How to Enable Chrome Flags

If you consider yourself an advanced Chrome user, you should know that Google allows you to enable a number of experimental features (called flags). These are 'hidden' experimental features that will allow you to customize and fine-tune your browsing experience. This article will show you how Enable Chrome Flags, how to use them and what are the best flags to implement to improve your Chrome browser without making it unstable.

What are chrome flags used for?

If you love experimenting with features that aren't yet available to the masses, enabling Chrome Flags is a great way to gain access to new features that haven't made it to the standard version of Google Chrome.

Before Chrome developers implement a new feature in their browsers, they will release it as a “flag” – these flags can only be enabled by tech-savvy users who are familiar with Google Chrome’s “hidden menus.”

If you find the stable version of Google Chrome too boring, you should enable Chrome Flags and try out some of the hidden features to improve your browsing experience.

As you'll see below, some of these experimental features have the potential to increase the speed of your browser or even provide an additional layer of accessibility.

Note: Some of the flags you'll see in this article are likely to become native features as part of the standard Chrome experience at some point, while other flags may be removed by Google developers without warning.

Not all flags are good

At the time of writing this article, there are literally hundreds of flags you can enable or disable in your Google Chrome interface.

But there's a catch: not all flags are made to improve the Chrome experience, and not all flags are intended to be used by regular users.

Some flags are developer-specific, while others are very under-the-radar and may conflict with other components of your operating system.

Important: Depending on the flags you experiment with, some of them may end up crashing or conflicting with other components and negatively affecting your PC's performance. The effects can range from a slight performance drop to extreme cases where you risk losing your Chrome-related data; although these cases are very rare, it's important to understand the potential risks.

How to enable Chrome Flags?

To access the experimental flags in Google Chrome, all you need to do is type 'chrome :/ / flags' within the navigation bar at the top of your browser.

It's important to understand that Google will always display a warning at the top of the listing alerting you that this page contains experimental features.

As you scroll down, you'll first start to see the flags that are already enabled by the user, then the remaining flags that are not yet enabled. If this is your first time visiting this page, you'll see the curated list of flags sorted by their release date.

Note: Each flag has its own name, brief description, platform, and status. In addition to this, each flag has a hyperlink that allows you to jump directly to it.

Although each flag has its own brief description and name, in our experience it is quite difficult to figure out what some of these flags actually do. Because of this, we recommend that you do not enable flags that you don't have a clear idea of ​​what they do.

If you are looking to enable a specific Chrome flag, the ideal way to do so is to search for it using the bar. Search for flags at the top of the screen.

Note: Also, if you previously enabled flags and want them all to disappear at once, you can click the Reset All button, confirm your choice and wait until they are removed.

Now that you know how to enable Google Chrome flags, don't go overboard and enable everything at once without knowing what they do, or you'll have a bad time.

Instead, use our curated list of flags below – they are carefully selected and guaranteed to add value to your current Google Chrome experience.

Top 11 Google Chrome Flags You Should Enable

To save you from having to do the trial and error yourself, we've made a list of the best Google Chrome flags that actually add extra functionality to your browser.

IMPORTANT: Please note that the list of available Google Chrome flags changes daily, so some of the flags you see below may have already made it to the stable version of Chrome, while others have been permanently removed.

Enable light videos

This is a great flag to enable if you are forced to use a network with limited bandwidth.

What this flag essentially does is force all videos to play in standard quality. Under the hood, the flag will force all media requests to play in SD quality. By enabling it, you will lose some visual fidelity, but you will end up saving valuable bandwidth.

You can enable this flag by searching for litevideos  within the search box at the top or by visiting the following URL: chrome://flags/#enable-lite-video

Playback speed button

If you are streaming a lot of media content through your browser ChromeEnabling the Playback Speed ​​button indicator is a great way to add an extra layer of control to your media viewing experience.

This flag will add a playback speed button to all media controls. It works on Mac, Windows, Linux, Chrome OS, Android and Fuchsia.

You can find this flag by searching for "Playback speed button» using the search box above or by visiting the following URL: chrome://flags/#playback-speed-button

Chrome Labs

If you're looking to add an additional experimental layer of features on top of the additional functionality provided by individual flags, Chrome Labs should be at the top of your list.

This flag allows you to access the Chrome Labs interface directly through the toolbar menu. There, you'll see a list of user-facing experimental features. This flag will work on Mac, Windows, Linux, Chrome OS, and Fuchsia.

