User:JodyBruchonFan/Everything wrong with Chrome: Difference between revisions
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The term "Chrome" refers to the mobile edition for the rest of this page, unless stated otherwise. Anyone feel free to contribute. | The term "Chrome" refers to the mobile edition for the rest of this page, unless stated otherwise. Anyone feel free to contribute. | ||
== Mandatory pull-to-refresh == | == User interface == | ||
=== Mandatory pull-to-refresh === | |||
Let's get the "elephant in the room" out of the way first. The constant threat of accidentally refreshing a page has turned browsing with Chrome into a headache since 2019. | Let's get the "elephant in the room" out of the way first. The constant threat of accidentally refreshing a page has turned browsing with Chrome into a headache since 2019. | ||
In spite of the abnormally high number of complaints by users suffering from accidental refreshes, Google has refused to reinstate the option to turn off this anti-feature. It seems to be part of Google's brand identity.<ref> | In spite of the abnormally high number of complaints by users suffering from accidental refreshes, Google has refused to reinstate the option to turn off this anti-feature. It seems to be part of Google's brand identity.<ref>{{Cite web |author= |title=Please bring back ability to disable Android pull-down-to-refresh. I lost my work because the feature. [41471115] |url=https://issues.chromium.org/issues/41471115 |website=[[Chromium]] |date=16 Jul 2019 |access-date=8 Jun 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/2024.09.04-094015/https://issues.chromium.org/issues/41471115 |archive-date=4 Sep 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author= |title=No way to disable pull-to-refresh [391378124] |url=https://issues.chromium.org/issues/391378124 |website=[[Chromium]] |date=22 Jan 2025 |access-date=8 Jun 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/2025.10.07-180843/https://issues.chromium.org/issues/391378124 |archive-date=7 Oct 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=Stotty |title=Wanting to know how to disable pull to refresh as it's no longer showing up in flags |url=https://support.google.com/chrome/thread/8391096/wanting-to-know-how-to-disable-pull-to-refresh-as-it-s-no-longer-showing-up-in-flags?hl=en |website=[[Google]] |date=20 Jun 2019 |access-date=8 Jun 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://megalodon.jp/2025-0111-2220-13/https://support.google.com:443/chrome/thread/8391096/wanting-to-know-how-to-disable-pull-to-refresh-as-it-s-no-longer-showing-up-in-flags?hl=en |archive-date=11 Jan 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Vosloo |first=Jake |title=Missing Android Chrome 75 flags disable-pull-to-refresh-effect How to disable it now? |url=https://support.google.com/chrome/thread/8152831 |website=[[Google]] |date=16 Jun 2019 |access-date=8 Jun 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://megalodon.jp/2025-0701-0647-33/https://support.google.com:443/chrome/thread/8152831 |archive-date=1 Jul 2025}}</ref> | ||
<!-- I know, Archive.Today links are unwanted since the February 2026 drama, but the Google issue tracker is impossible to archive using any other archival service due to another evil invention by Google: shadow DOMs. Ghost Archive sometimes manages to archive them, but still struggles with them. --> | <!-- I know, Archive.Today links are unwanted since the February 2026 drama, but the Google issue tracker is impossible to archive using any other archival service due to another evil invention by Google: shadow DOMs. Ghost Archive sometimes manages to archive them, but still struggles with them. --> | ||
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In comparison, both Firefox mobile and Samsung Internet let the user turn this anti-feature off. | In comparison, both Firefox mobile and Samsung Internet let the user turn this anti-feature off. | ||
= | === Tab viewer has no list view mode === | ||
== Tab viewer has no list view mode == | |||
The tab viewer only features a grid view which has two-columns in vertical orientation and usually four columns in horizontal orientation. | The tab viewer only features a grid view which has two-columns in vertical orientation and usually four columns in horizontal orientation. | ||
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Chrome (Chromium) developer David Trainor stated: | Chrome (Chromium) developer David Trainor stated: | ||
<blockquote> | <blockquote> | ||
Leaving the swich in place as it is highly used as a command line value, but removing it to trim down chrome://flags size. | Leaving the swich in place as it is highly used as a command line value, but removing it to trim down chrome://flags size.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Trainor |first=David |title=8cf3626120e3949f9718b626217bf93b8b6d2545 - chromium/src - Git at Google |url=https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/+/8cf3626120e3949f9718b626217bf93b8b6d2545 |website=Google Source |date=22 May 2019 |access-date=8 Jun 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/2020.04.26-183014/https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/+/8cf3626120e3949f9718b626217bf93b8b6d2545 |archive-date=26 Apr 2020}}</ref></blockquote> | ||
<ref> | |||
It is unclear how this benefits the end user. | It is unclear how this benefits the end user. | ||
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Samsung Internet's tab viewer does feature a list view option. | Samsung Internet's tab viewer does feature a list view option. | ||
== No draggable scroll bar == | === No draggable scroll bar === | ||
Seriously, Google? Desktop web browsers had this since the 1990s, and some mobile web browsers like Samsung Internet and Opera also had this for some time. | Seriously, Google? Desktop web browsers had this since the 1990s, and some mobile web browsers like Samsung Internet and Opera also had this for some time. | ||
