FasterChrome is a new browser extension for Google Chrome that speeds up browsing in the web browser by preloading certain pages.

Google Chrome uses preloading by default to speed up browsing. Google changed the "use a prediction service" to "preload pages for faster browsing and searching" in Chrome 73, but the general idea behind the feature has not changed.

When enabled, Google Chrome will run DNS look ups for links automatically and preload resources that it considers high priority. The downside to that is that Chrome may save cookies to the system from sites that the user never visits.

FasterChrome

FasterChrome by the makers of InstantPage introduces a different form of preloading to Chrome. The main idea behind the extension is to preload resources when a user's action has a high probability of being executed.

When a user hovers over a link for at least 65 milliseconds, the linked resource is preloaded by the extension. The developers note that this reduces the average page load time by 300 milliseconds and that it works best on pages of the same domain as that is where the effect is most noticeable.

The extension requires read and write access to all data on websites that are visited in the browser. FasterChrome places an icon in Chrome's main toolbar but displays no options when you activate the icon; in fact, it comes without any options at all.

FasterChrome works automatically on any page you visit in the Chrome web browser and on most links. The extension won't preload pages with "?" parameters, e.g. sign-out pages if they use it. It is still possible that you may be logged out automatically if you hover over a sign-out page on a site for to long.

Closing Words

How effective is FasterChrome in speeding up browsing in the Chrome browser? I say it depends; if you are on a fast Internet connection, you probably won't see much of a difference. If your Internet connection is not super-fast, you may see a noticeable difference on some link clicks.

If you notice a delay between link clicks and page loads, this is something you might want to give a try to see if it speeds things up for you.

Now You: What is your take on preloading?

Summary Author Rating 5 based on 8 votes Software Name FasterChrome Software Category Browser Landing Page https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/fasterchrome/nmgpnfccjfjhdenioncabecepjcmdnjg

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