Google Chrome Settings
Google Chrome Settings
Introduction
Here are my Google Chrome settings. See also: Browser Settings, Browser Add-On Settings, Programs, Operating Systems.
Re-install Google Chrome
Remove the Google Drive extensions that are installed by default when Google Chrome is installed.
Reset Google Chrome Sync
Profile Image (Google Chrome 54)
Select the desired Google Chrome user, who is signed in to Google. Click the name on top right hand corner. You will see the image for the user. Click the image and you should see your image in the list of images. Source.
Themes with Different Colors
Blue
Blue/Green Cubes by Thomas. Solid blue. Looks nice in Windows 10. Doesn't work with OS X where gray is default for window titles.
Chrome OS in Blue by dragonloverlord. Blue. Naive.
Green
Chrome OS in Green by dragonloverlord. Solid green.
Little Green Theme by timesrv.ru. Maybe a bit too neon green.
Purple
ChromeOS in Purple by dragonloverlord. Too dark.
Vivacious Purple by chromethemer.com. Oppressive. Too many colors.
Purple Haze by allvoxman. Disappeared from Chrome Web Store around 2018. Solid purple.
Brown
Brown 2 by Faulky.
Classy Brown by Faulky.
Black
Black Black by Everplex Media.
Settings: Flags
Markings
A enabled
D disabled
All flags
chrome://flags/
Audio
see "Music"
Autofill
chrome://flags/#show-autofill-type-predictions
D chrome://flags/#enable-show-autofill-signatures
chrome://flags/#fill-on-account-select
Authentication
chrome://flags/#enable-ntlm-v2 (2017)
Autoplay
chrome://flags/#autoplay-policy (2018)
Debugging
D chrome://flags/#silent-debugger-extension-api
D chrome://flags/#debug-packed-apps
Downloads
chrome://flags/#enable-parallel-downloading
chrome://flags/#disallow-unsafe-http-downloads
Fullscreen
chrome://flags/#enable-content-fullscreen (2017)
GPU
chrome://flags/#mac-v2-gpu-sandbox
D chrome://flags/#enable-gpu-service-logging
Hardware acceleration
setting for hardware acceleration is still in Settings, Advanced, System (2019)
Images
chrome://flags/#enable-lazy-image-loading
JavaScript
chrome://flags/#enable-javascript-harmony
chrome://flags/#v8-cache-options
Logging
D chrome://flags/#enable-network-logging-to-file
D chrome://flags/#memlog
Music (better playback quality with streaming services)
Disabling hardware acceleration still helps (2019)
D chrome://flags/#enable-audio-focus-enforcement
Omnibox
D chrome://flags/#omnibox-drive-suggestions
More info: https://superuser.com/questions/1436390/chrome-omnibox-suggestion-always-showing-a-google-search-as-first-suggestion
chrome://flags/#omnibox-rich-entity-suggestions
chrome://flags/#omnibox-local-entity-suggestions
chrome://flags/#omnibox-pedal-suggestions
chrome://flags/#enable-speculative-service-worker-start-on-query-input
chrome://flags/#omnibox-ui-max-autocomplete-matches
chrome://flags/#omnibox-ui-swap-title-and-url
chrome://flags/#enable-query-in-omnibox
D chrome://flags/#click-to-open-pdf
chrome://flags/#pdf-form-save
Performance
chrome://flags/#enable-navigation-tracing
chrome://flags/#proactive-tab-freeze-and-discard
Printing
chrome://flags/#enable-custom-mac-paper-sizes
Progressive Web Apps
chrome://flags/#enable-desktop-pwas
Rasterization
chrome://flags/#enable-gpu-rasterization
Rendering
chrome://flags/#ignore-gpu-blacklist
chrome://flags/#disable-accelerated-2d-canvas
SafeSearch reporting
chrome://flags/#safe-search-url-reporting
Secure connection
chrome://flags/#enforce-tls13-downgrade
chrome://flags/#enable-recurrent-interstitial
Slow network
chrome://flags/#enable-client-lo-fi
Tabs
chrome://flags/#new-tab-loading-animation
chrome://flags/#tab-hover-cards
Text direction
chrome://flags/#force-text-direction
Video
chrome://flags/#disable-accelerated-video-decode
Website settings
chrome://flags/#site-settings
VR
chrome://flags/#enable-webvr
WebGL
chrome://flags/#enable-webgl-draft-extensions
About Pages
Introduction
These pages are pretty much the same from one Google Chrome version to another, so they are mentioned here to save space.
