If you have landed here, you might surely be in search of methods to limit Google Chrome memory usage. Don’t worry; you will end your search here as it teaches you numerous ways to reduce Chrome memory usage.
Despite being a popular and powerful browser, Google Chrome encounters a complaint from users for consuming a lot of memory. This post will outline different reasons for Google Chrome taking up memory and how to solve this issue.
Why Does Chrome Eat So Much RAM?
Running several apps in the background, browsing through web pages, and using live streaming platforms can take a large sum of memory. The reason is that they execute content on the browser via computing resources.
Chrome divides the webpage content into multiple processes to ensure the whole process keeps responding despite the failure of some content. These various processes consume RAM. Extensions that directly interact with webpage content also take up memory.
How to Reduce Chrome Memory Usage?
So, as you can see, there are multiple reasons that compel Google Chrome to use more RAM space. No matter what the cause is, it is significant to quickly reduce processing power and memory usage.
Any negligence can lead to various problems due to high memory usage. For example, Google Chrome freezes and crashes. First, try the basic solutions like closing unused tabs and running a malware scan. If it doesn’t save memory, proceed with the below methods.
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Enable Chrome Memory Saver Mode
Google has recently launched Energy Saver and Memory Saver Mode to provide a smooth browsing experience. Enabling the Chrome energy saver mode will preserve the battery by limiting the website’s visual effects and background activity.
Turning on memory saver mode reduces memory from tabs that you are not presently using. To enable this mode, click the three-dot menu and choose Settings. Access the Performance menu and click the toggle close to Memory Saver.
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Turn on Hardware Acceleration
Another trick to free up memory while using Google Chrome is to enable hardware acceleration. Launch Chrome on your device and tap the Menu button by hitting the three dots button. On the Settings page, find the Advanced button and tap on it.
Under the System section, switch the toggle ‘Use hardware acceleration when available’ on. Now, restart your Chrome browser. When it restarts, input chrome://gpu/ in the Chrome address bar and press Enter. Check if Hardware Acceleration is turned on or not.
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Delete Unwanted Extensions
Most people use Google Chrome for the feature that it provides an array of extensions. But do you know that these extensions can often result in higher Chrome memory usage? So, make the least use of extensions to avoid overburdening Chrome.
Get rid of unused or unwanted extensions by typing chrome://extensions/ in the address bar and tapping the Enter key. Locate and turn off unused extensions. The task manager of Chrome also helps in finding memory-eating extensions.
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Turn Off Site Isolation
To prevent Google Chrome from taking up memory on your device, turn off the feature of Site Isolation on your computer. Access Google Chrome on your system. Move to the address bar and input chrome://flags.
You can also copy-paste it. Next, press the Enter key. Find the Strict site isolation option in the search box. When you locate it, toggle the accurate entry to Enabled. Immediately close the Chrome app and launch it again.
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Reset or Reinstall Chrome
Reset Google Chrome to factory settings after logging in with a Google account and syncing data. Input chrome://settings/reset in the Chrome address bar and tap Enter. Hit ‘Restore settings to their original defaults’ under Reset and clean up.
Confirm the process by hitting on Reset Settings. Once you reset Chrome, you will remove the browser cookies, cache, pinned tabs, and search engine tabs. However, your bookmarks and saved passwords will remain safe.
Other Recommended Methods
When all of the above ways fail to prevent Chrome from taking memory, try creating a new Chrome user profile. You can try turning on Use a prediction service for much faster loading of webpages.
If you don’t prefer closing tabs and opening them again, use a reliable third-party extension. Make sure it has good ratings for effectively managing several Chrome tabs at the same time. Some extensions allow unfreezing the tab anytime by tapping in the window.
The Conclusion
These are effective methods to free up memory while working on Google Chrome. Use these tricks one by one and test if that way proves effective in solving the issue. Limiting Chrome memory usage is important when you are not using a high-performance system.
When everything you attempt fails, the last solution would be reinstalling Chrome completely from your computer. Be sure that you back up your data on the browser, such as passwords or bookmarks, before uninstalling Chrome.
