Ubuntu comes pre-installed with the Firefox web browser, but it just so happens that the popular Google Chrome also works. You can use the Google browser on one of the more popular Linux distributions, just as you would on macOS and Windows. Chrome is available for download on an Ubuntu laptop or any other Ubuntu machine. There are two ways you can install it. You can enjoy a manual download with the default Firefox web browser, similar to how you might use Edge to do this on Windows, or you can install it using Terminal.
Google Chrome is supported on Ubuntu 18.04+ or higher and requires a computer or a laptop with a 64-bit processor. 32-bit versions of Chrome are no longer supported.
How to install Chrome on Ubuntu using the GUI
The easiest way to install Chrome without using the Terminal is to download the browser from the official website.
Download Google Chrome. Choose the first option 64 bit .deb for Debian/Ubuntu. Click Accept and Install. Open Files. Go to Downloads. Double-click google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb. (If you're having issues, right-click the right and choose Open with Software Center.) Click Install. Enter your Ubuntu user password.
You'll see a notification prompt about the installation being complete. You can access it from your applications list, and sign into the browser, sync your favorites and other history across your different operating systems or devices.
How to install Chrome on Ubuntu using Terminal
Google Chrome can also be installed using the Ubuntu Terminal command line interface (CLI). This isn't quite as easy as the GUI as you'll have to type out some commands, but in the end, it does the same thing as installing through a downloaded .deb file. You'll fetch the file, then run a command to download it.
Google Chrome .deb
We can also download and install Google Chrome's .deb file using Terminal.
Launch Terminal. Download the Google Chrome .deb file: wget https://dl.google.com/linux/direct/google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb Install the downloaded Google Chrome .deb file: sudo dpkg -i google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb Enter your Ubuntu user password.
If you come across some errors during the install, use the following command and flag:
sudo apt -f install
After that, you'll see that Google Chrome will be available in your applications menu. You can now sign in to your Google account and use the browser just like you would on any other platform. We suggest adding the app to your favorites, too. Just find it in the list of your applications, right-click it, then choose Add to Favorites.
Snap
An easier way to install and maintain Google Chrome is through Snap. This is an alternative to using the apt package manager, which no longer has Google Chrome.
Open Terminal. Download and install Google Chrome using Snap: sudo snap install chromium
And that's all there is to it! Chrome will not be installed as if you used a .deb file.
How to uninstall Google Chrome
Google Chrome can be uninstalled on Ubuntu using a few methods, but the results are all the same. Like the installation process, you can uninstall it by using the GUI or Terminal.
Uninstall using the GUI
The easiest way to uninstall Google Chrome is by using the Ubuntu Software Center, and it takes just a few clicks.
Launch Ubuntu Software Center. Click Installed. Choose Google Chrome. Click Uninstall. Uninstall using Terminal
You can also remove Google Chrome using CLI like we did to install the .deb file.
Open Terminal. Uninstall Google Chrome: sudo snap remove chromium
That's it! Your Chrome web browser will be removed.
Just one of many great Linux apps
Now that you've installed Google Chrome, which happens to be one of those apps that works across all the major operating systems, we do have some other advice. You might want to check out some other Linux apps. There are many great Linux apps like Libre Office for editing Word documents, GIMP for editing photos, video editors, and so much more. Google Chrome is only the start!
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