How to change your Chrome background: photo, painting or video
Updated 2 November 2026. 3 minute read.
Open a new tab, click Customize Chrome at the bottom right, choose Change theme, then pick a theme or choose Upload an image. You need to be signed in to your Google Account, with Google as your default search engine.
Change it in Chrome
- Open a new tab.
- Click Customize Chrome at the bottom right.
- Under Appearance, choose Change theme.
- Pick a theme from the gallery, or choose Upload an image.
Chrome suggests a browser colour to match. You can pick a different one under Appearance. To undo all of it, open the theme panel and choose Reset to Default Chrome.
If you can’t change it
Google lists two requirements: you must be signed in to your Google Account, and Google must be your default search engine. If another extension has replaced your new tab page, you’ll see that extension’s page instead, and its own settings apply.
Using your own photos or a video
Google’s help page describes themes and one uploaded image. It doesn’t mention a video background, or a set of your own photos that change over time. For those you need a new tab extension.
TabOverview’s Home is one. It’s free, needs no account, and has no need for you to sign in or change your search engine. Click the gear at the top right of Home, or the clock, to open Make it yours, then choose one:
- Follows the day: a sky drawn on your computer that matches your time of day, season and moon.
- Art: ten museum paintings, with a credit. One can change each day if you like.
- Your photo: add as many as you like, or drop them onto Home. They can change with each new tab, hourly, daily, or between day and night.
- Your video: an MP4 or WebM of up to 100 MB. It loops silently behind the clock and stops when the tab is hidden.
- One colour: quiet and plain.
When you install any extension that changes your new tab page, Chrome asks whether to keep the change. Keep it, and you can turn Home off in TabOverview’s Settings at any time.
Free wallpapers for Chrome and your desktop
Need a picture? We made free wallpapers: six skies above the clouds and ten public domain paintings, each sized for a computer and a phone. No sign-up. Upload one to Chrome with the steps above, set it on your computer, or add it to Home.
Questions
How do I change my Google background?
The background behind the Google search box on a new tab belongs to Chrome’s New Tab page. Open a new tab, click Customize Chrome at the bottom right, choose Change theme, then upload an image.
Why won’t Chrome let me change my background?
Google says you must be signed in to your Google Account and use Google as your default search engine. If an extension controls your new tab page, change it in that extension.
Can I use a video as my Chrome background?
Google’s help page doesn’t describe one. A new tab extension can do it. TabOverview plays your own MP4 or WebM silently behind the clock.
How do I go back to the default background?
Open the theme panel in Customize Chrome and choose Reset to Default Chrome.
Read next
- How to save tabs in Chrome and get back to them later
- Why is Chrome using so much memory? What actually helps
