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All too often you'll go to download something in Google Chrome, only to get the message “file may be dangerous so Chrome blocked it”, “file can not be downloaded securely”, or “Failed – blocked”. Sometimes, Chrome is protecting you from harm, but at other times it may be blocking something completely safe. So, how to stop Chrome from blocking downloads and avoid this? That's what we're going to show you today.
How Google Chrome blocks downloads
First, though, let's talk a little about the situations where Google Chrome blocks downloads and why you might want to listen to its warnings. There are actually a few reasons your browser may block a download, and not all of them are 100% accurate.
The most black and white block is when Chrome sees a file that has previously been identified as malware. The second-most is when it has previously identified the website you're downloading it from as suspicious. However, Chrome may also block downloads if it can't identify the file type, the executable is not signed with a certificate, you're downloading multiple files at once, or a file type is being served over an insecure, HTTP connection despite being on a HTTPS site.
Unfortunately, Chrome makes it difficult to discern for which reason it has blocked your download. However, if you are sure it's safe, we'll be showing you how to stop Chrome blocking downloads either individually or when you try to download multiple files at once. Let's get started:
How To Stop Chrome From Blocking Downloads
You can turn off all Chrome download blocking in your Chrome download settings. However, do bear in mind that this represents a security risk. It's best to only do this for a short period.
- Open Chrome settings
Press the three dots in the top-right corner and your Chrome window and hit “Settings”.
- Click on “Security”
- Scroll down until you see “No protection (not recommended) and tick it
- Press “Turn off”
How To Make Chrome Not Block Automatic Downloads
Another issue that you may run into with Chrome occurs when a site tries to download multiple files in a short period automatically. This can be useful when trying to download multiple files quickly, but can also be a sign that a website is trying to download additional files when you didn't ask it to.
If you want to turn this blocking feature off, though, you can. Just follow the steps below:
- Open Chrome settings
Click the three dots in the top-right corner of your browser and press “Settings”.
- Click “Advanced” at the bottom of the screen
- Scroll down to the download section and toggle off “Ask where to save each file…”
- In the “Privacy and security” section, click “Site Settings”
- Look for “Additional permissions” and press “Automatic downloads”
- Tick “Don't allow sites to automatically download multiple files”
Doing this will make it so Chrome won't download multiple files automatically, but don't worry – we'll add exceptions for specific sites in the next step.
- Find “Allowed to automatically download multiple files” and press “Add”
- Enter the URL of the site you want to allow automatic downloads from and press “Add”
- Add any additional sites to your allowed list
They should show up under the “Allowed to automatically download multiple files” heading.
Extra: How to Disable the Pop-up Blocker in Chrome
With that, you should have a good idea of how to stop Chrome from blocking most downloads. However, you may want to make a few more tweaks to your browser to better suit a power user. You can, for example, disable Chrome's built-in pop-up blocker if it's blocking legitimate pop-ups.
Extra: How to Save an Entire Webpage with Google Chrome
If you're looking to do some offline viewing, you can save a web page in Chrome as a HTML file. When you save from Chrome using this method, you can choose to keep just the basic text to keep the file size low or download additional assets like pictures.
