What Is Google Chrome Helper and Can It Be Disabled?
For at least a decade, Google Chrome has been the browser of choice for most Windows PC users, but it isn’t without flaws. Memory utilisation in Chrome is often its worst flaw, with too many tabs using all of your PC’s available resources.
You can notice the Google Chrome Helper process using up your system resources if you look at Windows Task Manager or Mac Activity Monitor when Chrome is running, but what is Google Chrome Helper and how do you disable it?
What is Google Chrome Helper, and how does it work?
Google Chrome is a fairly standard web browser at its heart. It has all of the capabilities you’d expect from a browser, including the ability to view pages, save bookmarks, change your default homepage, and more.
You’ll need to install third-party Chrome extensions if you want extra functionality. These are third-party extensions for the Chrome browser that have been produced by other developers. There are many excellent Chrome extensions to try, but there are also many less useful (and perhaps dangerous) extensions.
Plugins, which are extensions to Chrome’s functionality, are used by some websites to increase functionality. A third-party plugin, for example, may be used to enable video playing or access particular hardware components on a website.
This is where the Chrome browser’s Google Chrome Helper component comes in handy. The Google Chrome Helper (Renderer) process is a generic name for any third-party content loaded in your browser, whether it’s a third-party extension or embedded content like a video player.
These are plugins that, in addition to regular plugins and extensions, often require additional system access. For example, a site that uses the Chrome browser to install new software will need an sandboxed plugin with permission to access resources outside of Chrome.
The majority of consumers will be completely unaware of its existence. If your PC or Mac is running slowly while using Chrome, Google Chrome Helper might be able to help you figure out what’s wrong. In some cases, Chrome Helper will reach its maximum CPU or RAM use due to a poor extension or resource-intensive pages using third-party plugins.
This is one of the reasons why Adobe Flash in Chrome has been difficult, and Google has decided to ban it by default. Before Google stopped Flash support, websites that used the technology had to use the required Flash plugin, which might cause Chrome to slow down or crash.
What Causes Google Chrome Helper to Use a Lot of CPU and RAM?
The main source of high CPU or RAM utilization associated with the Google Chrome Helper is a plugin or extension that uses it. While Chrome still has a bad reputation for mismanaging system resources, there are certain things you can do to assist lessen Chrome’s influence, such as turning off the Chrome Helper process entirely.
However, if you examine using the Windows Task Manager or Mac Activity Manager first, you won’t find many answers. The only indicator that a third-party plugin or extension is causing the problem is the Google Chrome Helper or Google Chrome Helper (Renderer) process.
Retrace your actions and keep an eye on your resource utilization while using Chrome to try to figure out what’s wrong. Begin by loading pages that make your PC appear sluggish in a new Chrome browser tab. Whether that doesn’t work, try using any of the extensions you’ve enabled to see if they produce a resource usage rise.
To monitor individual Chrome processes, you can also use Google Chrome Task Manager. This will enable you to identify which component of Chrome is causing problems, such as a rogue extension.
- Chrome Task Manager can be opened by right-clicking the tab bar, and selecting the Task Manager option.
You can identify problematic plugins and extensions by using the Memory footprint and CPU columns. To stop a process from using too much RAM or CPU, select it and then click the End Task button. Chrome will crash, but Chrome will still be open.
How To Reduce Google Chrome Helper System Resources Usage
There are several steps you can follow to decrease your CPU and RAM usage with Google Chrome.
Consider the extensions and plugins that you are using in Chrome. You can block third-party plugins that slow down certain pages.
- This can be done for specific pages by clicking the lock icon next the address URL bar and then selecting the site settings option.
- You can disable third-party plugins from the site permissions menu by changing Unsandboxed Plug-in Access to Block.
You may want to disable Chrome extensions if they are causing you difficulty.
- To disable Chrome extensions click the three dots menu icon at the top-right. Next, select More tools > Extensions.
- To disable an extension, use the Chrome extensions menu to select the slider.
You can also use incognito to troubleshoot Chrome issues. Chrome will by default block third-party extensions and plugins in incognito mode.
- To change to incognito mode select the three dots menu icon at the top-right. Next, select the New Incognito Window option.
Disable Google Chrome Helper for Windows and Mac
If Chrome slowdowns are still a problem, but you know that Google Chrome Helper is to blame, you can disable it completely.
