Google Chrome is introducing a new feature that allows users to view the memory usage of individual tabs in real time. By hovering over a tab, users can see how much RAM it consumes.

This feature, currently being tested in Chrome Canary, aims to help users identify resource-intensive web pages and manage them more efficiently. However, it does not provide a detailed breakdown like the built-in Task Manager.

In addition, Google is continuously working to enhance Chrome’s performance. They have implemented features to reduce the browser’s memory usage and extend battery life, including the Memory Saver. This feature reallocates resources from inactive tabs to active ones.

While Chrome can sometimes be a resource hog, it’s important to note that high memory usage is not always Google’s fault. Some websites can also be a natural resource hog. Thanks to Chrome’s new feature, users can now identify tabs or web pages that are draining their resources.

Although the new tab feature is not as powerful as the built-in Task Manager, it allows users to check Chrome’s tab performance and manually close tabs that are using most of their resources by simply hovering over them.

Google is testing the memory usage tab hover cards in Chrome Canary, and it is enabled by default on our devices. If you do not see the feature, you can enable it by going to Chrome://flags, enabling “Memory usage on hover,” and relaunching the browser.

The same feature also shows when Chrome’s Memory Saver has frozen a tab to save memory.

Additionally, Google offers other tools to monitor performance, such as Chrome DevTool’s performance monitor. This tool provides a better way to monitor memory usage at a high level alongside other key metrics like CPU, FPS, and DOM. Other Chrome features allow users to closely watch DOM nodes, JS objects, and more.

Google has been actively working on improving Chrome’s memory usage. Last year’s major Chrome update added two new features that reduced the browser’s memory usage by up to 40% and extended battery life when the device’s battery is below 20%. The Memory Saver, now integrated into Chrome’s new hover card feature, automatically frees up memory from inactive tabs to allocate more resources to active tabs and processes. Google believes this is particularly useful when other resource-intensive apps are open.

In addition to the performance monitor, Google is also testing full-fledged tracking protection, improved incognito mode with better privacy controls, and more.