About Pages
about: (Google Chrome version, JavaScript version, Flash version, etc.)
about:blank (blank page)
about:cache (files in cache)
about:chrome-urls (list possible "about:" pages)
about:crash (crash page)
about:credits (credits, licenses: GTK+, Hunspell, ICU, libjpeg, NPAPI, openssl, XUL Runner DSK, ...)
about:downloads (downloads manager, show past downloads)
about:dns (DNS: page load count: for example: Delicious 9, Facebook 105, Google 22)
about:gpu (graphics card information)
about:hang (hang page)
about:histograms (internal metrics)
about:internets (Easter egg for Windows, you need to have sspipes.scr in C:\Windows\System32)
about:keyboard (keyboard shortcuts, doesn't work in Google Chrome 19 in OS X 10.7)
about:memory (open tabs: resident memory, shared memory, private memory, virtual memory)
about:network (open a web page in a new tab and you'll get a list of files loaded from that web page, doesn't work in Google Chrome 19 in OS X 10.7)
about:objects (list of objects on current page, doesn't work in Google Chrome 19 in OS X 10.7)
about:plugins (enable or disable plug-ins)
about:quota-internals (usage and quota)
about:print (print manager)
about:settings (Google Chrome settings)
about:shorthang (hang tab's process)
about:stats (internal counters and timers, blank page in Google Chrome 19 in OS X 10.7)
about:tasks (open tabs, CPU usage, memory usage) (Try Tools, Task Manager if this doesn't work anymore)
about:terms (Terms of Service)
about:tracing (record tracing stats: keyboard presses, mouse movement)
about:version (same as "about:")
Adobe Shockwave Has Crashed
Introduction
The problem is not with Shockwave, but with Flash. Google Chrome may be using more than one Adobe Flash plugin version, so try disabling the other one.
Solution
Go to chrome://plugins. You may see "(2 files)", which means more than one version is installed. Click the "Details" link at the top right hand corner of the Plug-ins page. Now you can see which plugin to disable. (info)
Flash versions
Google's own Flash version: /Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents/Versions/35.0.1916.114/Google Chrome Framework.framework/Internet Plug-Ins/PepperFlash/PepperFlashPlayer.plugin (Google Chrome 35, OS X 10.9, 6/2014)
Adobe's Flash plugin: /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/Flash Player.plugin (Google Chrome 35, OS X 10.9, 6/2014)
Cookies
Introduction
For example kauppalehti.fi (6/2012) complained it won't show me news if I don't allow cookies.
Settings: Show advanced settings: Privacy: Content Settings: Cookies: Manage Exceptions
[*.]adobe.com
[*.]amazon.com
[*.]android.com
[*.]apple.com
[*.]danskebank.fi
[*.]finna.fi
[*.]facebook.com
[*.]google.com
[*.]google.fi
[*.]kauppalehti.fi
[*.]microsoft.com
[*.]mit.edu
[*.]mol.fi
[*.]nordea.fi
[*.]op.fi
[*.]opistopalvelut.fi
[*.]sampopankki.fi
[*.]s-kanava.fi
[*.]sok.fi
[*.]s-pankki.fi
[*.]suomi.fi
[*.]tampere.fi
[*.]tunnistus.fi
[*.]uta.fi
[*.]yle.fi
Fullscreen
Introduction
I may watch a series of YouTube or Adobe TV videos or SlideShare slides and I don't want to respond to the question every time I start watching a new video, so I like Google Chrome to automatically allow fullscreen on some sites.
Settings: Show advanced settings: Privacy: Content Settings: Fullscreen: Manage Exceptions
[*.]adobe.com
[*.]facebook.com
[*.]netflix.com
[*.]plus.google.com
[*.]slideshare.net
[*.]youtube.com
Flash
Settings: Show advanced settings: Privacy: Content settings: Flash: Manage Exceptions
[*.]yle.fi
Mouse Cursor
Introduction
For example, when I watch a video I would like to be able to hide the mouse cursor, so maybe these settings will help.
