Chrome browser running slow? Here’s how to speed it up

It’s the digital equivalent of a clogged drain. You boot up your computer, click the Google Chrome icon, and… wait.

You wait to type a search term. You wait for the page to load. You wait while your once-speedy gateway to the internet chugs along like a steam engine trying to keep up with a bullet train.

The problem: Chrome is a beast – a powerful, functional beast, but a beast nonetheless.

Over time, it gets bloated, weighed down by all the digital detritus we pile onto it. But don’t despair. You don’t need a new computer, you just need a digital declutter. Here’s how we’re going to put some pep back in your browser’s step.

Note that although feature names and their locations may differ slightly, most or all of these fixes work for Chromium-based browsers as well, such as Microsoft Edge.

Disable (or remove) unused extensions

This is almost always the main culprit. You installed an extension that seemed like a good idea a year ago—a coupon clipper, a niche productivity tool, a way to add a trail of sparkles to your cursor—and now it’s silently sucking down your RAM like quicksand.

Every single extension needs a little slice of your computer’s brain to run, and they add up fast.

To access your extensions, do the following:

• Click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner.
• Go to More Tools > Extensions.
• Look at the list. Be brutal. If you don’t use it at least once a week, toggle it off or, better yet, click Remove.

You’ll be surprised how many extensions you forgot you even had.

Put dormant tabs to sleep

You have 37 tabs open right now. One is a work document, one is a recipe you’ll never try, one is a YouTube video you paused three days ago, and three are different iterations of fantasy football research.

Every single one of those tabs is demanding resources, even the ones you haven’t looked at in days.

Google knows we have this problem, which is why it created the Memory Saver feature. It essentially puts inactive tabs to sleep, freeing up system memory for the tabs you’re actually using.

Here’s how:

• Click the three-dot menu and go to Settings.
• Click Performance in the left sidebar.
• Make sure Memory Saver is toggled on.

You can also designate certain sites to always stay active (like a live chat or your email), so the important stuff stays awake, and the less important stuff gets a well-deserved nap.

Clear cache and cookies

This is the classic, “have you tried turning it off and on again?” of browser optimization.

Your cache stores parts of websites (images, code, etc.) so they load faster the next time. Your cookies store user data. Over time, these piles of tiny files get huge, slow down your browser’s ability to find what it needs, and generally get in the way.

Here’s how to clear them.

• Use the keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + Shift + Del (Windows/ChromeOS) or Command + Shift + Del (Mac).
• Set the Time range to All time.
• Make sure Cached images and files is checked. Cookies and other site data is optional: clearing it logs you out of everything, which is annoying, but can help.
• Click Clear data.

It’s a quick blast that clears out the deep recesses of your browser. Do this once a month, and you’ll notice a difference.

Check for updates

Sometimes, the answer isn’t some clever hack or esoteric setting—it’s just making sure you have the newest version.

Google is constantly tweaking Chrome to make it run faster and consume less power. If you haven’t closed your browser in a week, you’re probably running on old software.

Here’s how to check for updates:

• Click the three-dot menu.
• Go to Help > About Google Chrome.
• Chrome will instantly check for and apply any updates. You might be prompted to relaunch.

Even if you’re not asked to relaunch, do it anyway. A clean relaunch can solve a world of problems.