Google Chrome tricks to browse much faster

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If you notice that Google Chrome It's getting slower and slower.If it takes forever to open tabs or your laptop starts humming like a train, you're not alone. Chrome is still the king of browsers, but it's also one of the biggest resource hogs if you leave it running wild with a thousand tabs, extensions, and years of accumulated data.

The good news is that you can speed up Chrome considerably. By simply adjusting native settings, without installing anything unusual or messing around with experimental options that could break something, this guide offers a comprehensive collection of tips, tweaks, and best practices (for both desktop and mobile) to get your browser running as smoothly as the day you bought it… or even better.

1. Keep Chrome up-to-date and well-maintained.

Before we get into advanced settings, the basic requirement is that Chrome is up to date.Each new version includes performance improvements, security enhancements, and bug fixes that might be just what's slowing down your browser.

To manually check if there is a new versionOpen the three-dot menu (top right), and enter Help > Google Chrome Information Wait a few seconds. The browser will automatically check for updates, download them, and install them; usually, you'll just need to restart it. If you tend to ignore notifications, this quick check ensures you're always using the latest version available.

If after messing with half the browser it's still going slowlyA drastic but very effective solution is to reinstall it from scratch. Uninstall Chrome from your system, download the latest version from the official website, and perform a clean install. This will eliminate any corrupted configurations or leftover extensions that might be causing problems in the background.

2. Native performance settings: where it really makes a difference

Chrome includes a very powerful performance dashboard which most users don't even look at. From there you can control memory consumption, GPU usage, background processes, and page preloading.

Memory saving and energy saving

The Memory Saver function automatically frees up RAM By suspending the lashes you haven't used in a while, the ones in the foreground are much looser. When you return to a "dormant" lash, it recharges and that's it.

To activate it, go to Settings > Performance (or write chrome://settings/performance in the address bar) and activate memory savingFrom there you can also mark websites that you want to keep active at all times (for example, a music app, email or video calls).

For laptops, you might also be interested in Energy SavingThis reduces background activity and some visual effects when your battery is low. It not only extends battery life but also helps the browser run more smoothly when your device is running on low resources.

Page preloading for "ahead" browsing

Chrome can anticipate and load pages it thinks you're going to visit. Based on your browsing habits and the links you usually click, many sites appear to open almost instantly.

Go to Settings > Performance or Privacy and Security and look for the option Preload pages for faster browsing and searchingYou can stick with standard preloading or upgrade to extended preloading, which uses more data and Google servers for even faster speeds. If you have a metered connection or a limited data plan, you should consider the balance between speed and data usage.

Hardware acceleration and background processes

Hardware acceleration allows the graphics card to do some of the work It reduces the load on the CPU by freeing up resources from rendering videos, animations, and other heavy content. On most computers, this improves speed, but on older machines or those with problematic drivers, it can cause micro-stuttering or graphical glitches.

You can enable or disable this option in Settings > System, by marking or unmarking Use hardware acceleration when availableIf you suspect your graphics card is malfunctioning, go to chrome: // gpu To check the status, try disabling acceleration as a test.

In that same System section you will see the option Continue running apps in the background when Google Chrome is closedIf you don't need Chrome apps running when you close the browser, disable them: you'll free up memory and truly close all processes when you exit.

Choose carefully how Chrome starts up

Many users have Chrome configured to open all left-open tabs. The last time. If we're talking about 100 tabs, the beginning becomes endless. From Settings > When opening the browser You can choose between opening the new tab page, restoring the previous page, or loading a specific set of lightweight pages.

A fairly convenient strategy is to save pending readings in the Reading List or bookmark them, instead of leaving them open indefinitely. This way Chrome starts up quickly and you only open what you really need in each session.

3. Master the tabs without killing your memory

Chrome slows down, especially when we accumulate tabs like there's no tomorrow.Each tab is a process with its own memory consumption, and if you add extensions and background videos, the result is a browser that's overwhelmed.

Group, pin, and move tabs like a pro

Tab groups are wonderful for getting organizedRight-click on a tab and choose Add tab to new groupYou can name and color the group, and collapse it to free up space on the bar. Then, drag other tabs to the same group or create more groups as needed for your projects.

If you also fix the essential eyelashes (email, messaging, key tools) will always be on the left, taking up less space and preventing accidental closures. Right-click on the tab > Settingand it will stay attached to the bar, even between sessions if you have configured it that way.

When you work with a lot of eyelashesYou can select and move multiple items at once. Press and hold. Ctrl and click on the tabs you want or use Capital letters To select a range, drag the set to reorder it or to move it to a new window.

