Ever wonder what that tiny little square is with the numbers in it? That’s the Chrome web browser’s tabs feature, although on a mobile device it’s not as obvious to use as it is on a computer.
I just got a note from a reader who was puzzled by the tab icon — which is my term, not Google’s. I suppose that’s a good name, although on a mobile device they’re more windows than tabs. Figure 1 illustrates the icon in question. This icon appears only on the phone version of the Chrome app; the tablet version uses tabs similar to the Chrome program on a computer.
Figure 1. The number icon indicates 3 tabs or pages are open in the Chrome web browser app.
The number indicates the different web pages you have open. Tap the square to view the pages, which show up as a swipe-able list on the screen, as illustrated in Figure 2.
Figure 2. Working with multiple pages in the Chrome web browser app. Swipe the screen up or down to view more pages.
As shown in Figure 2, swipe the list up or down to peruse open pages. Tap a preview to view that page full-size in the app. Tap the X icon to dismiss a page. Tap the Add icon to create a new tab/page. Or tap the number icon again to return to whatever page is on top.
This issue shouldn’t be confusing, but it can be. That’s because any link you open on your phone, say from an email message or on Facebook, opens in the Chrome browser in a new tab/page. So without knowing it, you could see that little number icon’s digit swell in value. That may seem freaky, but it’s just the way that the app works.
For more information on using Chrome, visit my Android support page for that app:
