16 Cool Chrome Flags for Android Worth Trying

Chrome stands out as the primary browser on Android due to its widespread adoption and consistent introduction of innovative features. It’s pre-installed on most Android devices and regularly introduces new and captivating functionalities. In addition to Chrome Settings, which enhance your browsing experience, Chrome Flags offer access to even more features. Here, we present 16 intriguing Chrome Flags for Android that you should explore.

Note: Interested in discovering the best Chrome Flags for desktop? Follow the link for more.

Below, we’ve listed the latest Chrome Flags for Android, all available in Chrome version 88. Simply scan the flags below and click the link to navigate to the relevant section. But first, review our brief guide to accessing Chrome Flags on Android.

How to Access Chrome Flags on Android?

To access Chrome Flags on Android, enter chrome://flags in Chrome’s address bar. From there, search for your desired flag by name, toggle it on or off, and restart Chrome to activate or deactivate the flag according to your preference.

Latest Android Chrome Flags in 2022

1. Incognito Screenshot

In Incognito mode on Chrome for Android version 88 (Stable), you can now take screenshots using a Chrome Flag. Navigate to the Chrome Flags page, locate “Incognito Screenshot,” and activate it. From now on, you can capture screenshots while in Incognito Mode.

2. Omnibox Assistant Voice Search

To utilize ‘Omnibox Assistant Voice Search’ on Android Chrome, switch from Google Voice to Google Assistant. When you tap the microphone icon in Chrome, Google Assistant will provide personalized search results. Follow our guide to use Google Assistant for voice searches in Chrome on Android.

3. Show Query Tiles (Disable Content Recommendation)

Chrome is increasingly inundated with ads and content recommendations, making the browsing experience frustrating. New additions include thumbnails for news, films, recipes, fashion, and more. Personally, I have no interest in Chrome’s suggestions. If you feel the same, disable the “Show query tiles” flag.

4. Read Later

Read Later is being developed on Android and Desktop Chrome, enhancing your reading experience. Alongside Bookmarks, you now have “Read Later” to add articles for future reading. Enable this feature on Chrome by activating the “Read Later” flag, one of the latest additions to smartphones.

5. Share Button in Top Toolbar

If you frequently share articles from Chrome, enable a Share button in the top toolbar beside the tab button. Quickly share URLs by activating “Share Button in Top Toolbar” in Chrome Flags on Android. Restart Chrome to apply the change.

6. Streamlined Ad Management

Google introduces the Chrome Flag “Heavy Ad Intervention” to alleviate excessive ads on webpages. This feature targets ads that excessively drain device resources on Android smartphones. Chrome now proactively blocks such ads to enhance browsing efficiency.

Heavy Ad Intervention stands out as one of the premier Chrome Flags for Android users, offering significant improvements to the browsing experience.

7. Enhanced Tab Organization

Chrome now supports tab grouping with the introduction of the long-awaited Tab Groups feature. Users can activate this feature by enabling three flags labeled “Tab Groups” in Chrome settings. Additionally, enabling the “Tab Grid Layout” flag further optimizes tab organization.

Open a website in a new tab, tap the tab switcher icon, and tap on the “+” icon that appears on top to create a tab group. You can add and open websites inside this group. Additionally, you will see a tab grid layout instead of the horizontal layout on the tabs page.

8. Google Lens

Google Lens integration is now available on Chrome for Android, hidden behind a flag. To enable it, search for “Lens” and turn on the “Google Lens powered image search in the context menu” flag. Now, you can reverse search images with Google Lens while browsing the web with just one tap.

9. Preview Pages

Sometimes, you need to open a link without switching to a new tab. Chrome now offers a “Preview Page” feature (previously known as sneak peek), which displays the linked content on the same page. To utilize this, simply long-press a link and select “Preview page”. The link opens in an overlay at the bottom.

Within the overlay, swipe up to view the link, swipe down to hide it, or tap close to dismiss it. The overlay functions similarly to a tab but lacks long-press options. To activate this feature, go to “chrome://flags/#enable-ephemeral-tab” and enable it.

10. Dark Mode on All Webpages

While Chrome on Android offers a dark mode, not all websites support it. Take, for example, the Google Search page, which remains white and displays results in a white UI. However, you can utilize “chrome://flags/#enable-force-dark” to impose a dark mode on all webpages.

Once activated, this feature darkens all webpages, regardless of their native support for a dark theme. Although some pages may not seamlessly integrate with the forced dark theme, it’s a compromise for a comprehensive dark browsing experience.

11. Enable Shared Clipboard

One feature I’ve longed for in Chrome is clipboard sharing, and now it’s available. Thanks to new Chrome flags, you can copy text in Chrome and send it to your other device—be it a phone or a laptop. First, enable chrome://flags/#shared-clipboard-ui on your Android phone and then on Chrome on Mac or Windows.

12. Disable Explore Websites

Lately, Google is overwhelming users with content suggestions on Chrome, which is highly frustrating. Previously, you could disable the Discover feed (distinct from promo cards) on the new tab page, but now the flag (Interest Feed Content Suggestion) isn’t effective.

Remove the ‘Top Sites’ menu from the homepage by searching for “explore websites” and disabling the flag outrightly. This action will eliminate the Top Sites box from the homepage.

13. Chrome Sharing Hub V1.5

Sharing links is frequent while using Chrome on Android, and Google plans to introduce a new sharing UI to Chrome Android. Enabling “chrome://flags/#chrome-sharing-hub-v1-5” will prompt a new sharing UI when you press the share button.

Below, you’ll find three options in the sharing UI: “QR code”, intended for sharing URLs via QR code, currently non-functional; “Send to your devices”, and “Copy link”, both self-explanatory. Additionally, you can enable a screenshot option with “chrome://flags/#chrome-share-screenshot”.

Smooth Scrolling

At times, extensive webpages on Android smartphones exhibit lag during scrolling. While this may not affect high-end devices, it’s a common issue on many Androids. Enabling the “Smooth Scrolling” flag enhances webpage scrolling by seamlessly hiding any hiccups.

15. Autofill UPI Details

Several UPI payment apps, including Google Pay, have gained popularity in India. Chrome now enables you to save UPI details for autofill during future payments. Activate this feature through “chrome://flags/#enable-autofill-upi-vpa“. Once enabled, Chrome recognizes UPI IDs or VPAs and facilitates saving these payment details.

16. Parallel Download for Faster Speed

Another Chrome feature I admire is its ability to enhance download speed. By enabling the “Parallel downloading” feature, Chrome divides files into chunks and downloads them simultaneously, boosting download speed.

To enable this flag, search for “enable-parallel-downloading”. Note that you may not always see a noticeable increase in download speed as it’s an experimental feature dependent on your network speed.

Explore These Chrome Flags on Android

Chrome Flags serve as a valuable tool for Google to beta test products, offering users a glimpse of upcoming features. Alongside the mentioned flags, there are others geared towards developers.

That concludes our list. Experiment with these Chrome flags on your Android device and share your feedback in the comments below. If you have any additional flags to suggest, please let us know.