How to Find and Disable Resource-Hungry Chrome Extensions

How to Find and Disable Resource-Hungry Chrome Extensions

Google Chrome Logo

Google Chrome is a resource-intensive browser. You might be used to closing tabs to free up RAM, but extensions run constantly in the background and take a lot of resources. Here’s how to find and disable resource-hungry Chrome extensions.

Where to Find Resource-Hungry Chrome Extensions

Just like your Windows or Mac computer, Chrome has its own task manager built-in. From here, you can see how many resources a tab, app, or extension is taking up.

RELATED: How to Change Chrome’s Default Text Size

To get here, click the “Menu” button found in the top-right corner of the Chrome toolbar and go to More Tools > Task Manager.

Open Task Manager in Chrome

Here, you’ll find all active extensions at the bottom of the list. You can also click the “Memory Footprint” tab to sort all processes based on the RAM usage.

Now, go through this list and identify memory-hungry extensions. There could be extensions that are taking up well over 500 MB RAM. It’s not unusual for small extensions to use 50-100 MB RAM.

You can’t disable or delete extensions from here (more on that later), but you can temporarily disable the extensions. If an extension has gone rogue and is using a lot more memory than it should, you can select it and then click the “End Process” button to stop it from running.

End Process in Task Manager in Chrome

The extension will now crash, and you won’t find it in the Chrome toolbar. When you restart the Chrome browser, the extension will work again. To reload a crashed extension, go to Menu > More Tools > Extensions and click the “Reload” button.

Related :   How to Zoom In on the Nintendo Switch While Playing Any Game

Click Reload to Enable a Crashed Extension

How to Disable or Delete Resource-Hungry Chrome Extensions

During the process of finding resource-hungry Chrome extensions, you might come across some extensions that you have no use for. You might also come across extensions that you will need to delete because they are using too much RAM.

To do disable or delete an extension, click the three-dot Menu button from the Chrome toolbar and then go to More Tools > Extensions.

Open Extensions Manager in Chrome

Here, you’ll see all your installed extensions in a grid. From the top, you can search for a particular extension.

To disable a Chrome extension, click the corresponding toggle button. The extension will disappear from the Chrome toolbar, and you won’t be able to access it.

Click Toggle to Disable a Chrome Extension

Although disabled, the extension is still installed. If you want to delete it from Chrome for good, click the “Remove” button.

Click Remove to Delete a Chrome Extension

Then, from the popup, confirm your decision by clicking the “Remove” button.

Click Remove to Confirm

The Chrome extension will now be removed and it won’t hog up your computer’s RAM anymore.


Want to learn more about Chrome extensions? Here’s how to install and manage Chrome extensions.

RELATED: How to Directly Link to Text on a Web Page in Chrome

, , , , , , , , ,
Share:
Lucila is a freelance writer and lifelong learner with an ongoing curiosity to study new things. She enjoys checking out the latest grammar books and writing about video games more than anything else. If she's not running through Colorado’s breathtaking landscape, she's indoors hidden away in her cozy game room trolling noobs and leveling up an RPG character. She is a Final Fantasy IX apologist (although she loves them all… except XV), coffee aficionado, and a bit of a health nut. Lucila graduated from Western Kentucky University with a B.A. in English Literature with a minor in Creative Writing.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement

Advertisement

Recent Comments