In addition, Samsung Internet features options to show shortcuts to jump to the top or the bottom of the page. | In addition, Samsung Internet features options to show shortcuts to jump to the top or the bottom of the page. | ||
== Slowly scrolling to text search results == | === Slowly scrolling to text search results === | ||
When searching text on the page, Chrome does not immediately jump to the result, but scrolls to that result, which can take several seconds on a long page. And when you are looking through many results, these seconds add up. | When searching text on the page, Chrome does not immediately jump to the result, but scrolls to that result, which can take several seconds on a long page. And when you are looking through many results, these seconds add up. | ||
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Of course, [[Google#Taking_away_choice_from_the_user|as one would expect from Google]], there is no option to change this behaviour. | Of course, [[Google#Taking_away_choice_from_the_user|as one would expect from Google]], there is no option to change this behaviour. | ||
== | === No page title bar === | ||
If you look at Steve Jobs' iPhone 4 presentation, what do you notice that current mobile web browsers don't have?<ref>{{Cite web |author=CNet |title=Steve Jobs' demo fail (CNET News) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znxQOPFg2mo |website=[[YouTube]] |date=7 Jun 2010 |access-date=8 Jun 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://preservetube.com/watch?v=znxQOPFg2mo |archive-date=8 Jun 2026}}</ref> | |||
A title bar! | |||
On a screen not nearly as large as smartphone screens are nowadays (2026). | |||
Currently, Chrome does not have a straightforward way to let you see the full page title. You can see part of it in the tab list and browsing history, but due to their narrowness, the page title is usually cut off. | |||
Chrome should have an option to show the page title above the URL bar, and tapping that title should reveal the full title with wrapped lines if it is longer than the width of the screen. | |||
=== Slow menu animation === | |||
== Slow menu animation == | |||
The "fancy" menu animation each time you open the quick menu, with the cascading menu items, might look nice, but it wastes a second every single time you want to use something in that menu, and this adds up. | The "fancy" menu animation each time you open the quick menu, with the cascading menu items, might look nice, but it wastes a second every single time you want to use something in that menu, and this adds up. | ||
Of course, no option to disable this exists inside the app, but thankfully, the Android developer tools provide an option to disable transition animations system-wide. | Of course, no option to disable this exists inside the app, but thankfully, the Android developer tools provide an option to disable transition animations system-wide. | ||
== First row of quick menu not at bottom if URL bar is at bottom == | === First row of quick menu not at bottom if URL bar is at bottom === | ||
The first row of the quick menu contains the icons for "go forward", "information", "save page", "bookmark", and "refresh". | The first row of the quick menu contains the icons for "go forward", "information", "save page", "bookmark", and "refresh". | ||
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To Google's credit, they at least added the option to align the URL bar to the bottom. Firefox, Samsung Internet, and the Chromium derivative Kiwi Browser all had this by 2020. | To Google's credit, they at least added the option to align the URL bar to the bottom. Firefox, Samsung Internet, and the Chromium derivative Kiwi Browser all had this by 2020. | ||
== Unable to keep URL bar on screen == | === Unable to keep URL bar on screen === | ||
On mobile web browsers, when scrolling down, the URL bar automatically hides. When scrolling back up, the URL bar is revealed again. | On mobile web browsers, when scrolling down, the URL bar automatically hides. When scrolling back up, the URL bar is revealed again. | ||
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In addition, pulling down in Chrome sometimes activates the universally hated pull-to-refresh gesture (see first point) instead of revealing the URL bar. | In addition, pulling down in Chrome sometimes activates the universally hated pull-to-refresh gesture (see first point) instead of revealing the URL bar. | ||
== No developer tools or page inspector == | === Annoying download confirmation in incognito mode === | ||
In 2023, Google added an annoying prompt in incognito mode that reads ''"Download file? Anyone using this device can see downloaded files."'', which, of course, can not be turned off.<ref>{{Cite web |author=User 6073876982652430557 |title=How to disable incognito mode, "Download file? Anyone using this device can see downloaded files." |url=https://support.google.com/chrome/thread/239227138/how-to-disable-incognito-mode-download-file-anyone-using-this-device-can-see-downloaded-files?hl=en |website=[[Google]] |date=14 Oct 2023 |access-date=8 Jun 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260531112824/https://support.google.com/chrome/thread/239227138/how-to-disable-incognito-mode-download-file-anyone-using-this-device-can-see-downloaded-files?hl=en |archive-date=31 May 2026}}</ref> | |||
Given that most smartphones are only used by one person most of the time, this message is pointless. | |||
== Missing functionality == | |||
=== Unable to play media from multiple tabs at once === | |||
Yet another thing desktop web browsers have been able to do since the 2000s, yet the "pinnacle of mobile web browsing" can't do so as of 2026. | |||
With the processing power smartphones have nowadays, this should easily be doable. | |||
Even if it increases power consumption, the user should be given the choice. | |||
