How can extensions slow down your browser?
Think of extensions as mini-programs or apps that are meant to run inside your browser. Every one you use is going to cost your memory/CPU a little more, potentially slowing down your whole computer (though some extensions can actually make your browser more memory-efficient). Most extensions are pretty lightweight and will merely sip power, but some can become real resource hogs depending on how they were developed and how they get along with your browser and other extensions. The memory/CPU usage may cause your browser to start and run more slowly, but longer page-load times can also be due to how a plugin interacts with the pages you visit. A good basic example is an ad-blocker which has to check out a page, identify the ads, and remove them before displaying the page. Typically, this is a pretty fast process, but other extensions may possibly have more dramatic effects depending on your browser and the pages you visit.
How can you identify the culprits?
Browser extensions and browsers themselves change all the time, so it’s pretty hard to keep track of which extensions are using resources efficiently and which ones are eating up your RAM and asking for seconds. If there’s a good developer behind the extension, and it’s well-reviewed at the source, odds are it’s fine, but even then you might run into issues because of your specific setup. First, check to make sureyou know what all of your extensions and toolbars are. Some of the worst culprits for browser lag are things that have been slipped in by shady programs, possibly while you were installing something else. If it looks sketchy, you can Google it to find out what it is, then delete it if you don’t need it. Even if this doesn’t clear up your problem, it’ll help keep you a bit more private and secure. After the initial sweep, a good place to start is your browser’s “Incognito” mode, which will disable all your extensions (except in Firefox, where you may have to specify which extensions will and won’t be disabled in incognito mode). If you run into the same problems regardless of mode, it’s probably something else altogether. If the problem disappears, though, you’ll probably want to figure out if one of your extensions is dragging you down. To do that, Chrome/Chromium and Firefox users can use the browser task manager to check if any extensions are currently drawing too much power. If you don’t see anything right away, keep the task manager open and check back whenever your browser slows down. This may reveal that a tab is actually the guilty party. If the task manager gave you a lead, try disabling the extensions that were consuming the most resources and seeing if that helps. If the task manager didn’t show anything out of the ordinary (or you don’t have a browser with this feature), try disabling every extension and re-enabling them one by one until the problem resurfaces, at which point you’ll know what your problem is. After removing the offending extension, your browser should work better, but if you’re still noticing problems, you may want to consider uninstalling and reinstalling the entire program, as there might be a problem that needs a reset to fix.
Find memory-hog extensions on Firefox
Firefox has a task manager in their browser, making it much easier to monitor the moving pieces.
- Go to the hamburger menu on the top-right.
- Click “More” near the bottom.
- Go to the task manager.
- Check the memory usage and energy impact of each item. If you don’t see anything out of the ordinary, try to reproduce your browser’s issue and see how things change.
If the task manager doesn’t give you anything useful, you’ll have to resort to either a one-by-one extension test or using the Firefox “refresh” option, which is similar to a reinstall (but easier).
Track down rogue Chrome processes
Chrome also has a handy task manager. You can access this with the keyboard shortcut Shift + Esc (also works for Opera), or follow the steps below.
- Go to the three stacked dots on the top-right.
- Mouse over “More tools.”
- Click the “Task manager.”
- Check for abnormal memory/CPU usage, ideally while reproducing your browser’s issue.
No luck? You guessed it: you’ll have to go down the line and test each extension one by one. Or, as a last resort, reinstall everything.
Safari/Edge
Unfortunately, Safari and Edge do not appear to come with an easy way to check the memory footprint of your extensions, so you’ll have to go straight into turning them off and on to see which one is causing you issues.
But that was my favorite extension!
Alas, sometimes we must come to terms with the temporary nature of our universe. Luckily, most popular extensions have other versions from other developers, so you can probably find something similar that may not come with the same drawbacks. Also, while you’re about clearing up this extension, you may as well delete any others you aren’t using. They might not be causing you noticeable trouble at the moment, but extensions, even well-developed ones, can be potential privacy/security holes, so it’s not a bad idea to prune out the dead weight every now and then. Image credits: Too many toolbars, Loading please wait
