12 Ways to Speed Up Google Chrome
Tags: beginners, tutorial, testing, security
Published: 2021-11-11 21:00:25

Read this article to learn how to boost Google Chrome by disabling unnecessary extensions and plugins, optimizing its settings and interface and so on. With some changes to the extensions enabled in your browser and hidden features, you can improve the browser’s performance considerably.

##Method 1. Disable unnecessary extensions
![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/92sh9lyqlss5ynvff6s4.jpg)

You may have noticed that the browser lets you choose from a wide variety of extensions, so you can add as many of them as you need for every specific purpose. Some extensions are used to ward off ads, others help to protect your computer and improve its security by preventing the browser from opening harmful websites or display any suspicious contents.

Similarly, you can add extensions providing a wide choice of tools to work with Google Docs, Charts and Slides that make it possible to create and edit them at any time.

Other extensions help you work with images and video files, arrange and sort them. Many other apps can manage downloads, improve your experience with social networks, offer professional website development kits and much more.

Still, a browser may contain a number of various extensions which you don’t use regularly, but they still run in the background and can make the browser feel rather sluggish. To avoid such situations, you can disable or completely remove the extensions you don’t need any longer for your everyday work, and thus give your Google Chrome a boost.

For this purpose, click on the button Customize and control Google Chrome, which you can find in the top right corner of the window, and is fashioned as three vertical dots.

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/m0158wb2dj1qzbbik893.jpg)

In the pop-up menu, select the tab More tools, and find the line Extensions in the nested menu.

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/bxa0g5bs3lh736qoj3k4.jpg)

You will see the page Extensions which shows the complete list of various extensions added to your browser.

Also, you can type chrome://extensions in the address bar for direct access to this submenu.

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/zu1z6vkbok87xqgh65h6.jpg)

After you’ve reviewed the list of extensions enabled for your browser you will receive all the information about their properties and purpose. Now the ones you don’t need can be removed in a single click on the Remove button.

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/e0h3ky67fg2ws4wq5ssl.jpg)

If you don’t feel like removing an extension forever, use the on/off slider, And the browser will not use this extension when running. To do it, click on the Details button next to an extensions and disable it. At any time in the future, you will be able to turn it on again, by using the same element.

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/c30wqhkfjz2iebeb09xk.jpg)

##Method 2. Clear browsing data regularly
Usually, browsers keep the frequently used data such as images, autofill information, URL addresses etc to be able to load websites very quickly when necessary. In some cases, browsers will ask for your permission to save a password, so you can access your favorite webpages without having to log in every time.

Although this feature can be very helpful on many occasions, it can also slow down your computer if there is too much data that has to be stored in the cache memory. Browsing and downloads data, cookies and other information saved to cache may reduce the browser’s performance seriously. That is why it is recommended to clear browsing data regularly so that this app is always fast enough.

Click Customize and control Google Chrome (three vertical dots) and select History.

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/1onmgxk2pkpbfm5x0kak.jpg)

In the page that opens, you will see the list of all websites you have visited before. You can also access this page by typing chrome://history in the address bar or pressing the key shortcut CTRL + H. In the left-side panel, choose Clear browsing data.

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/ybcjbwi0ojxy6t5hdjqk.jpg)

This link will open a new tab containing all browsing data, and you will be able to choose any option to clear such data from your PC.

![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/rualxmihgikrnh5pkps2.jpg)

Use the line Time range to specify the time period for which browsing data has to be cleared. Check the boxes for the data you want to remove. You can choose to remove all cache data stored on your computer and this will free up quite a lot of space for your browser and make it work much faster.

In the same way, you can clear other data such as watch history, download history, cookies, saved password etc.

If you want your History and Cache to always be clean, you can use the Incognito mode feature (press the key shortcut Ctrl + Shift + N). In this mode, the browser will not save your browsing history, while cookies and other website data will be removed when you close the browser.

##Method 3. Close the browser when possible
Many people tend to keep their browser open all the time because they have several important tabs open and are afraid of losing important data in these webpages when the browser is closed. In the long run, such approach can slow down the browser because it has to support starting and remembering such tabs in the background. However, you shouldn’t worry about it as Google Chrome saves the information on all tabs opened before, so you can access them easily at a later time without any problems, as soon as you strat the browser again.

Go to the menu Customize and control Google Chrome and select the tabSetttings, or type chrome://settings in the address bar for direct access.