Article Updated: 27 Sep 2021
Another Google Chrome browser version, another annoying change.
Google Chrome Desktop Browser – How To Hide Reading List Icon
Latest Google Chrome version 89.0 introduced yet another revolutionary feature: a Reading List icon in Bookmarks bar, where you can quickly store your TO DO articles that you wish to read later. Wait… we already have such a feature for decades (drum roll 🎶🎵) – it is called Bookmarks! Why Chrome devs desperately try to reinvent the wheel instead focus on features that really matter is beyond us. By the way, you might also wish to disable Search Tabs feature as well.
There is one possible scenario where Reading list feature might be useful: at your office at work! Wait, what’s the difference between reading list and bookmarks? Well, not much, except that reading list has a nice mark as read feature to mark a page or a document (e.g. PDF), and it is stored in a separate section from the main bookmarks. The downside of saved reading list links is that you can’t edit titles of the pages or documents as you can with regular bookmarks. There, we said it. In fact, we now use this feature at work but definitely not at home ;)
As usual, option to disable and hide this (useless) thing (for us) is nowhere to be found in Chrome’s Settings page (chrome://settings in URL format, learn more here). What else is new? Thankfully, there is a hidden flag that you can use instead, but for how long will devs feel generous to provide it for us mere mortals remains to be seen…
Update: In version 91.x developers added an option to hide Reading List icon thanks to do global outcry (by the way, let us all hope they’ll do the same with Tab Search thing). Please refer to the following screenshot below how to do it.
How To Hide Reading List Icon in Google Chrome Browser?
Update: This method is no longer required and available!
- Start Google Chrome browser
- Type (or Copy/Paste) chrome://flags into search/address bar (omnibox) + press ENTER key
- Special page will open. Type Reading List into Search flags box
- Option about Reading List will be shown – select Disabled from the right drop-down button menu
- Relaunch Chrome. Reading List is gone!
NOTE: As we have wrote about Google Chrome Flags before, keep in mind that these options are provided temporarily, there is no guarantee that they will remain in the very next Chrome browser update. Enjoy while you can!
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