Chrome Flags is a term you might have heard numerous times from your techie friends or a Techie Youtuber telling you the benefits of it. Well, if not, then don’t worry cause I will be that techie friend of yours who will unveil some of the best Google Chrome secrets for you.
If I put it in simple words, Google Chrome Flags is a collection of experimental features that are yet to be released to the general public. These features are convenient and can exponentially enhance your experience with the Chrome browser. The best part is that you don’t need to be a techie to try it yourself; if something goes wrong, you can always turn them off. So let’s not waste our time any further and try out some of the must-use Chrome Flags.
How To Enable Google Chrome Flags In Android & PC.
- Enter the chrome://flags in your Google Chrome Search Bar.
- Type the flag name into the Flag search bar.
- Click the drop-down menu next to the flag you want to enable.
- Click Enabled.
- Restart the browser to activate the Chrome Flag.
These are the best Chrome Flags in 2022
Parallel Downloading
So the first Chrome flag on our list is the flag called Parallel Downloading, which divides a file into small parts which can be downloaded at the same time. These small parts can be downloaded parallelly, resulting in a much faster download speed than regular downloads, which really helps out, especially when downloading huge files. This technique is called multi-threading and is very common among the download managers like IDM or FDM. You can use it in Chrome for Desktop and on the Mobile Version of Chrome.
You can enable it by searching for “Parallel Downloading” on the Chrome Flag page or pasting –
chrome://flags#enable-parallel-downloading in the address bar.
Password Import
The next Chrome flag on our list is the Password import flag, which does exactly what its name is. It allows you to import passwords to your Chrome browser whenever you want. Don’t confuse it with the Import Bookmarks and Passwords prompt you to get for a single time right after installing a Chrome browser. This flag is different and allows you to import passwords from a “.csv” file. You can get this file by exporting passwords from any browser you want and any device of your choice, making importing passwords universal.
Enable it by searching for “Password Import” on the Chrome Flag page or pasting –
chrome://flags#password-import in the address bar.
Smooth Scrolling
The next flag is called the Smooth scrolling flag, which eliminates lags and stutters which you may usually face while scrolling down on large web pages. The smooth scrolling flag works nicely and improves your scrolling experience. This is a must-use chrome flag if you are someone like me who has to go through numerous long web pages all day. It works on Desktop Chrome browser and Mobile Version of Chrome browsers.
To enable it, search for “Smooth Scrolling” on the Chrome Flag page or paste –
chrome://flags#smooth-scrolling in the address bar.
Save and Autofill UPI/VPA
With the rising popularity of UPI in India, Google is also planning to integrate the UPI system just like the credit card details and addresses we already use. This flag will allow you to save your UPI details on your browser, which you can use as auto-fill when making purchases online. You can use this flag on your Desktop and Mobile Version of Chrome browsers.
You can enable it by searching for “Tab Hover Card Images” on the Chrome Flag page or pasting –
chrome://flags#enable-autofill-upi-vpa in the address bar.
Tab Hover Card Images
The next chrome flag is one of our list’s most interesting and helpful Chrome flags. The Tab Hover Card images flag basically shows you a preview of the tab opened in the background. You can simply see what a webpage has by hovering over the tab, which is very helpful for people who have numerous tabs opened in the same window. This gives you a glimpse of what page is opened, so you only open it if needed. You can use this only on the Desktop Chrome browser.
You can enable it by searching for “Tab Hover Card Images” on the Chrome Flag page or pasting –
chrome://flags#tab-hover-card-images in the address bar.
Hardware-accelerated Video
The next flag we have on our list uses Hardware-acceleration, which drastically helps improve your browser’s performance. For those who don’t know what Hardware-acceleration is, hardware acceleration is a technique that allows the software to use other hardware resources other than the CPU, which helps reduce strain over the CPU. It works on the Mobile Version of Chrome and Chrome for Desktops.
This is mostly turned on by default, but if not, you can simply turn it on by searching for “Hardware-accelerated Video” on the Chrome Flag page or paste –
chrome://flags#disable-accelerated-video-decode in the address bar.
Global Media Controls Modern UI
Want a cool-looking media control UI on your Chrome browser? Yes, we have a Chrome flag for it. This flag is known as Global Media Controls Modern UI, which simply gives you an excellent modern-looking control menu next to the extension’s icon on the top right corner of your screen. These controls allow you to play/pause, seek 5 seconds forward / backward, mute, and even show the timeline of the media playing.
You can enable it by searching for “Global Media Controls Modern UI” on the Chrome Flag page or pasting –
chrome://flags#global-media-controls-modern-ui in the address bar.
Enable Reader Mode
The next important Chrome flag we have is the Reader Mode flag. If you have used other browsers like Firefox, you might already know what Reader Mode does. For those who don’t, this feature basically eliminates all the useless crap from a webpage and presents all the text in a simplified way for those who intend to read it. This is one of my personal favorite flags since I have to read out lots of web pages while I am working. This flag only works on Chrome Desktop.
Enable it by searching for “Enable Reader Mode” on the Chrome Flag page or paste –
chrome://flags#enable-reader-mode in the address bar.