You can find this flag by searching for "Chrome Labs» using the search box above or by visiting the following URL: chrome://flags/#chrome-labs

Display performance metrics in HUD

If you love looking at performance metrics when using your computer, this flag will provide you with an additional layer of metrics that you can use to monitor your performance.

What this flag essentially does is display a number of performance metrics on any current page you have open. As soon as you enable this flag, you will start seeing the metrics within the heads-up display of each page.

This flag will work on Mac, Windows, Linux, Chrome OS, Android and Fuchsia.

You can find this flag by searching for "Display performance metrics in HUD» using the search box above or by visiting the following URL: chrome://flags/#show-performance-metrics-hud

Revamped Incognito New Tab Page

If you didn't know, Google is currently working on a revamped user interface for Google Chrome's Incognito. This flag allows you to enable this feature right away and enjoy the new icons and features that will come once the new Incognito UI hits the stable release.

Note: This flag is likely only available temporarily until Google deems it suitable enough to add to the stable release.

Until then, you can enable it ahead of time by searching for Revamped Incognito New Tab Page within the search bar or by visiting the following URL: chrome://flags/#incognito-ntp-revamp

Accelerated 2D Canvas

If you're doing legacy rendering on your PC and are working with a low-end GPU, enabling this flag will likely make things a lot smoother.

This flag allows your PC to rely on the GPU when you need to perform 2D canvas rendering; this will be the preferred option instead of using the default software-based rendering. This flag can be enabled on Mac, Windows, Linux, Chrome OS, Android, and Fuchsia.

You can find this flag by searching for "Accelerated 2D Canvas» using the search box above or by visiting the following URL: chrome://flags/#disable-accelerated-2d-canvas

Latest stable JavaScript features

This flag is a must if you still rely heavily on Java scripts and need to work with many non-standard JavaScript extensions.

Enable this flag if the web pages you visit most often still use legacy or non-standard JavaScript extensions. In the latest stable versions, these web pages may end up conflicting with newer JavaScript features.

This flag will disable support for those features and improve compatibility with the websites you are visiting. You can enable this flag on Mac, Windows, Linux, Chrome OS, Android, and Fuchsia.

You can find this flag by searching for "Latest stable JavaScript features» using the search box above or by visiting the following URL: chrome://flags/#disable-javascript-harmony-shipping

GPU Rasterization

If you want to take the load off a low-end CPU and use your GPU to rasterize web content, you can enable this flag to see a small performance boost. This flag is recommended if you have a low-end CPU and use your computer for high-end tasks. Web navigator that consume a lot of system resources.

You can enable this flag on Mac, Windows, Linux, Chrome OS, Android, and Fuchsia.

You can also find this flag by searching for "GPU Rasterization» using the search box above or by visiting the following URL: chrome://flags/#enable-gpu-rasterization

Parallel discharge

This flag is an ideal way to speed up the downloads of files. Don't expect a drastic increase in download speeds, but it will shave off a few seconds There download of each file.

This flag manages to reduce the time it takes to download a file by splitting it into three separate jobs that run simultaneously. You will see the best results when you have to download large and thick files. You can enable this flag on Mac, Windows, Linux, Chrome OS, Android, and Fuchsia.

You can find this flag by searching for » Parallel discharge » using the search box above or by visiting the following URL: chrome: // flags / # enable-parallel-downloading

Elastic displacement

If you are using a touchscreen device or a precision touchpad, enabling this flag will give you an additional layer of control over your scrolling.

Don't enable this flag if you're using a non-touchscreen display or a precision touchpad, as it won't do anything for you. You can only enable this flag on Windows and Android.

You can find this flag by searching for 'Elastic Overscroll' using the search box at the top or by visiting the following URL: chrome://flags/#elastic-overscroll

Cross-browser compatibility issues with Chrome Flags

Before you start experimenting with flags not covered in this article, you should understand the experimental nature of these flags.

In addition to security concerns (since most of these flags are untested and vulnerable to exploits), you also have to worry about cross-browser compatibility issues.

The main reason Google makes these flags available is so that the community can test them before they are made available for the stable version of Google Chrome.

Final refinements and security issues are usually done at the last stage (just before the flag becomes a standard feature of Google Chrome).

Important: If you are a website developer or a site administrator, we strongly recommend that you do not make any experimental flags available to your visitors. You are likely to run into problems when Google changes the flag or decides to remove it altogether.