Settings: Show advanced settings: Privacy: Content Settings: Mouse cursor: Manage Exceptions
[*.]adobe.com
[*.]facebook.com
[*.]netflix.com
[*.]plus.google.com
[*.]slideshare.net
[*.]youtube.com
Notifications From Web Sites
Introduction
In the past I liked to disable notifications for browsers as I didn't use them, but now it's fine with Facebook, Google Calendar and for an alarm clock web page.
Flags For Disabling Notifications
Type chrome://flags into the URL bar.
Disable: Device Discovery Notifications (10/2016).
Disable: Enable Experimental UI for Notifications (4/2014).
Disable: Enable Google Now notifications support (4/2014).
Disable: Enable Rich Notifications (4/2014).
Popups
Introduction
These settings are pretty much the same from one Google Chrome version to another, so they are mentioned here to save space.
Settings: Show advanced settings: Privacy: Content Settings: Pop-ups: Manage Exceptions
Comment: appspot.com (Google Chrome apps). capnova.com (Alueviesti). suomi.fi (Kela, Verohallinto). tunnistus.fi (Kela, Verohallinto). ytimg.com (YouTube).
[*.]aamulehti.fi
[*.]acm.org
[*.]adobe.com
[*.]alueviesti.fi
[*.]amazon.com
[*.]apple.com
[*.]appspot.com
[*.]avira.com
[*.]canaldigital.fi
[*.]canalplus.fi
[*.]capnova.com
[*.]cern.ch
[*.]club-3d.com
[*.]cnn.com
[*.]danskebank.fi
[*.]delicious.com
[*.]del.icio.us
[*.]diigo.com
[*.]eblib.com
[*.]ebrary.com
[*.]ebscohost.com
[*.]elisa.fi
[*.]elsevier.com
[*.]eservicebar.com
[*.]facebook.com
[*.]film2home.fi
[*.]finavia.fi
[*.]finna.fi
[*.]finnkino.fi
[*.]foreca.fi
[*.]foursquare.com
[*.]geforce.com
[*.]goo.gl
[*.]google.com
[*.]google.fi
[*.]helsinki-vantaa.fi
[*.]hsl.fi
[*.]icq.com
[*.]java.com
[*.]kauppalehti.fi
[*.]kela.fi
[*.]kolumbus.com
[*.]laskentavaline.fi
[*.]libreoffice.org
[*.]login.live.com
[*.]mail.live.com
[*.]macrumors.com
[*.]mastercard.com
[*.]matkahuolto.fi
[*.]matkahuolto.info
[*.]mit.edu
[*.]mobiroo.com
[*.]mol.fi
[*.]mozilla.org
[*.]nelliportaali.fi
[*.]netflix.com
[*.]nordea.fi
[*.]office.com
[*.]op.fi
[*.]opensuse.org
[*.]opera.com
[*.]opistopalvelut.fi
[*.]outlook.com
[*.]paunu.fi
[*.]pingtest.net
[*.]plustv.fi
[*.]posti.fi
[*.]proquest.com
[*.]sampopankki.fi
[*.]sanomapro.fi
[*.]saunalahti.fi
[*.]sciencedirect.com
[*.]s-kanava.fi
[*.]sok.fi
[*.]sonera.fi
[*.]s-pankki.fi
[*.]sparknet.fi
[*.]speedtest.net
[*.]spotify.com
[*.]springer.com
[*.]statcounter.com
[*.]suomalainen.com
[*.]suomi.fi
[*.]takk.fi
[*.]tampere.fi
[*.]tampereenpuhelin.fi
[*.]ti.com
[*.]tunnistus.fi
[*.]tut.fi
[*.]twitter.com
[*.]uta.fi
[*.]verkkokauppa.com
[*.]verkkokirjasto.fi
[*.]vero.fi
[*.]viaplay.fi
[*.]vr.fi
[*.]w3.org
[*.]en.wikipedia.org
[*.]windowsphone.com
[*.]winzip.com
[*.]yahoo.com
[*.]yle.fi
[*.]youtube.com
[*.]ytimg.com
[*.]zonealarm.com
[*.]zyxel.com
Temporary domains
[*.]anacapa.biz (McDonald's WiFi, Tampere, 5/2012)
[*.]arubanetworks.com (some Finnish airport WiFi networks, 2011)
Spell Checking
Right-click on a web page where you can type text, Spelling and Grammar, [ ] Check Spelling While Typing.