Close, mute, and discard resource-intensive tabs

The simplest but also the most effective thing: close what you don't needEvery tab you leave open "just in case" is wasted RAM and wasted performance. In Windows, you can quickly close them with Ctrl + WAnd if you make a mistake, restore the last tab Ctrl + Shift + T.

If a tab suddenly starts beeping and you don't know which one it isLook for the speaker icon in the tab bar. Right-click on that tab and select Mute site to silence all playback on that website without having to hunt for the player within the page.

For situations where memory is at its limit, writes chrome: // discards in the address bar. You'll see a list of tabs with their resource usage and a button discard to manually dismiss them. They remain visible, but their contents are downloaded from memory and reloaded upon returning, which is very helpful on computers with limited RAM.

Centralized multimedia control

If you have music, podcasts, or videos open in multiple tabsYou don't need to pause them one by one. To the right of the address bar, you'll see a musical note icon. Clicking it opens a panel where you can pause, resume, skip tracks, or even pop the video into a floating window—all without switching tabs.

Reading list and pages for later

Many of us accumulate tabs just because "I'll read them later"It's better to use the bookmarks feature and the Reading List. Click the star in the address bar and choose whether you want to save the page to your bookmarks or Reading List.

The Reading List shows you which articles are pending and which ones you've already read.automatically marking them when you open them. This way you don't need to have 30 tabs open "waiting" and Chrome runs much more efficiently.

4. Extensions and apps: remove anything that doesn't add value

Extensions are great until you have too many.Each one adds processes, scripts, and constant resource consumption, even if you barely use them. This is one of the most common reasons why Chrome becomes sluggish.

Audit and clean your extensions

Go to chrome://extensions to review everything you have installedAsk yourself, without hesitation, what you truly use on a daily basis. Switch off what you don't need and delete with Remove the extensions you haven't touched in months.

One effective technique is to uninstall virtually everything. Then reinstall extensions one by one, testing how the browser responds. As soon as you notice Chrome slowing down again after installing a specific extension, you've found the culprit.

If a function of an extension already exists natively in Chrome (pop-up blocking, autocomplete, password management…), it is usually better to use the built-in function, which is more optimized and consumes fewer resources.

Separate profiles and guest mode

Creating separate profiles for work and personal use is a highly underrated trickEach profile has its own set of extensions, history, and settings. You can have a very lightweight one for work, with only the tools you really need, and a fully loaded one for your personal use.

If you want to diagnose why Chrome is running slowly, opens a window in Guest modeIn that mode, your extensions and data won't load. If the browser is fast in that mode, the problem is almost certainly with an extension, website storage, or your settings.

Web applications and shortcuts

Many web services offer a mobile app (PWA) version which integrates better with the system and is usually lighter than having the website loaded in another tab. When a website allows it, Chrome will show you an installation icon in the address bar with the option Install.

You can also create shortcuts from More tools > Create shortcutYou can make it open in a separate window like a desktop app, ideal for email, notes, or task managers.

5. Cleaning up data, cache, and permissions

Over time, Chrome accumulates a lot of cache, cookies, and website data. These issues can cause slow performance, strange errors, or pages that don't load properly. Regular cleaning keeps your browser running smoothly and reduces problems.

Clear cache and browsing data

You can directly open the deletion window with the shortcut Ctrl + Shift + DeleteSelect the time interval (from the last hour to It's always been like this) and marks at least Cached images and files y Cookies and other site dataIf you want to go further, in the tab Advanced settings You can add saved passwords, autofill data, etc.

If only one specific website is giving you problems (It's not loading properly, it's excessively slow, it freezes…), you don't need to delete everything. Go to chrome: // settings / siteDataFind the domain you're interested in and delete only the storage for that site.

Control cookies and heavy content

Third-party cookies are often used to track you and load adsand can generate a lot of background activity. Enter Settings > Privacy & security > Cookies and other site data and consider blocking third-party cookies, at least in incognito mode.

From Site Settings you can go further and control permissions for notifications, camera and microphone access, pop-ups, JavaScript, and even images. On slow connections, a radical but effective option is to block image loading: the visual experience suffers, but pages load incredibly fast.

If you have ever accepted notifications from heavy or annoying websitesYou can also revoke these permissions from Site Settings, preventing them from activating background processes when you don't even have them open.

Chrome security and internal cleanup

Chrome includes its own tool for detecting malicious software. that might be affecting performance. Go to Settings > Reset and clean > Clean up computer and click on SearchThe browser will scan the system for problematic programs related to Chrome.

In that same section you can reset the settings with the option Restores the original settings defaultsThis restores your homepage, search engine, and pinned tabs to their initial state, disables extensions, and clears temporary data, while keeping bookmarks, history, and passwords.

