The Invisible Bandwidth Hog
To make web browsing feel instantaneous, Google Chrome uses a feature called “Preload pages for faster browsing and searching.” Based on your browsing habits and the links visible on your current page, Chrome’s engine tries to predict which link you are going to click next. It then silently downloads the HTML, images, and scripts for that predicted page in the background before you even click the link.
If you are on a fast, unmetered fiber connection, this makes the web feel blazing fast. However, if you are tethered to a mobile hotspot with a strict data cap, or if you are using a very slow rural connection, this prediction service is disastrous. Chrome will actively steal your limited bandwidth to download pages you might never actually visit, slowing down your current download or video stream. You can disable this prediction engine.
How to Turn Off Page Preloading
You can stop Chrome from pre-fetching websites in the Performance settings.
- Open Google Chrome.
- Click the Three Vertical Dots (Menu) in the top right corner and select Settings.
- In the left-hand sidebar, click on Performance.
- Scroll down to the section labelled Speed.
- Look for the toggle switch labelled “Preload pages” (which promises faster browsing and searching).
- Toggle the switch to the Off position.
Chrome will now only download data when you explicitly click a link or type a URL. Pages might take a fraction of a second longer to load, but you will stop wasting precious bandwidth and data on invisible, predicted background tasks.