Chrome has installed shortcuts as apps in Add/Remove Programs. Some of these shortcuts/apps will not uninstall. How do I get rid of them?

I mean....it isn't that far off from malware.

As others posted, this is a huge issue for enterprise environments to have random applications silently install, especially apps that transmit document data externally.

Ultimately, this is a Chrome/Google issue, not Microsoft, but Microsoft needs to be aware and find a way to lock down secondary apps being installed without any notification.

Thank you for responding, but no, I don't think that is the problem. When saving a shortcut in Chrome via Settings > More Tools > Save as shortcut, Chrome saves the shortcut as an app and it appears in Add/Remove programs. I just recently found this out. I've been removing these "apps" via Add/Remove, and most uninstalled. Some, however, have not. That is my question. How to remove the ones that are not responding to Uninstall. I run Malwarebytes regularly, so no, I don't think that's the issue. But thank you.

Just for the records - I stumbled upon a search about this post. I received reports from German administrators in enterprise environments, facing a similar behavior.

I've covered it this night within the German blog post:

Chrome-Browser installiert automatisch Apps/Verknüpfungen auf Windows-Clients

I will publish an English version of this article within a few hours within my Englisch blog - the articles will be cross linked.

Addenum: Well, here ist the English version: Chrome browser installs apps/shortcuts on Windows clients automatically, without user consent

Addenum2: Well, it seems related to the Chrome installer. After publishing my German blog post, an Ubuntu user reported also this behavior. I've created a bug report at chromium project.

Thank you for the reply.

If you're having trouble removing certain Chrome shortcuts that appear as apps in your Add/Remove programs, you can try the following steps:

1. Manual Removal

Navigate to the Chrome Apps page by entering chrome://apps/ in your Chrome address bar.

Here, you should see all the apps installed in your Chrome browser. Right-click on the app you want to remove and select 'Remove from Chrome'.

2. Reset Chrome Settings

If the above step doesn't work, you can try resetting your Chrome settings to default. Go to Settings > Advanced > Reset and clean up > Restore settings to their original defaults.

This will reset your startup page, new tab page, search engine, and pinned tabs. It will also disable all extensions and clear temporary data like cookies. Your bookmarks, history, and saved passwords will not be cleared.

3. Reinstall Chrome

If all else fails, you may need to uninstall and reinstall Chrome.

Before doing this, make sure to sync your data with your Google account to prevent data loss.

It's not malware