The Cross-Device Cursor Experiment
Google Chrome is built on a highly modular architecture that frequently tests new integrations between different platforms. One of these experimental backend features is controlled by the “Send mouse events to Mac” flag. This specific flag was designed to facilitate advanced, seamless cursor interactions between Chrome OS (or other Chrome instances) and a macOS environment, likely as part of an effort to improve remote desktop capabilities, cross-device copy-paste, or unified cursor control across the Apple ecosystem.
While this deep integration is crucial for developers working on cross-platform continuity features, it can introduce instability for average users. If you are experiencing strange cursor behavior in Chrome on your Mac, such as phantom clicks, unexpected scrolling, or lag when moving your mouse across the browser window, this experimental flag might be interfering with macOS’s native input handling. If you want to ensure that Chrome relies solely on standard macOS mouse APIs and does not attempt any experimental cross-device event routing, you must disable this flag.
How to Turn Off Mac Mouse Event Routing
You can force Chrome to stop sending experimental mouse events to macOS via the hidden flags menu.
- Open Google Chrome.
- Click inside the main address bar at the top of the browser window.
- Type
chrome://flagsand press Enter. - On the “Experiments” page, use the search bar to look for Send mouse events to Mac.
- If the flag is available, click the dropdown menu next to it and change it from “Default” (or Enabled) to Disabled.
- Click the blue Relaunch button at the bottom of the screen.
Upon restarting, Chrome will stop utilizing the experimental cross-platform mouse event routing. Your cursor should now behave exactly as expected, relying entirely on standard macOS input drivers without any experimental interference.