Are you someone who constantly has a dozen tabs open on your phone’s browser? Well, Chrome for Android might soon have a solution for you. Google is reportedly developing a new feature called “Tab Declutter” that aims to tidy up your cluttered tab bar.
This upcoming feature, spotted in recent changes to the Chromium code, will initially be tucked away in the chrome://flags menu, as many new Chrome features often are.
Tab Declutter Features
So, what exactly does this “Tab Declutter” do? Essentially, it will automatically archive or delete tabs that you haven’t used in a while. This means that those tabs you opened a week ago and forgot about will be neatly tucked away, potentially making Chrome run faster and your browsing experience smoother.
This isn’t the first time Google has attempted to address the issue of tab overload. In early 2020, Chrome for Android started suggesting closing certain tabs, particularly those that hadn’t been opened for a long time. However, users had the final say and nothing was closed without their permission.
The new “Tab Declutter” feature takes a more proactive approach. With it enabled, unused tabs will be automatically archived, giving you a cleaner tab list. Later on, you can review and decide whether to delete or restore these archived tabs.
While this feature could help users manage their Chrome tabs more effectively, it also risks becoming more of a nuisance. “Tab Declutter” is still in development, slated to roll out with Chrome version 125 in May. However, there’s also a possibility it may never launch.