Sync Settings
[ ] Apps (I don't use any apps except AdBlock, which I like to manage individually per computer)
[ ] Autofill (I don't use Autofill)
[x] Bookmarks
[ ] Extensions (why would I sync these, what is there to sync)
[ ] History
[ ] Passwords
[ ] Settings
[ ] Themes (OS X and Windows themes just don't fit, I use default gray for OS X and some blue theme for Windows)
[ ] Open tabs (I don't want to see open tabs from other computers)
Update interval for Google software in general
Terminal: check for updates once in a two days: defaults write com.google.Keystone.Agent checkInterval 172800 (= 48 h * 60 min/h * 60 s/min), "Managing updates in Google Software Update" (OS X) (2/2015)
Comment: this way my Mac Pro 8-Core might not wake up from sleep every 2 hours, "System keeps waking from sleep every 2 hours"
Google Chrome 18 (OS X, Windows, Linux)
Introduction
Tools: Task manager: Stats for nerds or chrome://memory-redirect/
Basics
On startup
(*) Continue where I left off (too often I turn off my browser with open tabs I haven't read yet)
Home page
(*) Open this page: [http://www.google.com]
Toolbar
[x] Show Home button
www.google.com/ncr
[x] Always show the bookmarks bar (depends)
Search
[Google]
[ ] Enable Instant for faster searching
Default Browser
[Make Google Chrome My Default Browser]
Personal Stuff: Sign In
Comment: these settings are for testing syncing and I don't use it normally.
Comment: before using sync, remove all unnecessary cookies and bookmarks or they will get synchronized also.
Comment: idea of Sync: "When you bookmark a news article relevant to your business on your desktop PC as you're running out the door to catch a flight, that bookmark will be there when you connect to WiFi as you’re waiting at the airport."
Advanced Sync Preferences
(General)
[Choose what to sync]
[x] Apps (this might mean installed apps on Google Chrome or Google Apps on websites)
[ ] Autofill (I don't use Autofill, so it doesn't matter)
[ ] Bookmarks (I see the same bookmarks twice after syncing)
[ ] Extensions (didn't sync for example AdBlock settings on Chrome 13, Mac OS X 10.6)
[ ] Omnibox history (address bar suggests websites based on your previous stuff)
[ ] Passwords
[ ] Settings (I have slightly different settings with desktop and laptop computers)
[ ] Themes (I don't use themes, so it doesn't matter)
Encryption Data Types
(*) Encrypt all synced data
Encryption Passphrase
( ) Use my Google Account password (every time I change my Google password I don't know the old password anymore when it's asked)
(*) Choose my own passphrase
Personal Stuff: Passwords
(*) Never save passwords
Personal Stuff: Autofill
[ ] Enable Autofill to fill out web forms in a single click
[Manage Autofill Settings...]
[ ] Include addresses from my Address Book card (OS X 10.7)
Personal Stuff: Browsing data
[Import bookmarks and settings...]
Personal Stuff: Themes
Get themes
Under the Hood: (General)
[x] Use a web service to help resolve navigation errors
[ ] Use a prediction service to help complete searches and URLs typed in the address bar (I use Google Sites a lot and pages won't show up fast enough when enabled and when I need to google I go to Google Web Search)
[x] Predict network actions to improve page load performance (disabled when having DNS and such problems with my ISP)
[x] Enable phishing and malware protection
[ ] Automatically send usage statistics and crash reports to Google
Under the Hood: Privacy: Content Settings: Cookies
(*) Allow local data to be set (recommended)
Under the Hood: Privacy: Content Settings: Images
(*) Show all images (recommended)
Under the Hood: Privacy: Content Settings: JavaScript
(*) Allow all sites to run JavaScript (recommended)
Under the Hood: Privacy: Content Settings: Handlers
(*) Allow sites to ask to become default handlers for protocols
Manage Handlers
Active protocol handlers
Type / Site
mailto / Gmail (open email links directly in Google Chrome, if you haven't enabled/disabled this go to Gmail and answer "Use Gmail" in the popup)
Ignored protocol handlers
Type / Site
webcal / Google Calendar
Under the Hood: Privacy: Content Settings: Plug-Ins: Disable individual plug-ins...
