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[2023 Update] Top 10 Chrome Flags You Should Enable Right Now on Android

Posted in General   LAST UPDATED: MAY 5, 2023

    The hidden experimental features of Chrome that have not yet made it to the main Chrome interface are called Chrome flags or Chrome://flags. But because these features have a rather unconventional method to access them many people don't even know that these features exist. Some do not use them simply because the experiment could backfire.

    Here, we have for you some of the handpicked Chrome flags that will surely enhance your Chrome experience.

    First of all, let's know What is a Chrome Flag?

    chrome://flags

    What is a Chrome Flag?

    Chrome flags can help you if you want some cool new features in Chrome or to boost Chrome speed. By adjusting some Chrome Flags Settings you can access some of the coolest features of Chrome.

    Warning: You must remember that these flags might have a bug here and there and could impact your browser negatively. Although this is very rare, you must understand and use these features at your own risk.

    1. Heavy Ad Intervention

    Ads that can negatively impact your browsing experience are already blocked by Chrome, to further improve adblocking you can activate this Chrome flag and stop the heavy ads from loading. Ads using too many browser resources, like video or gif will not load when this flag is enabled.

    Search term: heavy ad

    URL: chrome://flags/#enable-heavy-ad-intervention

    2. Enable Reader Mode

    Chrome has a flag that enables reader mode, just like the reader mode of Firefox which makes reading online articles easier. Only the main content and the images are shown on the screen while using this feature, everything else is stripped away, including the side panel content and ads.

    Enable reader mode flag

    You will find a new Page icon in the address bar after you have enabled the flag; you can click this to turn on reader mode.

    Search term: reader mode

    URL: chrome://flags/#enable-reader-mode

    3. Chrome Flags enable Parallel downloading

    Your download speed could be speeded up to 4x by this flag. The download manager software downloads faster by creating multiple connections, well this flag does the same thing and allows Chrome to create multiple connections to the download source so that the download is speeded up.

    Search term: parallel downloading

    URL: chrome://flags/#enable-parallel-downloading

    4. Tab Hover Cards

    You could view more information about a tab just by hovering over it, using this very useful Chrome flag. You could also view the page's main title and URL by just hovering over its tab. This feature is mainly for people who have the habit of opening up numerous tabs simultaneously, so it becomes really difficult to see the tab website name without opening it.

    You could just hover your mouse cursor over a tab to find out which website or page is open, using hover cards.

    Search term: hover cards

    URL: chrome://flags/#tab-hover-cards

    5. Tab Hover Card Images

    This could be seen as an extension of the previous flag. If you have activated the previous one, you could activate this too so that you can see an image of the tab along with page information. It can be enabled only when hover cards are enabled. The image that will be shown will be of the same area of the page where you left the tab thus you can also compare the content of two pages by opening them in two tabs alongside.

    Search term: hover card images.

    URL: chrome://flags/#tab-hover-card-images

    6. Force Dark Mode

    You can use this flag to load all the web content with a dark theme. If you don't want to strain your eyes and want to use your PC in a dark room, this can be a very helpful feature. The whole background is made black and the text and buttons are turned white or lighter in color.

    Search term: dark mode

    URL: chrome://flags/#enable-force-dark

    7. GPU rasterization

    The process of creating the web content or images pixel-by-pixel to display on your PC is called Rasterization. Your CPU power is used by Chrome to complete this process. But yes, you can enable this flag to force rasterization to be always completed by GPU instead, if you have a dedicated GPU in your PC.

    The GPU can significantly boost Chrome's speed by dropping frame generation speed to as low as 5ms/frame from 100ms/frame if you enable this flag.

    Search term: GPU rasterization

    URL: chrome://flags/#enable-gpu-rasterization

    8. Smooth Scrolling

    With this app you get a tiny change, that can improve your readability heavily. On scrolling a webpage it usually does a small stutter with each scroll tick, but after you enable this flag the page will scroll smoothly and you can see the content while scrolling fast. If you have to skim through your content quickly, this will be of great help.

    Search term: smooth scrolling

    URL: chrome://flags/#smooth-scrolling

    9. Chrome Flags Experimental QUIC protocol

    Quick UDP Internet Connection or QUIC is similar to UDP and TCP as a connection protocol, but it is much faster and more secure at the same time. It creates a single connection rather than multiple connections and thus decreases connection time. Chrome uses this feature already for connection with Google services, but you can use this for other sites too.

    But you need to keep in mind that it is still experimental and you need to disable it if you notice any connection issues.

    Search for: quic

    URL: chrome://flags/#enable-quic

    10. Prevent risky downloads

    By preventing executable files from being downloaded from insecure resources, this flag adds an extra layer of security. An insecure source could be compromised to share direct executable files and viruses are usually spread as these files. So it will prevent the download of such files but yes it can have many false positives too.

    Search term: risky downloads

    URL: chrome://flags/#treat-unsafe-downloads-as-active-content

    How to enable Chrome Flags?

    1. Open Chrome on your Mobile
    2. Click on the Address bar and Delete the current URL link.
    3. Type "chrome://flags/ in the address bar and Press Enter
    4. You have now accessed the Chrome Flags Settings.
    5. Now, you can search for the specific Chrome flag that you want to try out.
    6. You can see a drop-down menu under the flag, Select it.
    7. Then change it from Default or Disbaled to Enable.
    8. Click Relaunch if the option appears or relaunch Chrome manually.

    "

    So these are the top 10 Chrome Flags that provide different features and you can choose the ones you think would be of use to you.

    Frequently Asked Question(FAQs)

    1. What are chrome flags used for?

    You can customize Chrome using these Chrome Flags. Chrome offers some experimental features that haven't been released yet but you can try and access them.

    2. Is it safe to use chrome flags?

    You will probably see a warning before using the Chrome Flags because these Chrome Flags can cause problems and issues in the browser. They may not be dangerous, but sometimes they can be.

    3. How do I use Chrome flags on Android?

    You can follow the steps mentioned in the above section of this article to enable the Chrome Flags on Android.

    4. What are some good Chrome flags?

    1. Heavy Ad Intervention
    2. Enable Reader Mode
    3. Smooth Scrolling
    4. Prevent risky downloads
    5. GPU rasterization
    6. etc.
    About the author:
    Expert technical writer who simplifies complex technological concepts for lay audiences. Focused on providing insightful analysis and entertaining listicles on a wide variety of topics in the technology sector.
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