Remove Google background image
Today I was surprised by the Google background image when I launched my browser. After I figured out that this was a permanent change, I immediately wanted to get rid of it and get to the minimalist style that I liked so much. Anyway, here are a few quick solutions to get the style back:
- Change your home page to: http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=all (if the image still apears then click in the left bottom corner on Remove Background image) or you can also try just http://www.google.com/.
- Or, change your home page to the SSL page: https://www.google.com
Update (14:30):
- You can also disable javascript on the Google page.
- Firefox users can use a Greasemonkey script that is nicely removing the background image. If you don’t heave Greasemonkey get it here.
- In last case, you can just wait a few more hours since Google announced this is only a 24-hour promotion of their wallpaper future.
Update (19:09):
- You can also block images on Google. In Firefox open the Google page: Right click on the background >> View page info >> Permissions >> Uncheck Use default and select Block. Et vóila.
- Firefox users (yes, again), can try to block the image with AdBlock Plus.
Update (19:24):
- You can also use the Google IP address: http://74.125.77.147/
Update (19:30):
- The Google background image is removed and everything is back to normal.
Related posts:
You can also change the language to Pirate.
The first option did not work for me. I only get a “Change background image” option in the lower left. I even tried logging into a google account (which shouldn’t be required for someone just wanting to use google for searching), but that didn’t provide the remove option in the lower left.
The second option does work, as does the mobile URL: http://www.google.com/m
This is with Internet Explorer 8 on Windows XP and Chrome 4.1.249.1064 (45376) on XP, on two different computers.
Since it is apparent that Google is trying to provide the same user experience as Bing, I went to http://www.bing.com to see if they are any better at providing a user preference for removing the background image. They are not. It is the same issue there, where you have to use a special URL to remove it:
http://www.bing.com/?rb=0
Mobile bing (http://m.bing.com) works to get rid of the image, but doesn’t really work in a regular browser on the desktop. That is to say, searching for something like “giants” in both the regular and the mobile version gives results in the regular verison, but not in the mobile version. In other words, search doesn’t really work in the mobile version. I even tried it from my phone and it didn’t work!
So, the good news is that Bing isn’t any better than Google. The bad news is that Google is barely better than Bing! I really don’t know what Google was thinking. What good is a search that comes back in a fraction of a second if the homepage itself takes multiple seconds to show up?!? The fade “feature” they added in the last year was bad enough, but this one is much worse. Try using this over a WAN/VPN/Remote Desktop connection!
Nice!!! First I thought some bastards hacked my computer… then I though I had a virus… only after that I realized that it is Google that lost its individuality…
I am gonna call it now Bing-Google!!!! Uhhhh!
I’ve loaded a personal background of a large white rectangle, as a GIF which makes for a very small file. But I have to stay signed in permanently to see it, which I had no previous intention of doing.
Google do seem to be determined to annoy and alienate their users, a pity. First that stupid noisy Pac-Man thing, now hideous images. Wish they would leave us in peace.
How to remove it, and not have to use the mobile site (or secure site)
http://gregrickaby.com/2010/06/how-to-remove-google-background-image.html
Go to google.com/aol , white background
@Red
Yahoo!!!
That’s the one for me.
No fade-in crap, no background crap.
Thanks a bunch.
What worked for me;
just use the numeric ip-address of http://www.google.com
http://74.125.77.147
for your safety you may check that it truely is google:
http://whatismyipaddress.com/ip/74.125.77.147
@James Jones
I mean of course
google.com/aol
google.co.uk/aol is good too
Sorry for the confusion, new to this site.
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IMG[id="fpdi"] http://www.google.comUnblockEdit