Google Chrome Icons and Symbols Explained
Chrome on Android keeps most of its controls behind small icons. The sliders next to the web address, the number on the tab button, the plus in the address bar, a diamond in a menu row, a banana in the search options: each one does something specific, and only a few of them have labels.
In this guide, you will learn what every icon in the latest Chrome for Android means, screen by screen: the toolbar, the address bar, the Chrome menu, tabs and tab groups, Incognito, and your bookmarks, history and downloads. And this is an interactive guide. You can tap on every icon on the screens below to know what it does.
Toolbar on a website
Open any website and Chrome shows a single toolbar at the top: Home, the address bar with a site icon on its left, and three buttons on the right for a new tab, your open tabs and the Chrome menu.
On a secure website
Home
The house icon. Takes you back to your home page, which is the New tab page unless you set a different one in Settings.
Site controls
The two sliders to the left of the web address. Tap it to see if the connection is secure, check cookies and site data, and change what this site is allowed to do, like use your location or camera.
Address bar
Shows the site you are on. Tap it to type a new web address or a search, or to copy and share the current link.
New tab
The plus icon. Opens a new tab with the New tab page. You can long-press it to open a new Incognito tab instead.
Tab switcher
The square with a number. The number is how many tabs you have open. Tap it to see all your tabs as cards, and swipe the toolbar left or right to jump between tabs.
Chrome menu
The three dots. Opens the Chrome menu with Back, Forward, Bookmark, Download and Refresh at the top, and History, Downloads, Bookmarks, Settings and the page tools below.
On a site without HTTPS
Not secure
A padlock with a line through it. The site does not use a secure HTTPS connection, so others on the network could see or change what you send. Chrome warns you before it opens such a site, and you can go back or continue.
Site controls
Tap the sliders icon to the left of the web address and a panel drops down with three rows about the site you are on.
Connection is secure
The padlock. The site uses HTTPS, so what you type on it is encrypted on the way. It does not mean the site itself can be trusted, only that the connection is private.
Cookies and site data
The cookie. Shows how much data the site has stored on your phone and lets you delete it, and lets you block third-party cookies for this site.
Last visited
The clock with an arrow. Tells you when you last opened this site, and opens its entries in your History.
New tab page
Open a new tab and Chrome shows the Google search box, your most visited sites as shortcuts, a Chrome tips card and, further down, Discover: news and videos picked for you.
Top of the page
Your profile
The round letter or photo. Shows the Google account you are signed in with. Tap it to manage sync, your Google account and your Chrome settings.
Google search box
The G icon and search box. Tap it to search Google or type a web address. It opens the same address bar you get on any page.
Voice search
The microphone. Search by speaking instead of typing.
Google Lens
The camera in a square frame. Opens Google Lens, so you can search with your camera or a photo: identify things, copy text or translate a sign.
Shortcuts
The round site icons below the search box. These are the sites you visit most. Tap one to open it, or long-press it to remove it.
Share
The three connected dots on a Discover story. Shares the link to that story with another app.
Card menu
The three dots on a Discover story. Opens options for that story, like opening it in a new tab or telling Google you do not want to see it.
Story options, part 1
Open in new tab
The square with a plus. Opens the story in a new tab, so you can keep the New tab page where it is.
Open in new tab in group
The four squares with one changed into a diamond. Opens the story in a new tab and puts it in a tab group.
Open in Incognito tab
The hat and glasses. Opens the story in Incognito, so it is not saved in your history.
Add to reading list
The lines with a plus. Saves the story to your reading list to read later, even offline.
Story options, part 2
Hide this
The circle with a cross. Removes the story from your feed.
Report this
The flag. Reports the story to Google if it is misleading, offensive or otherwise wrong.
Send feedback
The speech bubble with an exclamation mark. Sends feedback about Discover to Google.
About this result
The i in a circle. Shows why you are seeing this story and where it comes from.
Address bar and search
Tap the address bar and it opens on top of the page with trending searches. Start typing and you get suggestions, and the plus on the left adds a photo, a file or a tab to your search.
Before you type
Add to your search
The plus on the left of the address bar. Opens a menu to attach tabs, photos, a camera shot or files to your search, and to switch to AI tools.
Voice search
The microphone. Speak your search or web address instead of typing it.
Google Lens
The camera in a square frame. Search with your camera or a photo from your gallery.
Refine
The arrow pointing up and to the left. Copies the suggestion into the address bar without searching, so you can add more words to it.
Status symbols. These only show information. They are not buttons.
Trending search
The zigzag arrow. A popular search right now. Tap the row to search for it.
While you type
Search suggestion
The magnifier. A Google search suggestion based on what you typed. Tap it to search for it.
Clear text
The X at the end of the address bar. Deletes everything you typed so you can start again.
The plus menu
Tabs
The four squares. Adds one of your open tabs to the search, so you can ask about a page you already have open.
Gallery
The picture. Adds a photo from your gallery to the search.
Camera
The camera. Takes a photo and adds it to the search.
Files
The paper clip. Adds a file, like a PDF, from your phone to the search.