(Comments: a single plugin may slow down browsing considerably. D is for disabled: Adobe Reader. Canon Online Photo. Chrome PDF Viewer (so I can download PDFs). iPhotoPhotocast (not needed). Picasa (not needed). Windows Live Photo Gallery (part of Windows Live Essentials).)
(Comments: Java is a security issue especially with OS X, so disable it except when using my bank website.)
[D] Adobe Acrobat 10.1.3.23 (Windows 7)
[D] Adobe Acrobat NPAPI Plug-in 10.1.4 (OS X 10.7)
[D] Canon Online Photo Plugin Module 1 (camera software for Windows 7)
[D] Chrome PDF Viewer (Fedora 16, OS X 10.7, Windows 7)
[ ] DivX Plus Web Player 2.2 (speed up videos by utilizing your graphics card, so CPU doesn't do all the work) (OS X 10.7)
[ ] DivX VOD Helper Plug-in 1.1 (Video on Demand, DivX's version of digital rights management or DRM) (OS X 10.7)
[ ] DivX Web Player 1.4.0.233 (Fedora 16)
[ ] Flash: Shockwave Flash 11.2 r202 (Fedora 16)
[ ] Flash: Shockwave Flash 11.2 r202 (OS X 10.7)
[ ] Flash: Shockwave Flash 11.2 r202 (Windows 7)
[ ] Flip4Mac 3.1.0.1 (OS X 10.8) (Flip4Mac is for watching Windows media files (wmv, asf) with Mac's browsers and QuickTime, if disabled you can still watch for example YouTube videos)
[ ] Gnome Shell Integration (Fedora 16)
[ ] Google Earth Plug-in 6.0 (OS X 10.7)
[ ] Google Talk NPAPI Plugin 2.8.7.6830 (OS X 10.7)
[ ] Google Talk Plugin 2.8.5.6620 (Windows 7)
[ ] Google Talk Plugin Video Accelerator 0.1.44.15 (OS X 10.7)
[ ] Google Update 1.3.21.111 (Windows 7)
[D] iPhotoPhotocast 7.0 (OS X 10.7)
[ ] iTunes Application Detector (Fedora 16)
[ ] iTunes Application Detector 1.0.1.1 (Windows 7)
[D] Java 14.2.0 (OS X 10.7)
[D] Java 6.0.310.5 (Windows 7)
[ ] Native Client (Google NaCl: run platform-independent native code) (Fedora 16, OS X 10.7, Windows 7)
[ ] npFFApi 1.0.0.1 (Windows 7: ZoneAlarm)
[D] Picasa 1.0 (OS X 10.7)
[D] Picasa 3.1.0.0 (Windows 7)
[D] Remoting Viewer (Chrome Remote Desktop: remotely access another computer through your Google Chrome browser or vice versa) (Fedora 16, OS X 10.7, Windows 7)
[ ] QuickTime 7.7.1 (OS X 10.7)
[ ] QuickTime 7.7.1 (1680.42) (Windows 7)
[ ] QuickTime Plug-in 7.6.6 (Fedora 16)
[ ] Shockwave: Shockwave for Director 11.6.1 (view interactive web content created by the Macromedia Director) (enable: less CPU heavy) (OS X 10.7)
[ ] Shockwave: Adobe Shockwave for Director Netscape plug-in 11.6.4.634 (view interactive web content created by the Macromedia Director) (Windows 7)
[D] Silverlight Plug-in 5.0.61118.0 (OS X 10.7, disable when not in use)
[D] Silverlight Plug-In 5.0.61118.0 (Windows 7, disable when not in use)
[ ] VLC Multimedia Plugin (compatible Totem 3.2.1) (Fedora 16)
[ ] VLC Web Plugin 2.0.0 (Windows 7)
[ ] Winamp Application Detector 5 (Windows 7)
[D] Windows Live Photo Gallery 15.4.3538.0513 (Windows 7)
[ ] Windows Media Player Plug-in 10 (compatible; Totem): The Totem 3.2.1 plugin (Fedora 16)
Under the Hood: Privacy: Content Settings: Pop-ups: Manage Exceptions
(See section "Google Chrome: Allow Popups".)
