Google’s Chrome is due another update that aims to help keep browsing fast and data usage low.
The new feature, called Heavy Page Capping, was added to a release of Chrome Canary.
The system will monitor data and use a simple notification to alert users when they are on a page that is using up lots of data.
This will work on the desktop version of Chrome but also on the mobile browser, making it useful for data saving when connected over a network data plan.
The alert appears in the InfoBar and also offer the option to pause loading of the page.
Once activated, the alert in standard mode will only notify you when the website uses a high amount of data.
So this will kick-in for things like videos on websites which auto-play and load up right away.
There is also the option to activate a low mode where anything over 1MB triggers an alert.
This feature also works on desktop machines and laptops running Windows, Mac, Linux and Chrome OS.
This could be useful for those with a limited data connection at home.
The new feature is also supported on iOS and Android mobile Chrome browsers.
The feature is currently in the early stages of development and needs to be activated in the experimental Chrome Canary browser.
Don’t expect the full version to arrive on the general release Chrome for a while yet.
If you want to try out the Heavy Page Capping feature on Chrome Canary now, simply download the app for free and follow these steps.
Open the address bar at the top by tapping it so that your keyboard is activated. Then either type or copy and paste this: chrome://flags/#enable-heavy-page-capping.
Then on the right you’ll see a drop-down menu. Pick either Enabled or Enabled (Low) for the two options.
The Default option is the same as Disabled, with the feature turned off.
These kind of updates can help to secure Chrome as the most popular web browser out there.
In the first six months of 2018 Google Chrome had a staggering 62.04 per cent chunk of the internet browser market, according to NetMarketShare.
Its nearest rival, the ageing Internet Explorer, had a 12.03 per cent share with Firefox behind on 10.41 per cent.
Microsoft’s newer browser Edge, which is bundled in with Windows 10, had just a 4.41 per cent slice of the internet browser market.