You probably use your web browser of choice for a variety of tasks: using the internet, obviously, but also watching videos, collaborating in docs, building spreadsheets, and more. That means your browser can very quickly start taking up a significant amount of your system\u2019s resources, especially if your open tabs start to stack up in double (or triple) digits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are ways to counteract this though, no matter which browser you\u2019re using. With some careful management, you can make sure it\u2019s using the minimum possible amount of RAM the Random Access Memory that\u2019s like thinking space for your computer. Free up some RAM, and you\u2019ll be left with a more responsive and faster experience on a Mac or PC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First thing\u2019s first: The fewer browser tabs you have open the better\u2014at least when it comes to memory management. While it\u2019s tempting to keep everything open all of the time, showing some discipline and closing down tabs you\u2019ve finished with (at least for now) makes a big difference. Remember that tabs you\u2019ve closed can be reopened with just a couple of clicks through your browsing history. Let them go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re not able to keep the number of open tabs down to just a handful, you\u2019ve still got other options. First, keep your browser software updated to the latest version. These updates will often include optimizations and tweaks that lighten the load on the RAM (and CPU time) that your browser is using up. Your browser should apply the upgrades automatically, but it\u2019s worth double-checking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A dive into your browser\u2019s task manager can show you which sites and open tabs are most resource-hungry. In Chrome, Firefox, and Edge you\u2019ll find the task manager under the\u00a0“More tools”\u00a0entry on the browser menu. This isn\u2019t an option if you use Safari on macOS, because there\u2019s no task manager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Browser extensions are another area where you can claw back some much-needed RAM. Any add-on that you\u2019re not actively using is just taking up system resources that can be deployed elsewhere. Open up the extension list for whichever browser you\u2019re using and see if there\u2019s anything that you can live without. Extensions can be uninstalled with just a couple of clicks, and can be reinstalled later if needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are various browser-specific settings to try. For instance, hardware acceleration can help on some systems, offloading some tasks to the graphics processor. Look under System<\/strong> in the settings pages of Chrome and Edge, and General<\/strong> in Firefox preferences (you may have to uncheck Use recommended performance settings<\/strong> first). Edge also has a number of built-in tab management options, like putting tabs to sleep automatically, on the same System page in Settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All browser makers suggest that resetting the application back to its original defaults can lighten the load on your system, because it cuts out some of the bloat that may have gathered in terms of unused extensions and cached data. This isn\u2019t really something you can do in Safari, but there are detailed, official instructions online for the process for\u00a0Google Chrome<\/a>,\u00a0Mozilla Firefox<\/a>, and\u00a0Microsoft Edge<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are plenty of extensions out there that can optimize browser performance and reduce the amount of RAM that\u2019s being used up, mainly by keeping a lid on how many open tabs are running. You might have to go through a trial and error process to find the ones that work best for your own particular hardware and software setup, but there are plenty of add-ons to pick from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example,\u00a0Auto Tab Discard<\/a>\u00a0for Chrome, Firefox and Edge\u00a0shuts\u00a0down tabs after a set time of inactivity, freeing up CPU and RAM. The add-on comes with a lot\u00a0of options, enabling you to whitelist certain tabs that can\u2019t be closed,\u00a0exempt tabs where media is playing, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Along similar lines but only for Chrome and Edge is The Great Suspender<\/a> (the version free from the malware that dogged the previous edition). Tabs won\u2019t be closed, but they will be suspended when they haven\u2019t been used for a period of time, so they\u2019ll need to be reloaded when you need them again. As with Auto Tab Discard, you\u2019re able to specify that certain tabs are never suspended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n OneTab<\/a>, which works with\u00a0Chrome, Firefox, Edge,\u00a0and Safari, takes a slightly different approach. Its main feature is the ability to quickly convert a row of tabs into a list. This\u00a0means your browser doesn\u2019t have to manage the demands of all those tabs any more, but you can still bring them back with a click, and as a group if needed. There are a number of useful options included in the add-on too, including the ability to ignore pinned tabs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another way to keep your tab sprawl in check is through Limit Tabs<\/a>, which works with Firefox. It actually limits how many tabs you can have open at once, so if you try and open any more, an existing tab snaps shut. You can choose whether to close the most recently opened, the least used, the left-most or the right-most tab, and there\u2019s the option to ignore pinned tabs as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a>How to Use Extensions to Reduce RAM Use<\/h2>\n\n\n\n