I never ever utilize Chrome with its default settings and these 4 modifications are why

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Released Sep 20, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT

Oluwaseun is a tech author and editor whose profession started in 2021. Throughout the years, he has actually developed a strong portfolio of how-to guides, evaluations, tech newspaper article, contrast posts, and explainers, covering Windows, Android, hardware and apps, customer tech, and video gaming. His work has actually appeared on publications like Techloy and Itechguides, and he has actually likewise composed with SEO companies such as OutreachX.

He signed up with MakeUseOf (MUO) in 2025 to share his knowledge with an even larger audience while pursuing a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Computer Science.

When he isn’t composing, Oluwaseun takes pleasure in playing computer game and checking out brand-new tech items.

Chrome is perhaps the very best web browser out there, a minimum of number-wise. It holds over 69 % of the international web browser market share since August 2026, according to StatCounter GlobalStatsEven though I dislike on Google Chrome every little possibility I get, truly so, of course, it’s still what I and more than half of web users utilize.

<p>The distinction in between the majority of Chrome users and me is that I do not utilize Chrome precisely as Google ships it. Anytime I set up Chrome on a brand-new gadget, there are a couple of settings I right away alter to make the web browser feel more personal, less requiring, and in general more enjoyable to utilize.</p>    <p>None of these modifications needs extensions or anything complex, as they're all settings Chrome currently provides me. I simply do not leave them at their defaults.</p>    

Block third-party cookies

Not all cookies are bad, however I do not require marketers tracking me throughout the web

There are 2 kinds of cookies you can encounter when you open a site: first-party cookies and third-party cookies. First-party cookies are produced by the site you’re checking out, and they are in fact handy. They can keep in mind things like your login status, language choices, products you’ve contributed to a shopping cart, and other settings that make the site work the method you anticipate.

<p>Third-party cookies, on the other hand, are where things get wicked. They're frequently utilized by marketers to track your activity throughout various websites, so they can serve you customized advertisements.</p>    <p>I do not understand if you are, however I'm not thinking about making it simpler for marketing networks to follow me around the web. Obstructing third-party cookies is precisely what I do. I simply go to <strong>Settings&gt;&gt; Privacy and security&gt;&gt; Third-party cookies</strong> and pick <strong>Block third-party cookies</strong></p>    <p>There are some sites that require third-party cookies to work appropriately. Chrome provides me a method around that. On the exact same <strong>Third-party cookies</strong> settings page, I can include particular sites to the list of websites that are enabled to utilize third-party cookies.</p>    Set Memory Saver to the max

Chrome’s many aggressive memory-saving setting assists keep non-active tabs from consuming RAM

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Chrome has actually made its credibility for being starving for memory. I’ve actually seen a single web page take in around 1.2 GB of RAM by itself. Multiply that by the lots of tabs I can have open while looking into something, and even my 16GB RAM laptop computer will start to feel the heat.

<p>Chrome's response to this is Memory Saver. The function is made it possible for by default, however Chrome typically utilizes the Balanced setting. That's fine for the majority of people, however I choose to be more aggressive with it. In some scenarios, it can take a while before Chrome chooses an unused tab needs to be shut down. Up until then, those old tabs can continue inhabiting active memory despite the fact that I'm not utilizing them.</p>    <p>I go to <strong>Settings&gt; Performance</strong>ensure <strong>Memory Saver</strong> is allowed, and select <strong>Optimum</strong>This makes Chrome more aggressive about </p><div data-img-url="https://pmnsports.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/localimages/chrome-background-apps-option-turned-off.jpg" data-modal-id="single-image-modal" data-modal-container-id="single-image-modal-container" data-img-caption=""> putting non-active tabs to sleep. When I go back to among those tabs, Chrome refills it rather of <source media="(max-width: 480px)" data-srcset="https://pmnsports.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/localimages/chrome-background-apps-option-turned-off.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=500&dpr=2"> <source media="(max-width: 767px)" data-srcset="https://pmnsports.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/localimages/chrome-background-apps-option-turned-off.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=800&dpr=2"> <source media="(max-width: 1023px)" data-srcset="https://pmnsports.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/localimages/chrome-background-apps-option-turned-off.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2"> <img width="1650" height="928" loading="lazy" decoding="async" alt="nature news Google Chrome System settings with the Continue running background apps option turned off" src="https://pmnsports.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/localimages/chrome-background-apps-option-turned-off.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2" previous-src="https://pmnsports.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/localimages/chrome-background-apps-option-turned-off.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2"> keeping the whole page being in memory the entire time.    Stop Chrome from running in the background

