How to Hide Tabs

Last Updated: August 30, 2019

Hiding your browser tabs can be useful when you want to keep your browsing activities private, or when you just want to save screen space. Most Internet browsers will keep all tabs displayed by default, but you can modify your tab preferences in settings if you use Internet Explorer, and download a tab-hiding extension or add-on if you use Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:
Hiding Tabs in Internet Explorer

1
Open a session of Internet Explorer.
2
Click on “Tools,” and select “Internet Options.”
3
Click on the “General” tab, then click on “Settings” under the Tabs section.
4
Remove the checkmark next to “Enable Tabbed Browsing.”
5
Click on “OK” twice when each option is presented.
6
Close all open sessions of Internet Explorer, then relaunch the browser. Your tabs will no longer display in future sessions of Internet Explorer.^{[1]
X
Research source}

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:
Installing Panic Button in Chrome

1
Open a session of Google Chrome.
2
Navigate to the Panic Button app in the Chrome Web Store at https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/panicbutton/faminaibgiklngmfpfbhmokfmnglamcm.
3
Click on “Add to Chrome,” and select the option to install the app to your browser.
4
Wait for the Panic Button app to complete the installation process. When complete, the Panic Button app will display new icons at the top of your Chrome browser.
5
Click on the icon of a red circle with an exclamation point at any time to hide your browser tabs. The tabs will remain hidden until you click on the same icon to restore them. While tabs are hidden, the icon will remain green.^{[2]
X
Research source}

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:
Installing Panic Button in Firefox

1
Open a session of Mozilla Firefox.
2
Navigate to the Panic Button app in the Mozilla Add-Ons Store at https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/panic-button/.
3
Click on “Add to Firefox,” and select the option to install the app to your browser.
4
Close and reopen your session of Firefox after the Panic Button app has completed the installation process. The Panic Button app will display new icons at the top of your Firefox browser.
5
Click on “Tools” and select “Add-ons” within your Firefox session.
6
Click on “Preferences” or “Options” to the right of the Panic Button add-on.
7
Select the option to “Hide all windows,” then save your preferences.
8
Click on the icon of an orange circle with an exclamation point at any time to hide your browser tabs. All tabs will remain hidden until you click on the same icon to restore the tabs.

Community Q&A

Question

I don't have Internet Explorer and all of the apps on the Google Play store are blocked for me because I'm using a school device. Are there any other ways of hiding my tabs?

Community Answer

You could try downloading another browser to attempt to bypass this, but since you are using a school device, this still may not work.