Chrome’s Memory-Saving Upgrade: Track Tab Memory Usage Easily

Google Chrome has received a valuable update, now allowing users to get a general overview of how much memory each open tab is consuming. This feature proves to be a significant aid when your computer is running low on RAM, and decisions need to be made on what to keep open.

The Chrome browser has often faced accusations of being a memory hog, a claim that may not necessarily hold true today. The world’s most popular browser, commanding 63.14% of the browser market according to Statcounter’s October data, introduces a new function to monitor the memory usage of individual tabs.

This new capability is already available in the latest desktop versions of Chrome, on Windows, macOS, and Linux alike. To access it, there’s no need to enable or activate anything—simply hover your mouse over the tab strip to bring up the name and address of the page. What has changed is that now, at the bottom, you can see the memory usage for that specific tab.

The new feature, spotted by 9to5Google, is based on Chrome’s memory and energy-saving modes. These modes can be toggled on or off, or customized within the Performance section found in the Settings menu, accessible from the three-dot menu in the top right corner.

It’s worth noting that the new feature may not be activated for everyone immediately. In such cases, it’s advisable to wait or check for Chrome updates. While updates are automatic, they can only be installed upon restarting the browser.