Closing Chrome should not indicate leaving covert procedures running

                                                                                        <picture><source media="(max-width: 1023px)" data-srcset="https://pmnsports.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/localimages/chrome-background-apps-option-turned-off.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2"><img width="1650" height="928" loading="">"lazy" decoding="async" alt="Google Chrome System settings with the Continue running background apps option turned off"src="https://pmnsports.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/localimages/chrome-background-apps-option-turned-off.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2"previous-src="https://pmnsports.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/localimages/chrome-background-apps-option-turned-off.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2"&gt;
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A great deal of individuals do not understand that Chrome can continue running in the background even after you’ve closed every Chrome

window. To put it simply, clicking the X does not imply Chrome has actually totally quit working.

This takes place since of a setting, and yes, you thought properly, it’s switched on by default. Similar to every other background app, Chrome running in the background indicates it will continue to take in system resources.

<p>Nobody desires their valuable resources to be utilized by an app that's currently closed. Like, what can I potentially require Chrome to do when I've closed it? I close Chrome since I'm done utilizing it. Well, to stop Chrome from straining itself and my resources, I go to <strong>Settings&gt; System</strong> and shut off[<sourcemedia data-srcset="https://pmnsports.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/localimages/turning-off-preloading-in-chrome.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2"> <img width="1650" height="928" loading="lazy" decoding="async" alt="nature news Turning off preloading in Chrome" src="https://pmnsports.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/localimages/turning-off-preloading-in-chrome.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2" previous-src="https://pmnsports.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/localimages/turning-off-preloading-in-chrome.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=2"> <strong>Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed</strong></sourcemedia></p>    Disable page preloading

Chrome does not require to fill sites I may never ever check out

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Based upon your searching history, Chrome can anticipate the sites you’re most likely to go to next and load them in the background so they open immediately when you click them. The concept sounds beneficial, and under the best scenarios, it can make searching feel quicker. The drawback is that Chrome needs to do some work before I even ask it to.

<p>Preloading can take in extra mobile information, battery power, and system memory. </p><h3 id="i-don-rsquo-t-have-to-use-chrome-as-i-got-it"> What if I do not end up going to the websites Chrome forecasts I'll go to? The resources it utilized to preload them are simply squandered.    

I ‘d rather Chrome load a website when I really choose to visit it. To turn off the function, I go to Settings> Performance, and disable Preload pages

<p>I may quit a few of the speed advantage that preloading can offer, however I likewise prevent Chrome costs resources on websites I might never ever open. On a laptop computer or a metered connection, that's a compromise I'm completely delighted to make.</p>    I do not need to utilize Chrome as I got it

Chrome is popular for a factor, and I’m not pretending these settings unexpectedly turn it into a light-weight or privacy-focused internet browser. I likewise do not see a factor to accept every default setting simply since Google picked it.

<p>None of these modifications takes more than a couple of minutes, however they make Chrome feel a lot more fit to how I in fact utilize it. Yes, I still utilize Chrome regardless of all the things I grumble about. I simply do not utilize it with Google's default settings.</p>    






















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                    <strong>OS</strong>                     </dt>
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                                        Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS/iPadOS, ChromeOS


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                    <strong>Designer</strong>                   </dt>
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                                        Google LLC


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                    <strong>Rate design</strong>                    </dt>
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                                        Free


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