It's cool that we can play with experimental features. Some of the truly experimental things that haven't been included on the most alpha builds can be tried through what are called flags.

Let's take a look at what they are and how to break them.

What are Chrome Flags?

Most users will not need experimental features buried in a place where they will not be accidentally enabled.

Some features are being tested to see if they work on making a stable feature, others are just things being tested to see if there is a way to do something.

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Experimental things are cool when they are cool, but not so much when they aren't.

Things can go either way with anything still in its experimental phase. It's possible to have access to content that you wouldn't normally be able to see or use, like features in other products that aren't ready for the general public, or virtual reality websites.

Changing settings for hardware acceleration or memory management can cause problems if they are changed. The problems can be solved by reverting to a previous setting. I have never heard of anyone ruining a computer by changing a flag, but you need to be careful.

Most people don't want to change any of the chrome flags. If you're the kind of person who can't leave well enough alone, Chrome can help.

How to access Chrome's Flags

Google Chrome Flags Experimental warning

(Image credit: Android Central)

You have to know where the flags are. They are not out in the open, but they are easy to find. You can get to them the same way if you use one of the best Chromebooks, or even Chrome on your phone.

  • In the Omnibox (Chrome's address bar) on a blank tab, type the following: chrome://flags/

You will be warned that these can be experimental settings and that things can go badly wrong. You can make Chrome useless if you change the wrong thing. It's a warning that you should pay attention to, because this is more than just covering themselves in case.

You can use the search box at the top of the page to look for a specific flag. There is a good chance that you can find something on the internet.

There is a list of the flags themselves. Each entry has a short description of what the setting changes, a button to enable or disabling the flag, and a hyperlink so that you can get to that flag through the omnibox. If you enable parallel-downloading at chrome://flags you will be able to download multiple files at the same time, instead of just one by one. If you want to try it, this is a good example of a flag that will not hurt anyone.

There's always a way to go back unless you change a Flag that takes the reset button away.

Click the button to change the flag. You can choose to default, enable and disabling. If you want the setting to go back to what it was before you changed it, Default is a good choice.

There is a button at the top of the page that tells you to reset all. It's your get-out-of-jail-free card, and if you can still get to it, you'll be able to return to where you were.

Some helpful flags to try out

Enabled Chrome Flags

(Image credit: Android Central)

It is possible that you landed on this page with the hope of finding a flag that is right for you. If you don't know what you're doing, you may want to just avoid messing with flags altogether.

We've put together a list of flags that can improve your browsing experience. It doesn't mean that enabling a flag will work, even if you can access it from a Chromebooks, the best phones, or the Chrome browser. It is important to know that some of the flags you see online are limited to the version of Chrome you are using.

  • chrome://flags#enable-parallel-downloading - Enable parallel downloading to accelerate download speed.
  • chrome://flags/#show-autofill-type-predictions - Annotates web forms with Autofill field type predictions as placeholder text.
  • chrome://flags/#enable-gpu-rasterization - Use GPU to rasterize web content.
  • chrome://flags/#enable-reader-mode - Allows viewing of simplified web pages by selecting 'Customize and control Chrome'>'Distill page'.
  • chrome://flags/#smooth-scrolling - Animate smoothly when scrolling page content.

We don't recommend going through and enabling a bunch of flags at the same time. Make sure you hit the button after enabling each flag to make sure the feature works. You might end up with a broken experience if you don't reset everything.

Should you change any Flags?

Acer Chromebook 514 2H Desk Setup Straight

(Image credit: Andrew Myrick / Android Central)

It's a good thing. The meat of it all is that. We get to try these things as we please and know the risks. There's nothing wrong with trying things if you understand the risks and are willing to take them.

You can find tips about changing flags online, but you shouldn't just start doing it because you can. You might have heard of the QUIC flag. QUIC stands for Quick Internet Connection.

It's pretty good, its goal is to provide secure web browsing faster than the existingTLS/SSL protocols. One way that it isn't so good is that most of the Mitmproxy server are unable to use QUIC. The QUIC flag can be disabled so that it's never used and every site serves you using TSL/SSL.

Never change a Flag for something you don't understand. Trust me, because I push buttons before I read them.

There are a lot of other flags that can make things worse. I'm not going to talk about the ones I've tried and made worse because I don't want you to know what they are. You should trust a person who just apologized.