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Here are 10 Chrome Flags that will improve your web-browsing experience
Chrome is known for its simplicity and speed. Despite this, there are a lot of extra tools under the hood. This includes several experimental features that can be accessed through special Chrome Flags.
Considering these are all test features that might not even make it to the stable version of Chrome, bugs are expected. Nonetheless, if you are willing to go through the occasional hiccup, some enable an improved browsing experience. Let’s take a look at some of our favorites.
Also read: How to download and install Chrome
What is a Chrome Flag?
Chrome Flags are experimental features Google hasn’t released yet, but you can access and try. Just remember these aren’t ready for an official release just yet. This means they may not work very well all of the time. You may encounter the occasional hiccup, bug, or crash.
How to access Chrome Flags settings?
No matter how much you dig into menus and options, you won’t find Chrome Flags settings unless you know how to access this section. You need to know your way in!
How to access the Chrome Flags page:
- Open Chrome.
- Click on the address and delete any URL that might be in it.
- Type the following in the address bar: “chrome://flags/” (without quotation marks).
- Press Enter.
- You are in!
There are two primary tabs on the page: Available and Unavailable. Some of these experimental features are only available on specific devices. You can’t use features made for Android on devices like a laptop, for example.
How to enable a Chrome Flag:
- Once you find yourself within the Chrome Flags page, go ahead and search for the Chrome Flag you want to try out.
- Select the drop-down menu under the flag you want to use. It usually reads either Default or Disabled.
- Select Enabled.
- You’ll need to relaunch Chrome most of the time. Hit Relaunch if the option shows up.
Note: These instructions were put together using a Pixel 7 Pro running Android 13. These steps are identical across all Chrome browsers, though. The same steps will work on desktop and iOS.
Are Chrome Flags safe?
Once in the Chrome Flags settings, you will see a warning message telling you about the dangers of using them. This is because experimental features can cause issues and hiccups in the browser. They are usually not too unstable, but some can be. Regardless, you can easily disable them.
How to disable Chrome Flags:
- Access the Chrome Flags settings as directed in the previous section.
- Find the experimental Chrome Flag you want to disable.
- Select the drop-down menu and select Disabled.
- Alternatively, you can press the button in the top-right corner that says Reset all to disable all of them.
- You’ll need to relaunch Chrome most of the time. Hit Relaunch if the option shows up.
The best Chrome Flags:
Editor’s note: We’ll regularly update this list with new Chrome Flags. All instructions in this post were put together using a custom PC running Windows 11 and Chrome version 107.0.5304.107.
Smooth Scrolling
Ever notice your scrolling stutter or that it can get a bit sluggish? There could be many reasons it’s happening, but this Chrome Flag will likely improve the situation. Search for “Smooth Scrolling” in the search bar and enable the feature. It’s a great feature Android users should enable, but you can also use it on Windows, Linux, and Chrome OS.
Touch UI Layout
Many convertible laptops, Windows tablets, and other devices now come with capable touch screens. This makes it possible to interact with content more naturally. Sometimes the desktop interface doesn’t work well with touch commands, though. Chrome has a touch-optimized UI hidden in the Chrome Flags.
In the search bar, search for “Touch UI Layout.” Click on the drop-down menu next to it and select Enabled.
Experimental QUIC Protocol
Certain Chrome Flags speed up your browsing experience. QUIC is Google’s protocol, and it’s designed to make the web faster. Enabling this one will speed things up, but only when websites have been optimized for it. Something is better than nothing, though!
On the main page, search for “Experimental QUIC Protocol.” Click on the drop-down menu next to it and select Enabled.
Reader Mode Chrome Flag
The web is an information treasure full of material, different opinions, and information. It’s a reader’s delight, but we must accept the web doesn’t always offer an excellent reading experience. It’s full of distracting images, ads, and other elements. Thankfully, you can get rid of all that by enabling the Reader Mode flag.
Search for “Enable Reader Mode” and enable it in the drop-down Chrome Flags menu.
Auto Dark Mode for Web Contents
Dark Mode is pretty cool, both aesthetically and for eye comfort reasons. If you are also a fan of it, you want all website content to support it. Sadly, not all websites cooperate, but a secondary option forces the option on all websites.
Open the Chrome Flags page and search for “Auto Dark Mode for Web Contents.” Enable the feature through the drop-down menu next to it.
Omnibox Bookmark Paths
Chrome’s Omnibox is great at giving you website suggestions, but the browser can do more than that if you allow it to. The Omnibox Bookmark Paths will provide suggestions from your bookmarks as you start typing related words.
Open the Flags page and search for “Omnibox Bookmark Paths.” Enable the feature through the drop-down menu next to it.
Parallel Downloading Chrome Flag
Waiting for large files to download can be a hassle. Let’s cut delays by dividing downloads into multiple files to be downloaded simultaneously.
Search for “Parallel Downloading” and enable the feature using the drop-down menu to the right.
Show autofill predictions
Nobody likes filling out forms, so Google simplifies this process using autofill. Still annoying? You can automatically have Chrome autofill form information by enabling the “Show autofill predictions” feature.
Search for “Show Autofill Predictions” and enable the feature using the drop-down menu to the right.
Live Caption
Some video players and websites offer captions, but this isn’t a universal feature. Those who want transcripts for all recognized words in media can use the Live Caption Chrome Flag.
Search for “Live Caption” and enable it.
GPU Rasterization
Is Chrome simply not fast enough for you? We know how you can harness the full power of your computer to speed things up. There’s a trick, though; you need to have a dedicated GPU for this one to make any improvements to Chrome’s performance. GPU Rasterization allows Chrome to take some of the workload off the CPU and have your GPU take care of it.
Here’s how to do it. Search for “GPU rasterization” and enable the feature using the drop-down menu.
Next: How to speed up Chrome
FAQs
Using Chrome flags is safe, but it can make your experience a bit buggy. The team also warns you could lose data and compromise privacy. This is just Google being careful, though. The worse that can usually happen is that you’ll need to relaunch Chrome and turn off a Chrome flag, if anything goes wrong.
Chrome flags are experimental features the Google team is testing. The team will make these official Chrome features once they are in good working order, if they are deemed worthy. This isn’t always the case, though. Additionally, Chrome flags are often killed.
You can use Chrome flags on both mobile and desktop browsers, but not all Chrome flags are available on every device. Some are desktop or mobile-specific. However, Chrome will separate unavailable flags and put them into the Unavailable tab.
Are you looking for other Chrome tips to improve your experience? We have more content to help you out. Let’s start with a list of our best Chrome tips and tricks.