AI Mode
The magnifier with a sparkle. Sends your search to Google's AI Mode, which answers in full sentences and lets you ask follow-up questions.
Create images
The banana. Switches to image creation, so Google's AI makes a picture from what you describe.
Canvas
The page with a pen. Opens Canvas, a space where Google's AI writes and edits longer drafts, like documents or code.
Chrome menu
Tap the three dots on the right of the toolbar and the Chrome menu opens. The row of icons at the top is for the page you are on, and the list below has everything else.
Top of the menu
Back
The left arrow. Goes back to the page you were on before. The arrow is grey when there is nothing to go back to.
Forward
The right arrow. Goes forward again after you went back. Grey when there is nothing to go forward to.
Bookmark
The star. Saves the page to your bookmarks. The star turns blue and solid when the page is already bookmarked, and tapping it again lets you edit or remove the bookmark.
Download page
The arrow pointing down onto a line. Saves the page to your phone so you can read it later without internet. You find it in Downloads.
Refresh
The circular arrow. Reloads the page. While a page is loading, it turns into an X that stops loading.
New tab
The square with a plus. Opens a new tab.
New Incognito tab
The hat and glasses. Opens a private tab. Chrome does not save the history, cookies or form entries from Incognito tabs.
Tabs, history and site
Add tab to new group
The four squares with one changed into a diamond. Puts this tab into a new tab group, which you can name and colour.
History
The clock with an arrow going back. Shows the pages you visited, newest first, and lets you search them or remove them.
Delete browsing data
The bin. Deletes your history, cookies and cached files for the last 15 minutes or a longer time range you pick.
Site controls
The two sliders. The same panel as the icon left of the web address: connection, cookies and permissions for this site.
Downloads
The tick on a line. Opens your downloaded files and saved pages.
Bookmarks
The solid star. Opens your bookmark folders and your reading list.
Recent tabs
The laptop and phone. Shows tabs you closed recently and tabs open on your other devices signed in to the same Google account.
Page tools
Share
The three connected dots. Opens the share sheet to send the page, copy the link, take a long screenshot or make a QR code.
Find in page
The page with a magnifier. Searches for a word on the page you are reading.
Translate
The G and a Chinese character. Translates the page into your language, or into any language you pick.
Show Reading mode
The page with lines. Shows the article as plain text without ads and clutter, with text size and colour options.
Install and create shortcut
The screen with a down arrow. Adds the site to your home screen. Sites built as web apps install like an app and open in their own window.
End of the menu
Desktop site
The monitor with a checkbox. Asks the site for its computer version instead of the phone version. Tick it again to switch back.
Settings
The gear. Opens Chrome's settings: your Google account, passwords, payment methods, privacy, site settings, the search engine and more.
Help and feedback
The question mark in a circle. Opens Chrome's help articles and lets you send feedback to Google.
Find in page and sharing
Find in page and Share both open from the Chrome menu. Find in page replaces the toolbar with a search bar, and Share opens the Android share sheet with Chrome's own tools in a row near the top.
Find in page
Find bar
Type a word here and Chrome highlights every match on the page. The current match is orange and the rest are yellow.
Previous match
The up arrow. Jumps to the match before this one.
Next match
The down arrow. Jumps to the next match.
Close find bar
The X. Closes Find in page and brings the toolbar back.
Status symbols. These only show information. They are not buttons.
Match count
Which match you are on, and how many there are on the page in total.
Share sheet
Copy link
The two overlapping pages. Copies the page's web address so you can paste it anywhere.
Long Screenshot
The corners of a frame. Takes a screenshot of more than one screen: you drag to pick how much of the page to capture.
Print
The printer. Prints the page or saves it as a PDF.
Send to your device
The laptop and phone. Sends the page to Chrome on your other devices signed in to the same Google account.
More sharing tools
QR Code
The square of dots. Makes a QR code for the page that someone can scan with their phone camera. You can also download the code as an image.
Tab switcher
Tap the square with a number in the toolbar and your open tabs show up as a grid of cards. The buttons at the top switch between normal tabs, Incognito tabs and tab groups.
Your open tabs
New tab
The plus in a blue square. Opens a new tab.
Open tabs
The square with a number. Shows your normal tabs. The number is how many are open.
Tab groups
The four squares. Shows your saved tab groups.
Tab switcher menu
The three dots. Opens options to make a tab group, close all tabs, select several tabs or delete browsing data.
Search your tabs
Searches the titles and web addresses of your open tabs, handy when you have dozens open.
Close tab
The X on a card. Closes that tab. You can also swipe a card to the side to close it.
Current tab
The card with a coloured border is the tab you were on. Tap any card to open that tab.
Long-press a tab
Add tab to new group
The four squares with one changed into a diamond. Starts a new tab group with this tab.
Add to bookmarks
The star outline. Bookmarks the page in this tab.
Share tab
The three connected dots. Shares the link of the page in this tab.
Send to your device
The laptop and phone. Sends the tab to Chrome on your other signed-in devices.
Pin tab
The pin. Pins the tab so it stays at the start of the grid and is harder to close by mistake.
