Tricks to help you use Chrome on Android effectively that you may not know

Chrome on Android is a great browser out of the box, but you can make it even better. These tips and features will help you browse the web faster.

11. Unlock experimental features with Chrome flags

While you may be familiar with many of Chrome's great features, there are still plenty of lesser-known features lurking under the hood. These are currently experimental features that may be added to the browser once they're deemed stable.

However, you can get them early by enabling the respective flags. Chrome offers many flags in different categories, such as Parallel downloading , GPU rasterization , Auto Dark Mode for Web Contents , Partial swap , and Incognito Screenshot .

To find and enable flags, open Chrome, tap the address bar, and type chrome://flags . You'll see a list of all available flags; tap a flag to see its full description. Alternatively, you can use the search bar at the top to search for a flag by name.

10. Switch to desktop view

You can access the desktop versions of such sites in Chrome on Android to get the full functionality. To do this, tap the three-dot menu on the Chrome toolbar and check the Desktop site box . This will reload the page and open the desktop version. You may need to use zoom gestures to zoom in and interact with the content on the page.

When you're done browsing, go to the three-dot menu and uncheck the Desktop site checkbox .

9. Always browse with a secure connection

To enable this feature, open Chrome's Settings from the three-dot menu. Select Privacy and security , then scroll down to the Security section . Select Always use secure connections and turn on the switch on the next page. Choose whether you want Chrome to warn you about insecure public sites or both public and private sites (private sites are those that aren't available on the wider web, like internal company sites).

8. Take screenshots in incognito mode

Go to Chrome's flags page, as explained above. Here, look for the Incognito Screenshot flag . Click the drop-down button below the flag and select Enabled . Click Relaunch .

You can now take screenshots of open pages in incognito mode.

7. Security when browsing anonymously

Locking incognito tabs in Chrome is easy. Tap the three-dot menu and go to Settings . Select Privacy and security under Basics and enable Lock Incognito tabs when you leave Chrome under Privacy . You'll need to authenticate yourself.

Now, whenever you try to access incognito tabs, Chrome will prompt you to authenticate yourself. Use your phone's unlock method to verify and you'll see the tabs.

6. Preview page before opening

To quickly preview a link in Chrome, press and hold the link until you see the context menu. Select Preview page and Chrome will open a preview of the link in a slide-up pane. You can browse this page as usual and close it when you're done. You can also open the page in full view (in a new tab) if you want.

5. Add one-touch shortcut to the toolbar

To add a shortcut to the Chrome toolbar, click the three-dot menu on the toolbar and select Settings . Scroll down to the Advanced tab and select Toolbar shortcuts . Turn on the toggle next to Toolbar shortcuts on the next page. Then, select an action from the list below.

4. Listen to the web page content

Start by opening the page with the content you want to listen to, tap the three-dot menu in the toolbar, and select Listen to this page . Chrome will start reading the text on the page — highlighting the text as it goes by so you can follow along visually.

You'll also see a small player at the bottom of the page. Click this to reveal a series of controls. From here, you can play/pause, fast-forward/rewind 10 seconds, adjust the playback speed, and change the voice.

3. Perform instant searches on the site

Chrome for Android has a Web Search feature that lets you quickly look up a word or phrase directly from a page. To use this feature, press and hold the word or phrase you want to look up until a context menu appears.

Tap Web search and Chrome will open a quick Google search in a new tab for whatever you selected. When you're done, swipe in from the left edge of the screen or hit the back button to close this tab and return you to where you left off.

2. Quickly find text on the page

To use this feature, tap the three-dot menu on the toolbar and select Find in page . Type in the word or phrase you want to search for; you'll see it at the top of the search field.

If any matches are found, Chrome will highlight all instances in yellow. At the top of the page, you'll also see the number of times it appears on the page. Tap the up or down arrows to navigate through the different instances, then tap the X button to close the search field when you're done.

1. Access tabs from other devices

If you also use Chrome on your desktop, you can easily access the web pages currently open on that device, right from your Android phone. Just sign in to Chrome on both devices with the same Google account and turn on sync.

To make sure sync is enabled for Chrome on the desktop, open Chrome there and make sure you're signed in to your Google account. Next, click the profile icon in the upper-right corner of the toolbar. If it says Sync is On , the feature is enabled. If not, you'll see a Turn on Sync button . Click that and click Yes, I'm In .

Now, make sure you're signed in to the same Google account on your Android phone ( Settings > Passwords & accounts > Accounts ). Once confirmed, tap the three-dot menu in Chrome on your Android toolbar and select Recent tabs .

Good luck!

See also the following articles:

• Top 10 Great Apps Only Available on Android