Always have way too many tabs open? Google Chrome might finally help

By Jon Martindale January 21, 2019

Tab grouping is steadily making its way to Google Chrome through incremental updates to the browser’s “Canary” test build. Those who have been using the early testing browser version can play around with tab grouping now by jumping through a couple of hoops. It works a little differently to Opera’s drag-and-drop system, though. To group up specific tabs, you’ll have to select them, right-click, and choose which group to add them to.

Tabs were a fantastic implementation in web browsing. First added to the InternetWorks web browser in 1994, they were popularized by Firefox in 2002 and have since become a major component of web browsing on any device. But larger numbers of them can become difficult to manage, which is why Firefox lets you scroll through them and Opera has vertical stacks and tab grouping. Chrome, however, just squashes them closer and closer together making them progressively harder to read and harder to use. That’s why Google is working on a grouping method of its own.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

The new feature can be enabled in the Chrome Canary build by navigating to the “chrome://flags” part of the browser and enabling the tab group flag, as TechDows explains. You can then right click on any tab and either add it to an existing group or create a new one. It feels a little clunky compared to Opera’s drag-and-drop system and it’s not as hands-off as Firefox’s tab scrolling, but this is an early test version of the feature. It’s a long way off from general release, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Google continue to iterate on the process.

There have been a number of shakeups in the traditional web browser landscape in recent months. Although we’d still rate Chrome as the best browser out there, Microsoft has announced that it’s adopting a Chromium rendering engine for its flagship browser — which is something that Mozilla is particularly concerned by.

There are also new upstarts offering different experiences. Vivaldi is our favorite, although the Brave browser is also worth taking a look at if you want to try out its unique approach to monetizing web browsing and data sharing.

Updated January 22, 2019 with correct source link.

Topics

Computing Coordinator

Jon Martindale is the Evergreen Coordinator for Computing, overseeing a team of writers addressing all the latest how to…

Computing

Google Chrome’s latest update solves the browser’s biggest problem

Google Chrome icon in mac dock.

Google Chrome is one of the best browsers around, but it's always had a big problem with memory usage. It's finally addressing the issue in a new Chrome 110 update that promises to reduce RAM usage by up to 30% and make the browser for efficient.

Chrome has a reputation for its speed, security, and feature drops, as well as a penchant for hanging on to your precious RAM like an episode of Hoarders. Granted, Google has made strides in improving Chrome's memory efficiency by hibernating tabs in the background, but it still struggles with it compared to Microsoft Edge or Mozilla Firefox.

Computing

Google may have just fixed Chrome’s most annoying problem

A Macbook with Google Chrome opened to a Gmail inbox.

While Google Chrome is one of the best web browsers, over the years it has gained a reputation for being something of a resource hog, gobbling up your PC’s memory like it’s going out of style. That can be a problem if you’re running other resource-heavy tasks and don’t want things to slow down. Now, Chrome has been updated with two new features that cut down on memory usage and extend your laptop’s battery life, according to Google. The changes are set to roll out today with the latest release of Chrome on desktop (version m108).The first new feature, dubbed Memory Saver, is designed to reduce the amount of memory Chrome’s tabs use. It does this by freeing up memory from inactive tabs, and putting them to sleep so they can’t monopolize your system’s resources. When you need to access the tabs again, they will be reloaded and become active. The goal of Energy Saver, meanwhile, is fairly self-explanatory -- helping your laptop battery last longer -- but it does so in a somewhat interesting way. When your battery drops to 20%, Chrome will try to prolong your battery life by “limiting background activity and visual effects for websites with animations and videos.”Presumably, this means Chrome will limit the kind of flashy effects that have made a comeback in web design in recent years. Google says that when these new features launch, users will still be able to customize them to their liking. You can disable either Memory Saver or Energy Saver (or both), and mark certain websites as exempt in Chrome’s settings. The changes could turn out to be important. While Chrome has managed to become the dominant Windows web browser and one of the best browsers for Mac, it has been plagued by poor memory management for years. If Memory Saver and Energy Saver are able to help ameliorate that -- and make your battery last longer too -- then Google might have gone some way to fixing Chrome’s biggest problem. Both Memory Saver and Energy Saver will be launched globally over the next few weeks. The features are coming to Chrome on Windows, macOS, and ChromeOS.

Computing

Half of Google Chrome extensions may be collecting your personal data

Google Chrome icon in mac dock.

Data risk management company Incogni has found that half of every installed Google Chrome extension has a high to very high risk of collecting personal data, showing a strong correlation to the number of permissions given.

After analyzing 1,237 Chrome extensions found in the Chrome Web Store, a study by Incogni has uncovered some troubling findings. Nearly half (48.7%) of the extensions were found to potentially expose users' personally identifiable information (PII), distribute malware and adware, and record passwords and financial information.