Advanced Chrome Settings You Should Be Using
Google Chrome is widely known as one of the best web browsers currently available. It is fast, user-friendly, and highly customizable. Despite its many features, some of the most useful and advanced settings are often overlooked.
These settings can improve your browsing experience, privacy, and performance. In this article, we will explore some advanced Chrome settings that you should be using.
1. Enable Dark Mode
Dark mode is a popular feature that has become increasingly prevalent in recent years. It not only looks cool but also reduces eye strain and saves battery on devices with OLED displays. To enable the dark mode in Chrome, go to Settings > Appearance > Themes, and select “Dark.”
2. Disable Automatic Tab Discarding
By default, Chrome automatically discards tabs that haven’t been used for a while. While this feature is intended to save memory, it can be frustrating when you need to access an inactive tab. To disable this feature, go to chrome://flags/#automatic-tab-discarding and select “Disabled” from the drop-down menu.
3. Change Download Location
By default, Chrome saves downloaded files in the Downloads folder. If you would like to save your downloads to a different location, such as an external hard drive, you can do so by going to Settings > Advanced > Downloads, and selecting “Change” next to “Location.”
4. Enable Scroll Anchoring
Have you ever been annoyed when the web page jumps around while you are reading because an image or ad loads? Scroll anchoring fixes this issue by keeping the text in place while the rest of the page loads. To enable scroll anchoring, go to chrome://flags/#enable-scroll-anchoring and select “Enabled” from the drop-down menu.
5. Manage Site Permissions
Chrome allows you to manage site permissions for individual websites, such as location, camera, and microphone access. To manage site permissions, click on the padlock icon next to the website URL and select “Site settings.” From there, you can customize permissions for that specific site.
6. Clear Browsing Data on Exit
If you would like to keep your browsing data private, you can set Chrome to clear your history, cookies, and cache every time you exit the browser. To do this, go to Settings > Privacy and security > Clear browsing data, and check the box next to “Clear cookies and site data when you quit Chrome.”
7. Enable Experimental Features
Chrome has a vast range of experimental features that are not yet widely available to the public. You can explore and enable these features by going to chrome://flags. Keep in mind that some of these features may not work correctly or may be unstable.