[Note: we’ve gotten reports that a recent Chrome update has removed the Enable download bubble flag — so you may find that this fix is no longer available.]
Quick fix: restore Chrome download notifications to the bottom of the page
A recent Chrome update has moved your download notifications to the top of the address bar. If you liked things the way they were, you can change them back.
A recent Chrome update has moved your download notifications to the top of the address bar. If you liked things the way they were, you can change them back.
Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge
The issue
Suddenly, Chrome downloads are no longer showing at the bottom of the window.
Quick fix
Change a download flag.
The full story
Earlier this month, Google made some changes to its Chrome browser, one of which was switching the download notifications from a bar at the bottom of the browser window to a drop-down icon at the top right of the address bar. Some users may like this new way of finding downloads — certainly, it’s neat, out of the way, and lets you quickly see all of your downloads from the last 24 hours.
However, I found it rather disconcerting. I’ve got a lot of muscle memory invested in clicking on the download links at the bottom of the Chrome screen, and while I may eventually get used to the new download tray, just now, I find it to be an inconvenience.
The full fix
I found this fix in the Google Chrome Help site, and it worked for me. However, it came with a warning that “this is a experimental flag and Google may remove it in the future.”
- In your Chrome address field, type (or copy and paste) chrome://flags/#download-bubble
- At the top of the screen, you’ll see Enable download bubble highlighted. The drop-down menu on the right will probably be set to Default.
- Click on the drop-down menu and select Disabled.
- Click on the Relaunch button that is now at the bottom of the screen.
After Chrome relaunches, the downloads icon at the top right will be gone, and when you download a file, the download bar will appear at the bottom of your window, just as it used to.
Update October 31st, 2023, 9:32AM ET: This article was originally published on August 16th, 2023, and has been updated to add a notification that this fix may no longer work.
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