Mute site
The speaker with a line through it. Stops the site in this tab from playing sound.
Select tab
The pencil. Starts selection mode with this tab picked, so you can close, group or share several tabs at once.
Tab switcher menu
New tab group
The four squares with one changed into a diamond. Makes a new, empty tab group.
Close all tabs
The X. Closes every open tab. Chrome shows an Undo button for a few seconds in case you tapped it by mistake.
Select tabs
The ticked box. Lets you tick several tabs to close, group, bookmark or share them together.
Delete browsing data
The bin. Opens the screen to delete history, cookies and cached files.
Tab groups
Tab groups keep related tabs together under a name and a colour. Groups are saved, so you can close one and open it again later from the Tab groups pane.
Making a group
Group name
Type a name for the group. Chrome fills in the number of tabs if you leave it as it is.
Group colour
The coloured dots. Pick a colour for the group. The selected colour has a ring around it, and Chrome uses it for the group's card and bar.
A group in the tab switcher
Tab group card
A card with a coloured dot and a grid of small previews is a group, not a single tab. Tap it to open the group.
Group options
The three dots on a group card. Close, rename, ungroup or delete the group.
Inside a group
Collapse group
The left arrow. Closes the group view and goes back to the tab grid.
Group colour dot
The dot next to the name shows the group's colour. Tap it to pick another colour.
Group title
The group's name. Tap it to rename the group.
Add tab to group
The plus. Opens a new tab inside this group.
Group menu
The three dots. Opens the group's options.
Group menu
Select tabs
The ticked box. Pick tabs in the group to close or move them together.
Edit group name
The pencil. Renames the group.
Edit group color
The eyedropper. Changes the group's colour.
Close group
The pages with an X. Closes the group's tabs but keeps the group saved, so you can open it again from Tab groups.
Delete group
The bin. Closes the tabs and removes the saved group for good.
Tab groups pane
New tab group button
The plus in the Tab groups pane. Makes a new, empty group.
Saved group
Each row is a saved group, with the favicons of its tabs, its colour, its name and when it was last changed. Tap it to open the group again.
Saved group options
The three dots on a row. Open, rename or delete a saved group.
Group bar on a page
Tabs in this group
When the tab you are on is in a group, a bar at the bottom shows each tab in the group as a round icon. Tap one to switch to it, or the small X to close it.
New tab in group
The plus on the group bar. Opens a new tab in the same group.
Show group's tabs
The up arrow. Opens the group as a grid of cards.
Incognito mode
Incognito tabs use a dark theme so you always know you are in one. Chrome keeps them in their own pane in the tab switcher.
New Incognito tab
Incognito tab count
The number of Incognito tabs you have open. It counts them separately from your normal tabs.
Third-party cookies blocked
In Incognito, sites cannot use cookies from other sites to follow you around the web. The card shows a link to allow them for a site that stops working.
Status symbols. These only show information. They are not buttons.
Incognito icon
The hat and glasses. Shows you are in Incognito: Chrome will not save your history, cookies or what you type into forms after you close these tabs. Downloads and bookmarks you make are still kept.
Incognito tabs
Incognito tabs
The hat and glasses in the tab switcher. Shows only your Incognito tabs. It appears when at least one Incognito tab is open.
New Incognito tab button
The plus on the Incognito pane opens another Incognito tab, not a normal one.
Bookmarks, history and downloads
Bookmarks, History and Downloads each open as a full screen from the Chrome menu, with their tools in the top right and an X to close them.
Bookmarks
Sort and view
The three lines getting shorter. Sorts bookmarks by name or date and switches between a list and a compact view.
New folder
The folder with a plus. Makes a new bookmark folder.
Close
The X. Closes the page and takes you back to your tab.
Search bookmarks
Searches your bookmark names and addresses.
Bookmark folder
The folder. Opens a folder of bookmarks. The number shows how many bookmarks it holds.
Reading list
The page with lines and dots. Pages you saved to read later. They are kept offline, so you can read them without internet.
History
Search history
The magnifier. Searches the titles and addresses of pages you visited.
Delete browsing data
Opens the screen to delete history, cookies and cached files for a time range.
Remove from history
The X in a circle. Removes that one page from your history.
After a download
Open download
Opens the file you just downloaded.
Status symbols. These only show information. They are not buttons.
Download finished
The tick in the message at the top. Chrome tells you the download is done, with its size and the site it came from.
Downloads
Download settings
The gear. Choose where downloads are saved and whether Chrome asks you each time.
Search downloads
The magnifier. Searches your downloads by name.
Saved page
The globe. A web page you downloaded from the Chrome menu, saved to read offline.
Download options
The three dots. Share or delete the download.
Status symbols. These only show information. They are not buttons.
Storage used
How much space your downloads take, out of the free space on your phone.
Those are the meanings of Google Chrome icons and symbols. Chrome gets a new version every four weeks and the icons change with it, so we update this guide every time they do, and you can bookmark this page to stay updated. These screens are from Chrome for Android. For more icon guides, you can also visit our TechPP icon guides.
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