Enable or Disable Guest Mode in Google Chrome

This guide explains how to turn Guest Mode on or off in the Google Chrome browser for 2026.

Google Chrome is a popular web browser made by Google. It shares the same engine as Microsoft Edge. This makes them work in almost the same way.

Why use Guest Mode? Guest Mode lets you use Chrome without saving your history or data. It is great for privacy on shared computers.

What happens when done? If you disable this mode, people using your computer cannot start a guest session. This forces them to use a standard account or prevents them from browsing entirely.

Note: Before you begin, check if your browser is managed by an organization. Click the three-dot menu in Chrome. If you see “Managed by your organization,” your settings are controlled by a server. Manual changes to your registry will be ignored.

Enable / Disable Guest Mode in Chrome using the Registry

You can change this setting using the Windows Registry Editor. Warning: These changes require administrative privileges. Also, if your computer is managed by a school or work account, these settings may not persist after a Chrome update.

If your registry keys are locked by an existing policy, manual creation will fail. You must run the Registry Editor as an Administrator to make these changes.

First, open the Windows Registry. You should back up your registry before you start, or create a System Restore point as a safety measure.

Go to this path:

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome

If you do not see the Google folder, right-click the Policies folder and create a new key named Google. Do the same for Chrome if it is missing.

Right-click the Chrome folder. Select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name it BrowserGuestModeEnabled.

Double-click BrowserGuestModeEnabled. Set the value to 0 to turn off Guest Mode. Set it to 1 to turn it on.

To restore the default settings, delete the BrowserGuestModeEnabled entry. You may need to restart your computer for these changes to work.

Using Google Chrome ADMX Templates

For businesses and IT departments, the recommended 2026 practice is to use the Group Policy Editor with Google Chrome ADMX templates. This is cleaner and more reliable than editing the registry manually. You can download the official policy templates from Google to manage these settings across multiple computers in your network.

Conclusion

You can control Guest Mode through the Windows Registry or via Group Policy. Always back up your registry before you change anything. If your computer is managed by an organization, please contact your IT department to change these settings.

Reference:

Chrome Enterprise Policy