Chrome for Android tips:Here are 10 ways to boost your browser

Chrome is one of the best Android browsers out there, largely because there are so many tips and tricks you can do to make it even better. Did you know that you can access browser-boosting features similar to those in Google Labs, or that you can bring back the tabs box that disappeared with the Lollipop update? Find out how to do these, and more in our Chrome for Android tips and tricks.

These are our best Chrome for Android tips and tricks. / © TNN

Get your Chrome tabs back

One of the most convenient features for navigating Chrome for Android is the small box next to the URL bar displaying how many tabs you have open. For some reason, Google decided to drop this feature by default in the recent Lollipop-centered Chrome update, integrating Chrome tabs with the 'Recent Apps' screen on your Android device instead.
If - like us - you prefer to keep your Chrome tabs separate from Recent Apps, and want bring back the tabs box in your browser, open Chrome on your device, tap the menu icon at the top right, Settings, 'Merge tabs and apps', then tap the slider to turn the feature off. Your beloved tabs box will now be back in next to the URL bar where it belongs.

Miss the tabs box in Chrome? With our help, you can get it back. / © TNN

Quickly switch between tabs

Once you've reinstated your tabs box, you'll be able to use Chrome's nifty shortcut to quickly switch between tabs. Just swipe left or right on the toolbar at the top of Chrome to go to the next or previous tab you have open. Also, instead of tapping the tabs box to list all your open tabs in a stack, you can swipe down on the toolbar at the top to see the stacked list (we're not sure if this actually saves any time, but we all agree that swiping just feels slicker than tapping, right?).

Use the toolbar at the top of Chrome to swipe left and right between tabs (this is what the strange place halfway between tabs looks like. / © TNN

Sync Chrome tabs and bookmarks between devices

Not strictly a new feature, but one that needs a couple of elements to work properly. To set up syncing on Chrome for Android, tap the menu icon in Chrome > Settings > Accounts > your email address > then finally tap the Sync slider at the top of your screen (if you untick the Sync Everything box, make sure the Bookmarks and 'Open tabs' boxes are ticked).
To sync these with your Windows, Mac or Linux computer, open Chrome on the computer, then click the menu icon at the top right > Settings > sign in if you haven't already > then click 'Advanced sync settings' and make sure the Bookmarks and 'Open tabs' boxes are ticked.
To open tabs from your computer on your Android device, tap the menu icon in Chrome for Android, go to 'Recent tabs', then choose the device you want to open tabs from in the list. To open computer bookmarks, tap the menu icon, Bookmarks, then 'Desktop bookmarks'.

You can access your PC's tabs, bookmarks and more on Chrome for Android. / © ANDROIDPIT

Gesture to go straight to menu options

This is more of a slick trick than a shortcut, but makes going to your Chrome menu that bit more satisfying. If you need to navigate the Chrome menu but are feeling too lazy to lift your finger, tap and hold your finger on the menu icon in Chrome, then just slide your finger down to whichever option you want to access when the menu appears.

Access menu options without lifting a finger - just swiping it. / ©TNN

Save on your data plan with Chrome

One of Chrome's most overlooked and useful features is the option for Chrome to reduce your browsing data usage by shrinking sites you visit (this feature's reduced our data usage by 34 percent so far).
To enable this feature, tap the menu icon in Chrome, Settings, then scroll to the bottom and tap 'Reduce data usage'. Tap the slider to turn the feature on. It'll even present you with a graph and figures showing how much data you save.

The 'Reduce data usage' feature does exactly what it says - in some style, we might add. / © TNN

Enable Reader Mode

Believe it not, there are still sites out there that are stuck in the Stone Age, and don't have mobile-optimised versions of the sites for smartphone and tablet users.
To work around this shortcoming on their part, tap the URL bar in Chrome and type chrome://flags. Ignore the warning that 'these experiments may bite' - we'll take care of you.
Next, tap the menu icon, 'Find in page', then type reader mode. In the flags list, tap Enable under 'Enable Reader Mode Toolbar Icon', then tap Relaunch Now at the bottom of the page. An icon with the letter 'A' will appear in your toolbar each time you enter a site that can be optimised. Just tap the icon to enter Reader Mode. Next, tap the menu icon, 'Find in page', then type reader mode. In the flags list, tap Enable under 'Enable Reader Mode Toolbar Icon', then tap Relaunch Now at the bottom of the page.
An icon with the letter 'A' will appear in your toolbar each time you enter a site that can be optimized. Just tap the icon to enter Reader Mode.

Enable Reader Mode to make mobile-unoptimized sites easier to read. / © TNN

Play a hidden game when you're offline

For those times when you can't connect to the internet (and may those times be few), Google has added an addictive little game to its Chrome for Android browser.
When you get the 'You are offline' message in Chrome, tap the dinosaur above the message to start the endless runner game. Just tap the screen as the dino approaches the cacti to jump over them. See, life without the internet isn't all bad...

Just tap the dinosaur that appears when you're offline to start running. / © TNN

Turn your favourite sites into homescreen icons

If you find browsing to your favourite sites too fiddly using the Chrome browser, you can create icons pointing to your favourite sites on your device's homescreen. Just navigate to your site of choice in Chrome, tap the menu icon, then 'Add to home screen'. An app-like icon will now appear on your homescreen, taking you straight to the site when you tap it.

You can add your favorite sites as icons on your phone's homescreen. / © TNN

Turbo-charge Chrome 

Another feature in chrome://flags is the option to dedicate more RAM to Chrome (it's 64MB by default) to make it work faster.
Go to chrome://flags in Chrome, tap the menu icon, 'Find in page' then type 'maximum tiles'. Tap the dropdown under 'Maximum tiles for interest area', select the amount of RAM you want Chrome to use, then tap Relaunch Now.

Dedicate more RAM to Chrome to make it run faster/ © TNN

 Do you have any Chrome for Android tips? Let us know in the comments below!