Google Chrome has many tools that make it a complete browser with many options but also with new features that are coming update after update, improvements and new functions in current versions. But beyond this, there are others that have not yet arrived. It is the case of Chrome flags that allow us to activate new features that are not yet available.
We can use the Chrome flags both in the browser version of computers and mobile phones and in the next paragraphs we will explain what they are, what they are for, what advantages they have or how we can make the most of them but also what they allow us to activate or deactivate without having to download another browser that has more tools or even anticipating Google’s beta version.
What are the Google Chrome flags
Chrome flags are options that your browser is testing. Tools or functions that are not yet integrated into the browser ni neither in the beta version. They are experimental functions that you can activate to have some change although taking into account, and as explained from the section itself, that they can pose a problem at a general level in performance or that they can cause failures.
What Chrome flags allow is to force changes. We don’t have to do anything special but simply go to the corresponding page and we will see the name of each of them and a brief description that tells us what will happen if we activate it or what function it fulfills. Of course, it won’t always work perfectly because you must bear in mind that these are tests and functions that have not yet been definitively implemented and that are not prepared to be 100% effective.
When we access this section of the browser we see that each of the flags or functions has a drop-down button that allows you to see “default” next to “enabled” or “disabled”. Simply choose “enabled” to activate them, as we will see below. Although once we have done it, it is convenient to restart the browser so that the change is applied and begins to be effective.
How to activate and use
We can use or activate the Chrome flags from any Google browser both in the version for computers and if we use it in the version for mobile phones, although in the latter the functions may be different since they will depend on the operating system and the planned changes. But we explain how to access from any device and what are the steps to follow.
In the browser on the computer
From the browser on the computer, the steps are simple because we only have to go to the navigation bar and write chrome://flags so that the complete list of options appears. At the top of the web we will find a message that indicates “experimental features: by enabling these features you may lose data or compromise your security or privacy”. In addition, from Chrome they alert “the functions enabled they apply to all users of this browser.”
Once here, we go to the different sections where we can activate or deactivate the “flags”. At the top of the screen we also have a search engine where we can find any function. What we need. Also at the top we find a “reset all” button to mark everything as it comes by default and deactivate all the changes made up to that moment.
on mobile phone
In the case of using it on the mobile phone, the steps are the same because we simply have to go to the Chrome browser for Android and we have to go to the address bar at the top of the screen where the page you are visiting usually appears. once here, write chrome://flags and press enter on the mobile touch keyboard. We will have accessed the browser flags and we will see all the available options, activated or not.
We will see that there are two tabs at the top: Available or Unavailable. In addition, at the top we can access a search engine that allows us to quickly find the one we want depending on what we need to activate or according to the tutorial we have read, in any case.
Once we know what we want to activate or deactivate, we touch on it and three options will appear: default, enabled, disabled. Choose to activate or deactivate and repeat the process as many times as you want to change them. Although in some cases more options will appear, as in the previous screenshot, because there are more possibilities to activate.
What functions can we activate or deactivate
For serving us? For example, we can force the dark mode in Google Chrome from this section if we have an updated version of it. As almost always in these cases, it is convenient that we look for a tutorial before doing it and that we let’s make sure what we should activate and what not, since there are many options or tools that we will see in the “flags” section and not all of them make it clear what advantages they have or what functions they will give us.
In the case of Chrome’s dark mode, We will use the web page search engine. We have to write “dark mode” and it will look for the option “auto dark mode for web contents”. In the drop-down menu, we will not only have the option to activate and deactivate, but there are many different modes that we can choose from and depending on the one you choose, the web will appear with one appearance or another in its colors:
- enabled
- Enabled with simple HSL-based investment
- Enabled with simple CIELAB-based inversion
- Enabled with simple RGB-based inversion
- Enabled with selective image investment
- Enabled with selective inversion of non-image element
- Enabled with investment of everything
We are testing each one of them and we see that a button appears at the bottom of the screen that indicates “relaunch”. We have to tap on it to apply the changes, so that they take effect the next time you open Chrome.
But there are also other functions that we can activate or deactivate and will depend on where you are activating the tools, andn the mobile browser or PC. For example, some of the tools or options that we will see are:
- Smooth page scrolling
- Overlay scroll bars+
- Reader mode in Chrome (allows you to see simplified pages)
- Center-aligned autocomplete suggestions