How to stop Chrome from blocking downloads in Windows 11

We use browsers like Google Chrome not only to browse the web. We download images, documents, files, etc., using them. They are the gateway to the web. However, Google Chrome blocks some downloads that seem suspicious to it. Chrome has many reasons to block downloads, like the file you are downloading might be from an HTTP server, etc. We have a few solutions to help you stop Chrome from blocking downloads in Windows 11.

How to stop Chrome from blocking downloads in Windows 11

When you find Google Chrome blocking the downloads, you can follow the below methods to fix the issue and never face it again.

Manually select Keep or Continue download
Make sure you download from a HTTPS connection
Disable Safe Browsing
Add website to Automatic Downloads list
Use third-party downloaders

Let’s get into the details of each method and see how to use them.

1] Manually select Keep or Continue download

Whenever you face a blockage of download on Chrome, it presents you with two options, Discard/Cancel and Keep/Continue download. Click on either Keep or Continue download based on the options you see to keep the download. If you do tens of downloads regularly, this might not be the best option for you.

Also read: Fix ‘Failed – Blocked’ download error in Edge or Google Chrome

2] Make sure you download from a HTTPS connection

Google Chrome by default chose to block HTTP websites and downloads automatically on the browser. HTTP sites are deemed less secure and can be used by bad agents to share malware, viruses, and ransomware. To prevent users from falling prey to it, Google has implemented a feature on Chrome that blocks all executable (.exe) files automatically that come from untrustworthy, less secured, or HTTP websites.

Most of the HTTP sites are automatically blocked by Chrome and show a warning page instead of the website. You can also find out if the website is secure or not by clicking on the tune/lock icon beside the address. It displays the website name, and its connection security details, etc.

It is not possible to force the website to connect to HTTPS connections manually. You can automatically redirect the less secure HTTP links to HTTPS links using the Smart HTTPS extension on Chrome. Open Chrome Web Store, search for Smart HTTPS, and click on Smart HTTPS extension in the results. On the Smart HTTPS page, click on Add to Chrome. Click on Add extension on the prompt that you see. It will install the Smart HTTP extension which forces the websites to connect to HTTPS connections which in turn makes Chrome not block downloads from such links.

3] Disable Safe Browsing

The Safe Browsing feature by Google on Chrome is one of the best security features that protects millions of devices daily. As a part of its protective features, Chrome blocks downloads automatically when it is flagged by the safe browsing algorithm. If you want to download files without any blocking on Chrome, you need to disable the Safe browsing feature. The safe browsing feature comes with three options on Chrome. Enhanced protection, Standard protection, and No protection. By default, the Safe browsing is set to Standard protection. You need to select No protection to stop Chrome from blocking downloads.

To disable Safe browsing on Google Chrome, click on the three-dot menu on the toolbar and select Settings. Now, click on Privacy and security on the left sidebar and select the Security tab. It will open the Security settings of Chrome. Under Safe Browsing, click on the button beside No protection (not recommended) to disable Safe Browsing.

You will see a prompt with the potential risks involved with disabling Safe Browsing on Chrome. Click Turn off.

Restart your browser and enjoy downloads without any blocks.

Note: The internet is a mix of good, bad, and evil. You can trust the major sites as they do not send malware, viruses, or other threats to our devices. But the internet is abundant in bad actors who thrive on ransomware and other such ways. It is not wise to turn off the Safe browsing feature on Chrome as it opens the gates for threats.

Also read: Downloads stuck on Scanning for viruses message

4] Add website to Automatic Downloads list

Chrome has great features to make the browsing activity much more productive. You can add a website to allow automatic multiple downloads without a block by Chrome. It is a process of whitelisting a website on Chrome to allow downloads. If you trust a website completely, use this feature to whitelist the website to download files. If not, it would be better to skip the process.

To add a website to the “Allowed to automatically download multiple files” list,

Click on the three-dot menu on the toolbar and select Settings. Click on Privacy and security. Now, click on the Site settings tab.

Click on the arrow beside Additional permissions to expand Site settings and Select the Automatic downloads tab.

Now, click on the Add button beside Allowed to automatically download multiple files.

It will open Add a site overlay. Enter the website address under Site and click on Add.

That’s it. The downloads from the website name you have added will not be blocked from now onwards.

5] Use third-party downloaders

Many free download managers like Free Download Manager, Xtreme Download Manager, etc. handle the downloads on your PC. These are third-party programs you need to download from the official sources and install on your PC. They automatically add their extensions to web browsers when you choose to add them while setting up the program. After the installation, when you start a download on Chrome, it will be automatically picked by the download manager you have on your PC. They download the files instead of Chrome. This way you can avoid Chrome from blocking downloads.

It is recommended to use an antivirus program while using download managers to download files from the internet to not compromise the safety of your PC.

Also read:

How do I make Chrome not block downloads?

If Chrome is blocking downloads on your PC, make sure the downloads are from a HTTPS website. If not, disable the Safe Browsing feature, or add the site to Allowed to automatically download multiple files list. You can even use a third-party download manager to avoid Chrome blocking the downloads.

Why does Chrome keep blocking my downloads?

Google has made Chrome more robust with security features to stop the spread of malware, viruses, etc. As a part of its security features, Chrome stops all the executable files, and other downloads that it deems to be a threat. If the website you are downloading the file from is secure, Chrome will not block the download.