Google Chrome has been my browser of choice for well over a decade now, across Android and desktop. In all these years of browsing the internet, I have cultivated two habits — opening links in new tabs, and pursuing new ideas in new tabs. As a result, the tab switcher shortcut in Chrome on my phone has given up on keeping count. However, new research reveals Google plans to cull the mess and offer help with duplicate tabs.

If you love using the new tab option in Chrome, you might be familiar with the sea of unopened tabs in your browser or tab switcher for the Android app. On desktop, Chrome’s Battery saver and Memory saver features are a saving grace, ensuring your device isn’t stressed. For mobile, Chrome researcher @Leopeva64 from X (formerly Twitter) found a new feature in the works (via Android Authority). When switched on, the browser will automatically archive duplicate tabs.

So, if you have multiple tabs duplicating the same information, Chrome will automatically archive all the older ones, and preserve just the latest version in your tab switcher. This should make cycling through tabs more convenient when required. On the desktop version, the same process is manual.

Available in Chrome Canary

No guarantee for release

Like many prior discoveries, Leopeva found this setting in the latest Chrome Canary build, which is updated nightly. This version is specifically for developers, and is known to be unstable since it is the testing ground for upcoming Chrome features. However, availability in Canary is no assurance of a stable worldwide release.

That said, you could install the Canary version and use it with this setting switched on for a few days to see if it makes a difference to your user experience.