This afternoon, as usual, I opened my Chrome browser and was surprised to find my familiar side panel missing! No more easy access to my Bookmarks or Reading List – those Google engineers are at it again!

I found an article about it: "Google Chrome removes side panel button in favor of pinning."

https://9to5google.com/2024/04/12/chrome-side-panel-button/

Essentially, they've gotten rid of the side panel itself, but all the features are still there – Reading List, Bookmarks, History, Reading Mode, and Search. You just need to manually pin them for easy access. I tried it out, and it does streamline things by removing a layer of navigation, which is nice.

How to Re-enable Side Panel Features:

To re-enable the Reading List, follow these steps:

  1. Click on Bookmarks and Lists.

  2. Select Reading List.

  3. Click on Show Reading List.

Once the Reading List appears, click on "Pin to toolbar" for quick access next time.

To re-enable the Bookmarks Panel:

  1. Click on Bookmarks and Lists.

  2. Select Open Side Panel to see All Bookmarks.

Once the Bookmarks appear, click on "Pin to toolbar" for quick access next time.

final result：