3 Fixes if You Can’t Remove Extensions From Chrome

Quick Tips

• You can remove Chrome extensions by going to the three-dot menu > Extensions > Manage extensions > Remove extension.
• If that doesn’t work, try restarting your browser or uninstalling and reinstalling it.
• Are you still unable to get rid of the extension? It could be a virus. Use antivirus software to scan and remove it.

Fix 1: Check if the Extension Is Installed by Your Administrator

It’s essential to determine whether the extension you’re trying to remove was installed by your administrator. Maybe your office, university, or school has installed the said extension for monitoring or administrative purposes.

Notably, you can’t remove Chrome extensions installed by an administrator unless they permit it or do it themselves. However, you can check if the extension is installed by an administrator and contact the IT department accordingly.

Note: To gather this information, enable Developer mode in Chrome. Check the tutorial below to learn how.

Step 1: Open Chrome, click the three-dot icon → Extensions → Manage extensions.

Step 2: Toggle on Developer mode from the top-right corner.

Once enabled, the window will auto-refresh and show you additional options. You’ll notice that all extension boxes are displaying an extension ID. If you notice an Installed by enterprise policy message, you can’t remove it unless permitted by the administrator.

If you don’t spot such a message but still can’t remove the extension from Chrome, try the following troubleshooting methods.

Fix 2: Delete Chrome Extensions via File Explorer or Finder

If you can’t remove extensions from Chrome’s extension page, here’s an alternative method:

Using Windows File Explorer

Before you can do so, you’ll need to enable two settings,

• Enable Developer mode in Chrome (follow the steps mentioned above).

• Show Hidden Files (Open File Explorer → View → Show → Hidden items).

Step 1: Open Chrome, click the three-dot icon → Extensions → Manage extensions.

Step 2: Scroll to the extension you want to remove and observe the ID.

Step 3: Open File Explorer and copy-paste the following in the address bar. Replace ‘your username’ with your username on the computer.

C:\Users\your username\Appdata\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Extensions

Step 4: Here, look for the folder that matches the ID on the Chrome Extensions page and delete the folder.

Using Finder on Mac

Step 1: Open Chrome, click the three-dot icon → Extensions → Manage extensions.

Step 2: Observe the ID of the extension you want to uninstall.

Step 3: Next, open Finder. Click Go from the menu bar, and then Go to Folder (you can also use Cmd + Shift + G).

Step 4: Here, copy and paste the following:

~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/Default/Extensions

Step 5: Look for a folder with the same ID as the extension, right-click, and select Move to Bin.

Fix 3: Reset Chrome Settings

When you factory reset Chrome settings, it –

• Resets changes made to the startup page, new tab page, search engine, and pinned tabs.
• Disables all extensions.
• Clears temporary data like cookies and caches.
• Won’t affect your bookmarks, history, and saved passwords.

While the action will not delete the extension, it can disable or reset the bug or malware that is stopping you from removing the extension. Follow the instructions below to reset the settings.

Step 1: Open Chrome → click on the three-dot icon → select Settings.

Step 2: Select Reset settings from the left sidebar.

Step 3: Click Reset settings to their original defaults and Reset Settings again to confirm.