All third-party plugins will be stopped from running in Chrome if you disable Google Chrome Helper. This may prevent some site assets such as video players from functioning properly. To ensure that your browser continues to function correctly after you have used these assets, make sure you test Google Chrome in Incognito Mode.
- Open a Chrome browser and click the three dots menu icon in the top-right. Select the Settings option.
- Select Privacy & security from the left-hand menu in Chrome’s settings menu. Select the Site Setting option.
- Scroll down and select Additional permissions > No-sandboxed plugin accessibility.
- To disable Google Chrome Helper, click the slider at top of the menu to go to the off position. This will disable the Google Chrome Helper.
Pages that you access won’t be able run third-party plug-ins after they have been disabled. This will stop Google Chrome Helper from showing up in Windows Task Manager and in Mac Activity Monitor when there is high CPU or RAM usage.
You can go back to any of the above steps and enable the Google Chrome Helper again by selecting the Allow no site to access your computer slider. This will return it to the at position.
Switching to Google Chrome
These methods are not always able to deal with excessive CPU usage and memory leaks . Chrome may still be slow to start after you have disabled Google Chrome Helper.
It’s easy to move your bookmarks, and other personal data, once you have switched. To replace RAM-hungry Chrome extensions, you can install top Firefox addons.
How to disable Google Chrome Helper for Windows and Mac?
If Chrome slowdowns are still causing you problems, you can disable the Google Chrome Helper process.
All third-party plugins will be stopped from running in Chrome if you disable Google Chrome Helper. This may prevent some site assets like video players from functioning properly. To ensure your browser works correctly if you plan to use such assets, be sure to run Google Chrome in Incognito Mode.
1. Open a Chrome browser and click the three-dot icon in the top-right. Select the Settings option.
2. Select Privacy and security from the left-hand menu in the Chrome settings menu. Next, click on the right to select the Location Settings option.
3. Scroll down and select Additional permissions > Unsandboxed plug-in access.
4. To disable Google Chrome Helper, move the slider to the top of the menu to the off position. This option will not allow sites to access your computer through a plugin if it is frequently turned off. Instead of asking if a site wants to access your computer via a plugin, (recommended).
Pages that you access after disabling it will not allow third-party plugins to be installed. This could prevent Google Chrome Helper from showing up in Windows Task Manager and Mac Activity Monitor when there is high CPU or RAM usage.
You can retrace your steps and restart the Google Chrome Helper process. Select the Don’t Allow Any Site to Use a Plugin to Access Your Computer Slider, then return it to the on position.
Google Chrome to Google Chrome
Even these methods won’t always be able to stop excessive CPU usage and memory leaks in Google Chrome. If Chrome is still slow after you have disabled Google Chrome Helper, then it may be time to switch to another browser such as Firefox on Windows or Safari Mac.
It’s easy to move your bookmarks and personal data from one browser into another once you have switched. To exchange RAM-hungry Chrome extensions, install top Firefox add-ons if you are changing to Firefox.
Questions from the user:
1. Remove google chrome and google Chrome Helper from MacBook Air
The MAC battery was causing me problems. After checking the activity monitory, I found that the “google Chrome helper” had a +90% energy consumption and high CPU usage. It was running continuously and seems to never stop.
2. How do I disable google chrome helper?
I have browsed the chrome support forum, and landed on other boards. I read through many messages, and didn’t do much Google. Although it seems to be mac-related, I didn’t pay much attention to hardware. I was just trying to figure out how to turn off helpers. The immediate Google search result referenced by another poster doesn’t seem to be beneficial. However, it does appear to be beneficial if you don’t follow the steps step-by-step.
3. Google Chrome and Profile Manager
Profile Manager is used on Mac OS X 10.10.1, and Google Chrome 40.
A message is displayed when a managed account logs into Google Chrome and launches it.
“You don’t have permission to use this appliance” (“admin”) and (“You
You don’t have permission for the appliance to be used “install” and not “You don’t”.
You must have permission to use the appliance “fetch”.
I looked at several articles online on how to fix this problem, but nothing seemed to work.
4. Uninstall Google Chrome and Google Chrome Helper
I searched Google and found the link you shared. Many of the solutions looked almost identical to it. I decided to try them all because it was mentioned in there. The same effect was still being achieved by the method. I decided to give it a shot by deinstalling all google chrome.
5. How can I disable the google chrome helper
Google may remove the “Add To Reading List” entry from Omnibox star. This will allow you to bookmark the current page in one click.