Under the Hood: Privacy: Content Settings: Location
(*) Ask me when a site tries to track my physical location (recommended)
Manage Exceptions
Hostname Pattern / Behavior
http://whatismyipaddress.com:80 / Allow
https://www.google.com:443 / Allow
https://foursquare.com:443 / Allow (works better with my mobile 3G connection than with my ADSL connection)
Under the Hood: Privacy: Content Settings: Notifications
(*) Do not allow any site to show desktop notifications
Under the Hood: Privacy: Content Settings: Fullscreen
Manage Exceptions
Hostname Pattern / Behavior
https://[*.]www.facebook.com:443 / Allow
[*.]www.youtube.com / Allow
Under the Hood: Privacy: Content Settings: Mouse Cursor
(*) Ask me when a site tries to disable the mouse cursor (recommended)
Under the Hood: Web Content
Font size: [Medium]
[Customize Fonts...]
Fedora 16
Standard Font: [Liberation Sans] (size: 17) (initial: AR PL Uming CN)
Serif Font: [Liberation Serif] (size: 17) (initial: AR PL Uming CN)
Sans-Serif Font: [Liberation Sans] (size: 17) (initial: AR PL Uming CN)
Fixed-width Font: [Monospace] (initial: AR PL Uming CN)
Minimum Font Size: about 0/10
Encoding: [Western (ISO-8859-1)]
OS X 10.7 Lion
Standard Font: [Times] (size: 16)
Serif Font: [Times] (size: 16)
Sans-Serif Font: [Helvetica] (size: 16)
Fixed-width Font: [Courier]
Minimum Font Size: about 0/10
Encoding: [Western (ISO-8859-1)]
Windows 7
Standard font: [Times New Roman] (size: 16))
Serif font: [Times New Roman] (size: 16)
Sans-Serif font: [Arial] (size: 16))
Fixed-width font: [Courier New]
Minimum font size: about 0/10
Encoding: [Western (ISO-8859-1)]
Page zoom: [100%]
[x] Pressing Tab on a webpage highlights links, as well as form fields
[Languages and spell-checker settings...]
Languages
English (United States)
English
Finnish
Swedish
German (Germany)
German
[ ] Enable spell checking (Fedora 16, Windows 7)
Under the Hood: Translate
[ ] Offer to translate pages that aren't in a language I read
Under the Hood: Downloads
Download location: [/home/tomihasa/Downloads] (Fedora 16)
Download location: [/Users/tomihasa/Downloads] (OS X 10.7)
Download location: [C:\Users\Tomi Häsä\Desktop] (Windows 7)
Under the Hood: HTTPS/SSL
[x] Check for server certificate revocation
Extensions
[x] AdBlock (OS X 10.7, Windows 7)
[ ] Beat the Boot (by Google)
[x] DivX Plus Web Player HTML5 2.1.2.145 (video card does some of the work besides CPU, OS X 10.7)
Comment: if you can't see DivX Plus Player listed by Google Chrome, try re-installing DivX (includes Plus Player).
[ ] JC-Tetris
[ ] StumbleUpon
[ ] Webpage Screenshot
OLDER VERSIONS (ARCHIVE)
Google Chrome 8
Wrench icon
Tools menu
[x] Always show bookmarks bar
Extensions
AdBlock
Browser Button for AdBlock
Options menu
Basics tab
Home page: [x] Show Home button on the toolbar
Personal Stuff tab
Passwords: (*) Never save passwords
Autofill options: [ ] Enable Autofill to fill out web forms in a single click
Under the Hood tab
[ ] Help make Google Chrome better by automatically sending usage statistics and crash reports to Google
[ ] Offer to translate pages that aren't in a language I read
Last modified: May 13th, 2020
Author: Tomi Häsä (tomi.hasa@gmail.com)
URL: http://sites.google.com/site/tomihasa/google-chrome-settings