Google Chrome set to gain a new feature to disable background-running websites

Specifically, in the latest Chrome updates, a new flag called 'Quick Intensive Throttling' has been introduced, designed to prevent background-running websites from excessively draining battery power.

Google introduces Quick Intensive Throttling feature to prevent background pages from consuming excessive battery power

This feature was first discovered in the About Chromebooks section in the Chrome OS 105 update and will soon be rolled out to all supported browser platforms, including Windows, macOS, and Linux.

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How Quick Intensive Throttling Works

In terms of functionality, the Quick Intensive Throttling feature on Chrome will prevent background pages from loading JavaScript elements after 10 seconds, a significant reduction from the previous limit of 5 minutes.

According to Google, for web pages loaded in the background, Quick Intensive Throttling will kick in after 10 seconds instead of the default 5 minutes. This feature will limit wake-ups, from high-nesting setTimeout and setInterval to scheduler.postTask being delayed, up to once per minute.

This will help extend the device's battery life in some cases, especially when users have multiple tabs open simultaneously.

If a website is opened in a new tab but not interacted with immediately, the new feature will prevent loading that tab to prevent device battery drain. However, this only applies when users primarily access based on JavaScript.

Currently, this new feature is only available on the Dev channel and it will take some time to expand and deploy to all users on the stable channel.