When it comes to Internet browsers, none of the available ones even come a shade close to the popularity enjoyed by Google Chrome.
Be it Windows or Mac, computer users have been preferring Chrome over its peers for more than a decade due to its simplicity in usage, stability, speed and overall user experience. The extensions available in Chrome also augment its worth for users. However, these extensions sometimes also happen to be the cause of certain problems specifically for Mac users. The most prominent of these problems is that Chrome simply freezes when several extensions are being added to it. The following lines will act as a comprehensive guide to enable Mac users to fix the extensions freezing problem on Google Chrome.
Determine the Cause
Just because you are facing problems while using Chrome, does not mean that the problem lies in Google Chrome. The problem may very well be with your Mac. It is worth noting here that Chrome is a resource intensive thing after all! As long as the resources will be available, the browser will run smoothly but the moment the resources fall less than Chrome likes, problems will follow! Therefore it is recommended to first check your Mac for potential problems such as outdated operating system, too less memory before blaming Chrome for the issue. Simply put, one should remember that a better performing Mac means better performing Chrome.
Cache
Cache serves as a temporary storage space for your most frequently visited websites. When you want to visit them again in the future, the web page is loaded from your own device instead of being fetched from the website’s server. This can significantly reduce page load time but simultaneously becomes a burden on your Mac. So if you experience crashes while using Chrome extensions, or the browser just freezes, you should clear the cache and restart Chrome. This quick fix has proved fruitful in most of the cases.
You can manually delete cache by going to the Settings menu in Google Chrome, and in the More Tools tab, you will find the Clear browsing history option. Now you can select cache, history, cookies and any other type of browser data you want to delete. You can confirm your choices once you have made the selection.
Extensions
Extensions improve the overall Chrome experience for the user by providing a huge array of services such as grammar checking, ad removal and video download at a single click! These services come at a price, especially those extensions released by suspicious developers. These extensions usually require extensive permissions from the user and might lead to problems later on. Therefore, it is recommended to periodically review the extensions you have enabled, and remove the ones you have not used in a long time.
In case you are experiencing crashes or the system freezes because of the extensions, you should remove all extensions and use Chrome without any extension for a while. If it works fine now, this is surely a reason to believe one (or more) extension is the actual culprit. Now you can enable one extension at a time and use Chrome, and keep doing this until you nab the villain.
Finally, you can remove extensions by visiting the Extensions tab in the Settings menu and removing the check mark next to the extensions you have enabled. In case you want to get rid of an extension permanently, you can delete that particular extension.
Reboot
In the world of browsers, there is a law that states that the longer you use a browser, the slower it gets. So in case you are experiencing freezes and crashes at a more frequent pace than before, you should take it as a warning sign. So all you should do is open up the Settings in Chrome and select Reset. Job done!