Back-forward Cache
The next Chrome flag we have is called the Back-forward Cache Flag, which actually makes your browsing smooth. This flag caches entire web pages for you, which means you can access them with just a click of a button. This cached version can be accessed even when you get disconnected from the internet. It works on the Mobile versions of Chrome and Chrome-based Desktop browsers too.
Enable it by searching for “Back-forward cache” on the Chrome Flag page or pasting –
chrome://flags#back-forward-cache in the address bar.
Touch UI Layout
Moving down to our next Chrome flag, we have the Touch UI Layout Chrome flag for those with a convertible laptop, Windows tablet, or any device with a touch screen. This flag allows you to interact with the content more optimally. It can drastically improve your experience with the browser, as most desktop interfaces are not very well optimized for touch screens.
You can enable it by searching for “Touch UI Layout” on the Chrome Flag page or pasting –
chrome://flags#top-chrome-touch-ui in the address bar.
Experimental QUIC protocol
The next chrome flag is called Experimental QUIC protocol which speeds up things going on your browser. Well, I know the name does sound like a big deal, but there is nothing to be scared of. QUIC is a protocol developed by Google that plans to speed up things on the internet, and that’s the main goal. It works only on the sites that are optimized for it, but it still makes a big difference with the sites it supports. You can use this on the Chrome browser for PC and on the Mobile Versions of Chrome.
Enable it by searching for “Experimental QUIC protocol” on the Chrome Flag page or pasting –
chrome://flags#enable-quic in the address bar.
Auto Dark Mode for Web Contents
Dark Mode is a feature that has been popular for the last few years but now is a necessity rather than just being a feature. Many browsers out there have already rolled out this feature in their browsers, but unfortunately, Chrome has yet to deliver that. But you can still enjoy this feature by turning on this Chrome flag known as the Auto Dark mode for Web Contents. You can use this flag on the Mobile Version of Chrome Chrome browsers and Desktop chrome-based browsers.
You can enable it by searching for “Dark Mode” on the Chrome Flag page or pasting –
chrome://flags#enable-force-dark in the address bar.
Live Caption
The next Chrome flag we have is called the Live Caption Chrome flag, which generates captions for the media playing on your Chrome browser. This feature does not work with every site out there but still does a decent enough job that you might consider turning on. The Live caption flag only works with desktop-based Chrome browsers.
Enable it by searching for “Live Caption” on the Chrome Flag page or pasting –
chrome://flags#enable-accessibility-live-caption in the address bar.
Biometric re-authorization for a password (Mobile Version of Chrome Only)
The next Chrome flag we have is known as the Biometric reauth for the password, which is a perfect Chrome flag for privacy-conscious folks like me. This often happens when we have to lend our phone to someone and don’t really know what they will do with it. Turning this Chrome flag ensures they won’t be able to use your saved passwords in Auto-fill forms without your permission. This chrome flag will make your browser ask for a biometric authentication before using your saved passwords which could be a real lifesaver. This flag is only available for Chrome browsers on Mobile.
You can enable it by searching for “Live Caption” on the Chrome Flag page or pasting –
chrome://flags#enable-accessibility-live-caption in the address bar.
Incognito Screenshots (Mobile Version of Chrome Only)
Moving down to our next Chrome flag, we have another lifesaver that I personally turned on right after I got to know while I was researching for this article. This Chrome flag allows you to take screenshots in an Incognito tab which, if you have already tried, you might know Chrome does not allow by default for privacy reasons. I understand that there are things in Incognito tabs that you don’t want the world to see, but sometimes it may be required to take a screenshot, which is very annoying when you cannot.
To enable it, search for “Incognito Screenshots” on the Chrome Flag page or paste –
chrome://flags#incognito-screenshot in the address bar.
Group the Tabs (Mobile Version of Chrome Only)
Tab Groups is an outstanding feature you might have already experienced on the Chrome browser for Desktop. It helps organize your tabs, and I use them a lot. This feature can also be enjoyed on your Mobile Version of Chrome by using the Group the Tabs flag, which allows you to create Tab groups in your browser.
Enable it by searching for “Group the Tabs” on the Chrome Flag page or pasting –
chrome://flags#tab-groups-continuation in the address bar.
Google Lens-powered image search in the context menu (Mobile Version of Chrome Only)
Our next Chrome flag is a handy chrome flag that only works on Android’s mobile version of the Chrome browser. This flag integrates your Google Lens with your browser and allows you to reverse image search with any photograph you find while surfing the web. You can long press any image and find a new option saying Search with Google Lens.
You can enable it by searching for “Google Lens” on the Chrome Flag page or pasting –
chrome://flags#context-menu-search-with-google-lens in the address bar.
Dynamic Color Theme (Mobile Version of Chrome Only)
Finally, our last Chrome flag will work only on Android 12 and above smartphones. If you are using Android 12, you might already be aware of the “Material You” theming we absolutely love about Android 12. This new Chrome Flag will also incorporate your Android 12 theme with your Chrome browser, which will give it a new refreshing look.
Enable it by searching for “Dynamic Color Theme” on the Chrome Flag page or pasting – chrome://flags#dynamic-color-android in the address bar.
