By default, the Google Chrome browser automatically updates itself in the background. When you relaunch the browser, the update will install automatically. The updates are seamless and generally stable. They provide security & bug fixes and may add new features. The only problem is that you have no control over Chrome updates. For example, if you don’t want a specific update, you cannot skip or avoid it.
While Chrome itself has no built-in option to stop the auto updates, you can use Windows options to disable Chrome automatic updates. That way, you can avoid any updates that you think are problematic or causing issues in your system and choose when to update your browser.
In this quick and straightforward tutorial, let me show you how to disable Chrome auto-update in simple steps in Windows 11 & 10. Let’s get started.
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Disable Chrome Auto Update Using Windows Services
Since Chrome has no built-in option, we’ll disable its update services in Windows Service Manager. Without these services running, Chrome cannot update itself in the background. The best thing is that this method is very safe and can be easily reversed so that you can install updates again when needed. Here’s how to do it.
- Open the Run dialog by pressing “Windows key + R”.
- Type “services.msc” and click “OK“.
- Right-click the “Google Updater Internal Service” item.
- Select “Properties“.
- Select “Disabled” from the “Startup type” dropdown.
- Click “OK“.
- Right-click the “Google Updater Service” item.
- Select “Properties“.
- Select “Disabled” from the “Startup type” dropdown.
- Click “OK“.
- Close the “Services” window.
- With that, you’ve disabled automatic updates in Chrome.
Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)
First, open the Services Manager in Windows. To do that, press “Windows key + R” to open the Run dialog, type “services.msc“, and click “OK“.
In the Services window, find and right-click on “Google Updater Internal Service” and select “Properties“.
Select “Disabled” from the “Startup type” dropdown menu and click the “OK” button. This disables the service.
Next, right-click “Google Updater Service” and select “Properties“.
Select “Disabled” from the “Startup type” dropdown menu and click the “OK” button. This disables the service.
Finally, close the “Services” window and you are done. From this point forward, Chrome will not auto-update. If you open the “About” page in Chrome (Settings > Help > About) you will see an error message indicating that Chrome is unable to check for updates.
If you want to update the browser or enable automatic updates in Chrome, set the “Startup type” to “Manual” for both services (Google Updater Internal Service and Google Updater Service).
If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to assist.
Note: The “gupdatem” and “gupdate” services are no longer available or applicable to newer versions of Chrome.
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Update: This tutorial is updated with new verified steps to reflect changes in how Google manages the auto-update functionality.
