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Turn off Homework Help in Google Chrome

  • Updated

It sounds like you’re seeing Chrome’s new “Homework help” button in the address bar. That button is the Google Lens overlay entry point that recently started appearing on many pages (especially LMS sites like Canvas, D2L, etc.). You can hide just the button or turn the whole Lens overlay off.

 

Heads‑up: Google sometimes renames or removes flags as Chrome updates. If a flag is missing on your device, use the policy method under Option B — that’s designed to keep working across versions. (Google Help)

 

Windows PC

A) Hide only the “Homework help” button (Omnibox entrypoint)

  1. Open Chrome and go to:
    chrome://flags/#lens-overlay-omnibox-entry-point
  2. Change the dropdown to Disabled.
  3. Click Relaunch.

This flag controls the “Lens Overlay Omnibox entrypoint” (the icon/chip in the address bar). (Chromium Git Repositories)

B) Turn off the Lens overlay entirely

Quick (flag) method

  1. Visit: chrome://flags/#enable-lens-overlay
  2. Set it to Disabled.
  3. Click Relaunch.

The “Lens overlay” flag toggles the overlay across pages. (Chromium Git Repositories)

Permanent (policy) method — recommended if flags go away

  1. Close Chrome. Press Win+R, type regedit, press Enter.
  2. In Registry Editor, browse to:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome
    (Create the Google and Chrome keys if they don’t exist.)
  3. Right‑click the right pane → New → DWORD (32‑bit) Value → name it LensOverlaySettings.
  4. Double‑click it and set Value data to 1 (Decimal). Click OK.
  5. Open Chrome → go to chrome://policy → click Reload policies and confirm LensOverlaySettings = 1 is shown.

The enterprise policy LensOverlaySettings is an integer where 0 = enabled and 1 = disabled. It’s the supported way to shut off the Lens overlay; Chrome 140+ also notes how this policy interacts with org‑wide GenAI defaults if unset. (Chromium Git Repositories)
To check/refresh policies, use chrome://policy. (Google Help)

C) If it’s actually an extension called “Homework Help”

  1. In Chrome, open ⋮ → Extensions → Manage extensions (or visit chrome://extensions).
  2. Toggle Off or click Remove on any “Homework Help” type extension. (Google Help)

 

MacOS

A) Hide only the “Homework help” button (Omnibox entrypoint)

  1. Open Chrome → go to chrome://flags/#lens-overlay-omnibox-entry-point.
  2. Set to Disabled → Relaunch. (Chromium Git Repositories)

B) Turn off the Lens overlay entirely

Quick (flag) method

  1. Go to chrome://flags/#enable-lens-overlay.
  2. Set Disabled → Relaunch. (Chromium Git Repositories)

Permanent (policy) method — works across versions

Best practice on macOS is a configuration profile that sets Chrome policies for the bundle ID com.google.Chrome.

  1. Create or edit a Chrome configuration profile (via your MDM or manually).
  2. Under Custom Settings for com.google.Chrome, add:
    • Key: LensOverlaySettings
    • Type: Integer
    • Value: 1
  3. Deploy/install the profile on the Mac.
  4. In Chrome, visit chrome://policy and Reload policies to verify it applied.

Google’s admin docs describe using .plist‑based configuration profiles to set Chrome policies on macOS; you add keys like LensOverlaySettings under the com.google.Chrome domain. (Google Help)
(If your org hasn’t set LensOverlaySettings, Chrome 140+ notes the overlay will follow the GenAI default policy if present.) (Google Help)

C) If it’s actually an extension

  • Same steps as Windows: ⋮ → Extensions → Manage extensions → Remove. (Google Help)

 

Linux (Google Chrome or Chromium)

A) Hide only the “Homework help” button (Omnibox entrypoint)

  1. Open Chrome/Chromium → chrome://flags/#lens-overlay-omnibox-entry-point.
  2. Set Disabled → Relaunch. (Chromium Git Repositories)

B) Turn off the Lens overlay entirely

Quick (flag) method

  1. chrome://flags/#enable-lens-overlay → set Disabled → Relaunch. (Chromium Git Repositories)

Permanent (policy) method

  • For Google Chrome:

    1. Open a terminal and run:

      sudo mkdir -p /etc/opt/chrome/policies/managed
sudo nano /etc/opt/chrome/policies/managed/disable-lens.json

    2. Paste the following and save:

      { "LensOverlaySettings": 1 }
    3. Restart Chrome → go to chrome://policy → Reload policies.
  • For Chromium: use /etc/chromium/policies/managed instead of /etc/opt/chrome/policies/managed.

Linux policy locations for Chrome/Chromium are officially /etc/opt/chrome/policies/… and /etc/chromium/policies/…. Policies in managed/ are mandatory. (Chromium)

C) If it’s actually an extension

  • Same steps: open Extensions and Remove the add‑on. (Google Help)

 

Chromebook (ChromeOS)

A) Hide only the “Homework help” button (Omnibox entrypoint)

  1. On the Chromebook, open chrome://flags/#lens-overlay-omnibox-entry-point.
  2. Set Disabled → Relaunch. (Chromium Git Repositories)

B) Turn off the Lens overlay entirely

Quick (flag) method

  1. Go to chrome://flags/#enable-lens-overlay → set Disabled → Relaunch. (Chromium Git Repositories)

Managed Chromebooks (organization/school):

  1. In the Google Admin console (admin.google.com), go to Devices → Chrome → Settings.
  2. Choose Users & browsers (pick the OU) or Managed browsers (CBCM).
  3. Search for Lens Overlay / LensOverlaySettings and set it to Disabled.
  4. Click Save.
  5. On the Chromebook, open chrome://policy and Reload policies to confirm it applied.

Google’s Enterprise release notes call out the LensOverlaySettings policy and its behavior in Chrome 138–140; Admin console documentation covers where to set user & browser policies. (Google Help)

C) If it’s actually an extension

  • Same removal flow on ChromeOS: ⋮ → Extensions → Manage extensions → Remove. (Google Help)

 

 

How to tell it worked

  • Button hidden only: Click the address bar; the “Homework help”/Lens icon or chip should no longer appear. This is controlled by the Omnibox entrypoint flag. (Chromium Git Repositories)
  • Overlay fully off: Right‑click on a page and choose Search with Google Lens — the overlay should not open (or the option may be absent), and chrome://policy should show LensOverlaySettings = 1 if you used policy. (Chromium Git Repositories)

 

 

Why these steps work (sources)

  • Flags: “Lens overlay” and “Lens Overlay Omnibox entrypoint” are Chrome flags controlling the overlay and the address‑bar button, respectively. (Chromium Git Repositories)
  • Policy: LensOverlaySettings is an enterprise policy (integer: 0 = enabled, 1 = disabled) that disables the Lens overlay at the browser level and is stable across versions; Chrome 140+ notes its interaction with GenAI defaults if unset. (Chromium Git Repositories)
  • Linux paths for Chrome/Chromium policies are /etc/opt/chrome/policies/... and /etc/chromium/policies/.... (Chromium)
  • Verify policies via chrome://policy → Reload policies. (Google Help)

 

 

 

 

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