Chrome will have a Snooze option where you can “suspend” unused tabs to free up RAM

The Chrome browser is notorious for its high RAM consumption, with the new Snooze feature coming as just another attempt by Google to address this problem.

The good news is that, over time, RAM has become so cheap that you can “solve” Chrome’s appetite as soon as you buy a new PC, or Laptop. But not everyone has the “luxury” of a computer equipped with 32GB RAM.

Reserved for a future update, the new option will allow users to suspend unused tabs without closing them permanently. Basically, it will be like using a bookmar, except that the page in question will theoretically remain open and with its contents intact (e.g. position scrolled, text entered in forms). The only drawback is that the first time you click on the tab, you will have to wait a bit longer for it to be reactivated, depending on the processing power of your device.

As with a home with far too much accumulated junk, collecting tabs on a “maybe I’ll need them later” basis can quickly lead to RAM saturation, degrading PC performance overall. But with the Snooze option you’ll be able to “clean” the tab in question from memory, without actually shutting it down. Theoretically, you can keep an almost unlimited number of tabs “open” in your Chrome browser, returning whenever you want to continue previous activity. Another advantage would be that suspended tabs can be reactivated without also being reloaded, which could be an advantage if you take your laptop with you to a location without internet access.

According to the description provided by Google, tabs checked with the Snooze option remain in a sleep state and are reactivated as soon as you click on them. It’s unclear at this time whether Snooze will be automatically activated for tabs that remain unused for longer, or is intended strictly for manual activation. In the latter case, users should first know about its existence and appreciate its advantages, unlikely for those without technical skills.