Four hidden Chrome settings that can make Android browsing feel faster

Chrome on Android hides a menu of experimental settings, and a few of them can make browsing feel quicker and easier on the eyes. Android Police writer Irene Okpanachi tried four of these switches, called flags, to get closer to the feel of faster browsers like Brave while keeping Chrome and her bookmarks.

How to find the menu

Type chrome://flags into Chrome's address bar. The menu is known mostly to desktop power users. Flags are experimental switches Google tests before features are ready for everyone. They work on Android too, because Chrome on Android runs on the same Chromium engine as the desktop version. A search bar at the top helps you find each one.

The four flags

• Override software rendering list: makes Chrome use the phone's graphics chip even if Google has blocked it.
• Smooth Scrolling: pages glide to a new spot instead of jumping, so you keep track of where you are.
• Parallel downloading: splits a file into chunks that download at the same time.
• Auto Dark Mode for Web Contents: darkens every page, even sites with no dark mode.

What each one does

Chrome normally uses the graphics chip (GPU) to draw pages. Some GPUs have bugs, so Google keeps a blocklist. If your phone is on it, Chrome uses the slower main chip, and scrolling can feel choppy. You can check at chrome://gpu/ under Graphics Feature Status. The override flag tells Chrome to ignore the list. Smooth Scrolling does not add speed. It only animates jumps, such as tapping Back to top.

Some servers limit the speed of a single connection, so a download crawls even on a fast network. Parallel downloading splits the file and stitches it back together. It only works when the server allows pieces to be fetched, which most large file hosts do and some sites do not. Auto Dark Mode flips light tones to dark, checks images so they do not look like negatives, and on OLED screens dark pixels use less power.

What to watch out for

Flags are experimental and could break what you are trying to fix. Google can change or remove them at any time with an update. If pages flicker or crash after the GPU override, set it back to Default and restart Chrome.

What to do

Change one flag at a time and tap Relaunch when Chrome asks. Write down what you switched so you can undo it. The author says most flags she finds are worth touching, but she would not go overboard.