7 Ways to Quickly Reduce High Memory Usage of Chrome on Windows 10/11

Quickly find an effective solution to address high memory usage by the Google Chrome browser:

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User Query: Chrome browser is consuming too much memory on Windows 10

"After upgrading to the latest version of Windows 10 yesterday, my computer has become very slow when using Google Chrome. Upon checking the Task Manager, I noticed that the memory usage is over 95%, with Chrome taking up a significant portion. Why does Chrome consume so much memory? How can I effectively reduce its memory usage?"

The Google browser kernel, as one of the world's mainstream browser kernels, offers a very stable and fast browsing experience. Google Chrome is a very popular web browser. However, most users of Chrome have a common complaint: it consumes a large amount of memory, as shown in the figure below.

Chrome and other web browsers store each tab and extension in its own RAM (Random Access Memory) process. This isolation improves stability, security, and performance on modern multi-core CPUs, especially since you probably have a lot going on at once. But all those processes can add up and eat through your RAM.

Indeed, Google Chrome has been reducing its RAM requirements over the years. However, compared to other programs, Chrome still uses a lot of memory, which can easily lead to freezing and crashes. Solving this issue entirely can be challenging, but there are several effective ways to reduce Chrome's memory usage and speed up your computer.

Why does Google Chrome use so much memory?

Are you wondering why Google Chrome uses so much memory? Here are some possible reasons:

• You have many tabs open in Chrome.
• You've added numerous plugins and extensions.
• There's too much cache accumulated in your browser.
• The pages you're visiting contain high-quality animations or an abundance of ads.
• Chrome is running in the background even when it's closed.
• Your computer's RAM or configuration is too low to support Chrome properly.

There are several ways to reduce Chrome's high memory usage and speed up your browsing experience. Let's go through them one by one.

Fix 1: Close Unnecessary Tabs

When using Google Chrome, you tend to have many tabs open at once. If you often have 10 or more tabs open, Chrome can take up a lot of memory. Also, the pages you visit are stored in a cache, and the more tabs you have open, the more memory is used.

Chrome tries to manage tabs by putting ones you haven't looked at in a while to sleep so they don't use as much RAM. However, the fewer tabs and pages you have open, the less RAM you'll use.

If you must have many tabs open, take advantage of tab groups to fold them into a more manageable unit.

Fix 2: Clean up unused plugins and extensions

Extensions are important for your Chrome experience, so you probably have a few installed. Like tabs, extensions have their own processes. If you have some you don't use, disabling or removing them can free up some RAM.

Here's how to do it.

Step 1: Open the Google Chrome browser.

Step 2: Type chrome://extensions/ in the address bar.

Step 3: Disable the extensions you don't need. Turn off the toggle switch for an extension, as shown below, to disable it.

Step 4. Close Chrome. Restart it and check if it's still consuming too much memory.

Fix 3: Enable hardware acceleration

Hardware acceleration helps take some of the workload off your computer's processor and keeps RAM from being used too much. You can try enabling hardware acceleration to fix high memory usage in Chrome, but keep in mind that this option will only be available if you have a dedicated graphics card. Enabling it on an integrated graphics card can cause issues.

1. Open Google Chrome. Click the three dots in the top-right corner, then select "Settings" from the drop-down menu.

Step 2: Scroll down and tap on “Advanced” settings.

Step 3: Find the “System” option and turn on “Use hardware acceleration when available.”

Step 4. Restart your browser and see if Chrome's memory usage is still high.

Fix 4: Clear Chrome's Cache and Cookies

Too much cached data and cookies stored in Chrome can lead to high memory usage and cause your computer to freeze. You can clear the cache and cookies in Chrome by following these steps.

1. Open Google Chrome. Tap the three dots in the top-right corner.

Step 2: Click “More tools” from the dropdown menu, then select “Clear browsing data.”

Click on Clear browsing data from the More tools option.

Step 3: Check the boxes for "Cache" and "Cookies" and then click "Clear Data."

Click on “Clear browsing data”.

After clearing the cache and cookies, restart Chrome to see if the issue is still there.

Fix 5: Update Google Chrome to the latest version

An outdated version of Google Chrome can have bugs and glitches that cause it to run poorly and use too much memory. Make sure that Google Chrome is updated to the latest version. If it's not, do so now by following these steps.

Step 1: Open Chrome. Tap the three dots in the top-right corner, then tap Settings.

Step 2: Click on "About Chrome" in the left sidebar.

Step 3. Check your version of Google Chrome to see if it's up to date, or if there are any updates available.

Fix 6: Stop Apps Running in the Background

When Google Chrome is closed, some apps may still run in the background. As a result, the browser can continue to use memory and may contribute to high usage issues. Here's how to address this problem.

Step 1: Open Chrome. Tap the three dots in the top-right corner.

Step 2: Select “Settings” from the drop-down menu.

Step 3. On the Settings page, scroll down and click Advanced > System.

4. Turn off the Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed switch.

Do not allow the app to run in the background

Fix 7: Monitor Chrome's Task Manager

Like Windows, Google Chrome has an Task Manager you can use to examine what's running in Chrome in detail. You probably won't need to kill Chrome processes, but if one is using a lot of memory, you can end it here.

Step 1: Open Chrome. Tap the three dots in the top-right corner.

Step 2: Click on "More tools" and then "Task Manager." You can also access it using the keyboard shortcut Shift + Esc.

Step 3: Select the process you don't need running, and click "End Process." Usually, closing the tab will be enough. However, if a tab or extension is using a lot of memory, you may need to restart Chrome for things to return to normal.

How to Recover Lost Files from a Crashed Windows 10/11 Computer

If high memory usage by Chrome leads to severe computer freezing that forces you to restart your computer and lose data, you can use professional data recovery software immediately to restore important files.

The Data Recovery Wizard tool can help you recover lost or deleted files due to accidental deletion, hard drive formatting/damage, OS/computer crash, virus attack, or other complex data loss scenarios. It also enables you to repair corrupted files, including fixing damaged Word, Excel, PDF documents, photos, and videos.

Step 1: Choose a location and start scanning

Run Data Recovery Wizard, select the partition where your data was lost and click “Scan”.

Step 2. Filter and preview your files

Please use the file format filter on the left or in the top-right corner to find the files you need. Then, you can click the "Preview" button or double-click a file to preview its content.

Step 3: Recover Lost Data or Files

Please check the box next to the lost file and click “Recover” to restore the data to a secure location.

Conclusions

High memory usage by Google Chrome has been an issue for a long time. Google is working on improving the browser's performance, too. It's unlikely we'll completely solve this problem. Try one of the above solutions when battling high memory usage in Chrome to troubleshoot.

You can close unnecessary tabs, plugins, and extensions, enable hardware acceleration, clear cache and cookies, and update your browser. Hopefully, this guide will help you resolve the issue. If any data loss occurs accidentally, quickly use the Data Recovery Wizard tool to restore your files.