Chrome flags allow you to enable, disable, and customize various features that have yet to be included in the main version of the browser. Often, however, these functions are never included in the full version of Chrome. Too bad, because some of them are really very useful to improve your navigation. Previously, we have listed for you which are the best Chrome extensions for safe browsing, now we do a lot more: we have created for you a list of the best Chrome flags that can help you boost your browsing.
How to access the Chrome flags
To start using Chrome flags, you need to log in first. Type chrome: // flags in the browser address bar and press Enter. Here you will be able to view a large list of Chrome flags with a warning that these features are not final. You can use Chrome’s “Find” (Ctrl + F) function to quickly search for the functions listed below.
1. Reader mode
While Microsoft’s new Chromium-based browser now also includes a selectable reading mode from the URL bar, Google Chrome doesn’t find it as a default feature. The good news is that, with a quick change in Chrome Flags, you can add an Immersive Reader mode to your Omnibox. Find the “reader mode” in Flags, enable it and an icon will appear in the address bar. Click to turn that page into immersive reading mode. You can change the player settings by clicking on the “A” icon at the top of the page.
2. GPU rasterization
Chrome doesn’t rely too much on your GPU to process images and data, but if you have a dedicated GPU, there are a few things you can do to dump some of the processing onto it, thereby speeding up the browser.
Rasterization is the process Chrome uses to organize website data into pixels and tangible information that you then display on your screen. Chrome does all this by organizing each page into “Tiles” by putting together all the information in it to process everything you see on the screen. If you enable the “GPU rasterization” option, then the GPU always performs this process instead of the CPU (processor). Of course, if your CPU isn’t very powerful (or if your GPU is), rasterizing will make your browsing faster.
3. Zero copy rasterization (desktop / Android)
There are a few things you can do with rasterization via Chrome flags, but the best is undoubtedly zero-copy rasterization: in this case, raster writers stream directly to the GPU memory (or VRAM) which can run faster. than normal RAM (particularly if you have 4GB or less of RAM on your PC).
This can be especially useful on mobile devices because it could potentially reflect on battery usage when browsing the web.
4. Tab groups
Slowly implemented in the latest builds of Chrome, the long-awaited Tab Groups feature is not yet available to everyone. If you are one of the lucky ones who have it, you can use it from Chrome Flags. Once the tab groups function is enabled, right-click on the tab you want to add to a group: you can choose to add it to a new group (which you will create) or to an existing one.
This feature undoubtedly makes card management much tidier , removing the annoying card buildup we’ve all struggled with for years. Of course, this function is not yet completely perfect like, for example, the Toby extension created to organize the reading of cards but it is still a start!
5. Chrome Duet (Android)
For some years now, Google has been experimenting with Android “Duet” (the interface that places at the bottom of the screen, rather than at the top) options such as tabs, search, home, and the options menu. This feature is not for everyone, but if you want to try it, search for “Chrome Duet” in the Chrome flags.
There is, however, a strange thing that we need to reveal to you: if you set Chrome Duet to “Disabled”, the extension is enabled while if you set it to “Enabled”, you will disable it. So if it doesn’t work, try doing the opposite of what you think you should do!
6. Enable parallel download
There are several features of Chrome Flags that can speed up your browsing – many of them are enabled by default. One such feature – which specifically speeds up downloads – is the “parallel download” which splits each downloaded file into three separate processes, speeding up the whole process. To enable this option in the Chrome flags, type parallel download, click “Default” when it appears in the list, then click “Enable”.
7. Enable smooth scrolling
As the name suggests, this feature allows you to easily scroll through content, quickly and professionally.
To enable it, search for “Smooth Scrolling” or type chrome: // flags / # smooth-scrolling in the address bar to access it directly. Enable it using the drop-down menu below.
8. Enable QUIC experimental protocol
The QUIC protocol is a new connection protocol under development created by Google. QUIC should be a combination of TCP and UDP protocols, much faster and more secure. Usually, when we use a TCP or UDP connection, it takes multiple “trips” to the server before the connection is stable and ready for data exchange. The main objective of the QUIC protocol is to make a single “journey” to create a connection and start the data exchange process, thus increasing the overall speed of navigation and data exchange. In Chrome, you can enable the QUIC protocol to immediately start exploiting its potential and speed up browsing. Look for the “Experimental QUIC protocol” flagor type chrome: // flags / # enable-quick to access it directly. Use the drop-down menu below to enable it.
Bonus
From the same Chrome Flags, it is also possible to enable the Chrome Offline mode which allows you to access the websites already visited without the need for an Internet connection.
Those just analyzed are just some of the Chrome flags that can improve your browsing experience. While there are dozens of other flags to try out, we don’t recommend changing them unless you know exactly what you’re doing.