How to use less data and get faster page loads on Chrome for Android
Just a few days ago, we reported that mobile Chrome versions may start using remote servers in order to improve performance, and now it looks like this feature is available in the beta version of Chrome for Android. Enabling the experimental features is as simple as enabling a flag.
Before you try this, you’ll need to make sure that you’ve got the latest version of Chrome Beta installed. Usually, you’ll get a message inside Chrome itself if there’s an update waiting for you; otherwise, just head to the Play Store and install the update directly from there.
Next, simply navigate to chrome://flags in your omnibar. The very first flag you’ll see is Enable Data Compression Proxy. Enable, and select the option at the bottom to relaunch Chrome. That’s it!
As the description states, this will reduce your data consumption, which is valuable if you’re not on an unlimited data plan, or if – like me – you are currently suffering on Sprint’s extremely slow 3G network. And since less data needs to travel to and from your device, load times should improve, too.
You can see how effective this flag is at lowering your data consumption by visiting chrome://net-internals and then selecting Bandwidth after browsing around the internet for a while. Personally, my data savings are in the 40% range, which is certainly nothing to sneeze at. If you don’t already have it, you can grab Chrome Beta for Android below.
Download: Google Play
Be sure to check out our exclusive Google Chrome coverage for even more on the Chrome browser, Chrome OS, Chromebooks, and Chrome web apps!