6. Internal tools to get the most out of Chrome

Chrome hides several very useful internal pages to see what's going on inside when the browser is slow.

Browser task manager

Pressing Shift + Esc opens the Chrome Task Managerwhere you'll see all tabs, extensions, and processes with their CPU, memory, and network usage. Sort by the column of CPU o Conference proceedings to hunt down what's eating away at performance.

Select any item and click on Finish process to close it instantly. It's much more accurate than killing the entire browser and helps you identify websites or extensions that have gone haywire.

Key internal URLs

If you want to tinker a bit more, there are several very handy internal addresses:

• chrome: // discards: to dismiss tabs and see how Chrome manages memory.
• chrome: // gpu: information about hardware acceleration and GPU status.
• chrome: // settings / siteData: site-specific storage, ideal for cleaning up specific websites.
• chrome: // chrome-urls: complete list of all available internal URLs.

Use them wisely, because some are designed for advanced users.Even so, you don't need to tweak experimental flags to notice a huge improvement: these standard tools are usually more than enough.

7. Omnibox tricks and shortcuts that save a lot of time

Chrome's address bar (omnibox) is much smarter than it seemsIt's not just for entering URLs or performing searches; it also launches direct actions and internal searches.

Chrome actions and shortcuts with @

If you type things like "clear browsing data", "open incognito window" or "translate this page"You'll see that the omnibox itself suggests an action with a button. You press it and Chrome makes the adjustment without you having to navigate through menus.

Additionally, you can use the commands @tabs, @history, and @bookmarksType one of them, press space, and then your search. This way you'll find tabs you've already opened, pages you've visited, or saved links, preventing duplicates and saving memory.

Search within websites from the search bar

For many websites with an internal search engine (YouTube, Amazon, Wikipedia…)Simply write your domain (for example, youtube.com) and press the TabYou'll see an indicator that you're searching "within" YouTube, and what you type below will be sent to its search engine without going through the homepage.

You can create custom search engines from Settings > Search Engine > Manage Search Enginesby assigning short keywords to your favorite sites. This way you can launch specific searches with very few keys.

Essential keyboard shortcuts

Getting used to a few shortcuts saves you dozens of clicks a day and makes the browser feel much more responsive:

• Ctrl + T: open new tab.
• Ctrl + W: close current tab.
• Ctrl + Shift + T: reopen the last closed tab.
• Ctrl + Tab / Ctrl + Shift + Tab: move between tabs.
• Ctrl + 1…8: jump to a specific tab; Ctrl + 9 It's the latest.
• Ctrl + L o Alt + D: focus on the address bar.
• Ctrl + F: search for text within the current page.
• Ctrl + P- Print or save as PDF.

On macOS, most of these shortcuts change Ctrl to Command., and Capital for Shift, but the logic is the same.

8. Chrome on mobile: settings and gestures that make a difference

All of the above helps a lot on a computer, but there's room for improvement on mobile too.Chrome for Android and iOS includes several options designed to speed up browsing and reduce data consumption.

Page preloading and caching on mobile

From the Chrome menu on your mobile device, go to Settings > Privacy and security tab and activate Preload pages for faster browsing and searchingIf you choose extended preloading, Chrome will use Google's servers to load pages in advance, which is very convenient if you browse a lot while connected to WiFi.

Clearing cache and cookies on your mobile also makes a difference.. Go to History > Clear browsing dataChoose the interval (if you want, It's always been like thisIt also marks cached images and files, as well as cookies and site data. By accepting, you'll free up space and may end up with many crashes and errors.

Videos and previews: don't let them slow you down

Video previews consume data and resources even if you don't manage to play them. From the Google app, go to google.com/preferencesgo to Other settings and deactivate Automatically play video previewsYour browsing will be smoother and you'll use less data.

Quick gestures to move between tabs

On Android, the address bar is also a "trackpad"You can swipe left or right on it to switch between tabs, pull down to see the tab selector, or drag down on a page to quickly reload it.

On long pages, use these gestures in combination with the browser cache. It makes moving around and reloading much faster than constantly using the interface buttons.

Read mode, downloads and data

Chrome for mobile offers a simplified view In the Accessibility options, you'll find a much lighter reading mode. Use it for long articles with lots of ads or heavy elements; the text loads faster and you use fewer resources.

If you know you're going to be without good coverageYou can download full pages from the menu > DownloadThey then open almost instantly from the browser itself, as if they were local content, which is very useful on trains, subways, or in areas with poor signal.

With all these adjustments, tricks, and good habits You can completely transform the perceived speed of Google Chrome, both on your computer and mobile device. Reducing tabs, managing extensions, using the performance dashboard, and cleaning up data from time to time will make the browser run smoothly, reliably, and without lag, even on older devices.