Files in PDF format have become a standard in computing and currently the only format used to send communications digitally, both between public administrations and between users, thanks to the large number of functionalities they offer and that allow protect, encrypt and sign documents. However, some browsers do not get along very well with this format, as is the case with Chrome.
Google’s browser, Chrome, has a habit of opening PDF files instead of downloading them to your computer. What at first may be an advantage for the user, in the end becomes a privacy problem for the user.
Privacy issues arise
Whether we are working in an office, in an open space shared with other people, in a cafeteria or in any other place where we would like to keep our privacy safe by showing only what we want on the screen, using Chrome is not possible . And I say that it is not possible, at least if we usually work with files in this format.
Natively, Chrome automatically opens all files in this format to display them on the screen as soon as you download it. In this way, it ensures that the user does not use the native Windows tools (Microsoft‘s browser, Edge) to open it and prevents them from having the opportunity to try other options when browsing. It should be remembered that in Windows 10 and Windows 11, the default application for opening PDF files has always been the Edge browser, both the Chromium-based version and the version that came to market with the launch of Windows 10.
This function, which seeks nothing more than to preserve the number of users in your browser, is a danger to the privacy of users, since they publicly expose to our environment, all the data that is shown in the file that we have just downloaded, private data that can be accessed by anyone who is next to us or nearby.
But, in addition, this functionality causes a performance problem on the computer , since, if we are downloading a large number of files in format, each and every one of them will automatically open on our computer, so in the end, we will end up with a large number of tabs, tabs that as their number increases, consume more memory and end up affecting the performance of the device.
Google is aware of this annoying function, a function that many users do not like, so it allows the option to deactivate it, as we show you below.
Why do PDFs open?
The functionality of Chrome that is responsible for automatically opening all the files in PDF format that we download on our computer, is one of the options available within the Chrome configuration options, an option that, fortunately, we can deactivate and that will allow us to open the files in this format whenever we want and with the application we want, especially if we want to do some type of editing or modification to the documents.
Chrome, unlike Edge, does not allow us to edit files in this format, so it is not a good option when working with this format. If users were to see how Edge allows us to make annotations, underline text and other operations with the PDF format, it is most likely that they would end up switching to Edge, a browser that is compatible with the same Chrome extensions, so, initially, It should not be a problem for the productivity of certain users who need, yes or yes, certain extensions.
How to avoid it
If we want to disable this functionality of Chrome, the fastest and easiest method is to access the Chrome configuration options . What if we are not going to be able to do is that we can use Google Chrome to open documents in this format, a format that is compatible with all browsers on the market and that, furthermore, we can open on any device, regardless of its operating system, since which, for years, has been a standard in the industry, like the .zip or .jpg format, to name a few examples.
From the configuration options
The function that Chrome automatically handles opening files in PDF format as soon as they are downloaded to our computer, is hidden, but very hidden within the configuration options that we can access by clicking on the 3 vertical points located in the upper right corner of the browser and click on Privacy and security .
Next, click on Site Settings . Within that section, in the Content section (located at the bottom), click on Additional content settings to display a new menu with options, where we must click on PDF Documents .
Within this section, the default option is Open PDF files in Chrome. For Chrome to only download files in this format and not open them, we must check the other available option Download PDF files . You don’t need to save your changes as Chrome will now download the files instead of opening them.
with these extensions
Just as in the Chrome Web Store we cannot find any application that allows us to download, Google does not allow any extension to deactivate this Chrome function either. However, we can use some extensions that will help us in this task.
PDF Force Download Blocker
With such a descriptive name, we find an extension designed to block all websites that force the browser to open files in PDF format, forcing them to allow content to be downloaded in this format. The extension generally works fine with most websites, including Chrome, so we can use the extension temporarily if we don’t want to disable the Chrome feature.
If we use an old version of Chrome
Chrome, like major software developers, do not allow that, from a certain version, not computers with certain operating systems, you can not continue updating to new versions. This is because the best security they implement cannot be used in those versions.
If the computer we use to browse uses an old version of Chrome , we can access the plugins section by typing about:plugins in the search box and unchecking the one corresponding to PDF (this option is only available in versions prior to 57 of Google Chrome) . In this way, Chrome will no longer be compatible with this format, so all you can do is download it to your computer without being able to open it at any time.
Open PDF with another app
If we don’t want Chrome to open files in PDF format, we can associate this function so that, by default, it is another application that is in charge of opening it, be it Adobe Acrobat Reader, PDFelements or any other application to edit and work with files in this Format. We just have to click on the file in this format, click with the right mouse button. In the General tab, in the Opens with section, click on Change and select the application with which we want to open it.
