Google has rolled out new functionalities aimed at enhancing the browsing experience in Chrome.
According to a section on Google’s support webpage, users can access Chrome’s performance configurations by going to: More > Settings > Performance > General. The page notes that this feature is activated by default.
Nonetheless, if you attempt to access that section, it might not be accessible to you just yet. There is a method to enable this feature via a Chrome flag. It’s important to mention that the Performance alerts feature was initially introduced in the Google Chrome Canary channel in July 2024, prior to its inclusion in the stable release.
Instructions to enable performance issue notifications in Google Chrome
- Navigate to chrome://flags/
- In the search field at the top of the page, enter “performance.”
- You should come across this outcome:
“Enable performance intervention suggestions.
When activated, a UI will automatically display to recommend tabs needing attention during periods of poor performance. – Mac, Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, Lacros
- 4. Select the dropdown menu next to this option and choose Enabled.
- 5. Exit Chrome and then reopen it by clicking the Relaunch button.
- 6. Navigate to Settings > Performance Settings > General section, where the option will now be visible.
If you consider the alerts to be of limited utility, you can disable them.
This capability is also available in the Brave Browser, albeit it is hidden within the Settings menu, necessitating the use of the search function to find it. While the flag can be activated in Vivaldi and Opera, the corresponding setting is not present in either browser’s menu. Moreover, this flag does not exist in Microsoft Edge.
Once activated, the feature will show a notification, appearing as a badge resembling the Performance icon (odometer). This icon can be found on the toolbar beside your profile image. By clicking on it, a warning will be displayed indicating that certain tabs are consuming excessive resources, and it suggests that Chrome can assist by suspending those tabs. Essentially, it identifies the tabs that are responsible for slowdowns and recommends utilizing the Memory Saver feature to put them on hold. Users have the option to monitor resource-heavy tabs manually using Chrome’s Task Manager; however, this tool might be somewhat complex compared to what most users are accustomed to, making the performance issue alerts a valuable addition. Personally, I favor using the Auto Tab Discard extension (available for Firefox/Chrome) for suspending tabs.
Regrettably, I was unable to activate the performance alerts in Chrome. I opened multiple tabs, including online shopping and video streaming sites, but did not receive any notifications. I even limited the network speed through Chrome’s Developer Console and accessed resource-intensive pages, yet the anticipated alert did not materialize. This is a positive indication, suggesting everything is functioning properly, but it would have been intriguing to observe the Performance Fix feature in operation.
To learn how the Performance Detection Tool operates, you can view a demonstration on Google’s blog.
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