type it into the address bar and hit Enter, then select Disabled.
5. Relaunch the browser when prompted.

This is how you disable the side search in Chrome.

The guide is tested on Chrome from version 107 to 113. In a typical Google's fashion, it won't take them long to remove the flag. So treat this option as a temporary workaround which can stop working in forthcoming versions.

Sidebar search is one of productivity features both Chrome and Edge offer to the user. Microsoft's solution could be more interesting to the user, as it is more flexible, and also offers reverse image search in addition to text terms.