Smartphones have exceeded the reach of our thumbs and growing in screen sizes every passing day. Sometimes I wish for an extension to our thumbs to reach the top of the screen but alas I have to settle for workarounds rather than prosthetic augments to thumbs, how cool that would be?
Chrome has the URL bar on the top which makes it a hassle to reach especially in the bigger phone. Chrome did something amazing when they released Chrome Home flag that would bring down the URL bar to the bottom of the browser. However, with the recent, Chrome 66 update this feature has been removed in favor of Google Duplex. But fret not, here I’ll show you two ways to move get it back.Â
Read: Best Chrome flags for Android
Move Chrome’s Address Bar to the Bottom
Method 1:Â Using the older version of Chrome
This is the easiest way to get back the Google Home flag. Even though Chrome has recalled the feature in newer versions, they’ve kept it functional for the older version users.
If you’re unsure about your Chrome version, open up the browser, tap the vertical dot on the top-right corner, and hit “Settings.” Scroll to the bottom, and tap “About Chrome.” Under “Application Version” look for the number next to chrome, if you are running, Chrome 66 or higher, uninstall it from your phone and follow the instruction below. If you are running Chrome 65 or lower, directly go to 3.Â
1. First up, we’ll Install the older version of Chrome (version 65) from Apkmirror. You may have to enable “Unknown sources” from the Settings if you haven’t done it before.
2. After the Chrome is installed, we’ll turn the flags on the older version browser.
3. To do this, we’ll follow these steps:
Goto the search bar in the Chrome Browser,
Type  ‘chrome://flags’, hit enter.
Tap the options icon on the top right corner and look for ‘Find in page’.
You’ll see plenty of different options that are experimental and can affect your browser’s functionality.
Tap that and type ‘Chrome Home’, It would take you to the flag which we’ll activate. Or simply type in flags/#enable-chrome-home in the URL box.
Tap the ‘Default’ button and enable it from the available options.
Now you just restart your Chrome browser and you’ll notice the search bar is on the bottom. You might have to swipe the app from the task manager to kill it
This feature works great but has one major disadvantage which would leave your browser prone to security risk. Newer versions get security patches frequently.
This drawback brings us to the next method.
Method 2:
It is truly a workaround as it technically doesn’t even involve installing a Chrome browser but a browser that is built on Chromium that looks feels and works just like chrome browser.
Go to play store and search ‘Kiwi browser’.
Install the web browser,
Launch the application tap the options button and go to Settings.
Tap on Accessibility,
Scroll to the bottom and look for ‘Bottom Toolbar’ and check the box. It’ll ask you to relaunch the browser and when it does your search bar will be on the bottom now.
Now you can easily access the search bar on the bottom of the browser.
Also Read: How to import bookmarks from Chrome to Firefox Android
Final Thoughts:
We showed you two ways to change the layout of the Chrome browser to display the search bar on the bottom instead of the default top position. Using the first method would allow Chrome to move and display the search bar on the bottom of the screen. It comes with an added disadvantage of potential security flaws. if you want to be certain that you’re browser is secure we recommend you to go with the second method. leave your thoughts and questions with us down below.