=== Unable to open a new tab after the current tab === | |||
New tabs are opened at the end of the tab list. With many tabs open, this adds the inconvenience of the new tab being far away from the current tab. | |||
The user might want to look something up that is related to the currently viewed page. The inability to open a new tab after the current tab adds the inconvenience of having to find the current tab in the long tab list again, rather than swiping to switch to the last tab. | |||
The only workaround is to open a link on the current page in a new tab by holding it down and choosing "open in new tab". However, this relies on a hyperlink existing on the current page, which might not always be the case. | |||
Firefox on desktop has the <code>browser.tabs.insertAfterCurrent</code> property in <code>about:config</code> for this purpose. If this preference was put in a more visible spot (namely <code>about:preferences</code>), more people would undoubtedly use it. | |||
=== No developer tools or page inspector === | |||
Granted, no other mobile web browser seems to have this, but wouldn't now be a time for mobile web browsers to get a basic page inspector at least? | Granted, no other mobile web browser seems to have this, but wouldn't now be a time for mobile web browsers to get a basic page inspector at least? | ||
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Smartphones have large screens nowadays. It certainly would be possible. | Smartphones have large screens nowadays. It certainly would be possible. | ||
== Download list == | === Download list === | ||
The list of downloaded files offers no way to get the full source URL of a downloaded file. Only the domain is visible. | The list of downloaded files offers no way to get the full source URL of a downloaded file. Only the domain is visible. | ||
There is also no way to remove items from the download history without deleting the corresponding file in the download folder. | There is also no way to remove items from the download history without deleting the corresponding file in the download folder. | ||
= | === Built-in media player lacks basic options === | ||
== Built-in media player lacks basic options == | |||
The built-in media player has no built-in options to loop a media file, to open a media file in a new tab, or to copy the link to a media file into the clipboard. | The built-in media player has no built-in options to loop a media file, to open a media file in a new tab, or to copy the link to a media file into the clipboard. | ||
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Of course, the media player in a web browser is no replacement for an actual media player application like "mpv-android", but having these basic options built right into the web browser media player would add convenience. | Of course, the media player in a web browser is no replacement for an actual media player application like "mpv-android", but having these basic options built right into the web browser media player would add convenience. | ||
== | === Missing .mht or .mhtml extensions === | ||
While Chrome deserves credit for being the '''only''' major mobile web browser that lets users save pages into the download folder with no [[data lock-in]], the MHTML files generated by recent versions of Chrome (as of 2026) lack the ".mht" or ".mhtml" file extension, meaning the file name is only the page title with no extension. | |||
This makes some file managers unable to recognize the file type, and makes the user unable to search for MHTML files by typing ".mht" or ".mhtml" in the search bar. | |||
== No option to load pages without images == | === No option to load pages without images === | ||
Images are much larger in size than text, but sometimes, text is enough and would speed up loading, especially in remote areas where only 2G connectivity is available. | Images are much larger in size than text, but sometimes, text is enough and would speed up loading, especially in remote areas where only 2G connectivity is available. | ||
Unfortunately, Chrome lacks the simple option to only load text, without images. | Unfortunately, Chrome lacks the simple option to only load text, without images. | ||
== | == Anti-user practices == | ||
=== Data lock-in === | |||
Chrome provides no option to export web browsing data to a file, making it [[Data_lock-in#User_data_in_mobile_web_browsers|impossible to back up certain user data]] without root access, namely the session (list of opened tabs) and browsing history. | |||
Exporting the browsing session to a text file would be useful to prevent so-called "tab hoarding", where the number of open tabs keeps increasing, without having to lose the existing browsing session. | |||
Both the desktop and mobile editions of Chrome have a hard three-month limit for retaining browsing history. Without the ability to export the browsing history, it becomes difficult to find pages after a long time. | |||
In comparison, Samsung Internet allows copying a list of open tabs to the clipboard by checking the "select all" box, pressing "share", and then choosing "copy to clipboard". Samsung Internet also allows copying multiple URLs from the history at once to clipboard, but with no time stamp, and there is a size limit that limits the number of selectable pages to something between 120 and 150 pages, depending on the lengths of the URL, title, or both. | |||
This is still far from ideal, where the entire history and session could be dumped into a file with a single tap. | |||
On desktop web browsers, extensions are able to provide such functionality, but of course, Chrome on mobile does not support extensions. | |||
== | === No background video playback === | ||
Chrome does not allow background video playback on ''any'' website. This is a deliberate choice by Google. In 2019, they even forced the developers of the Chromium derivative "Kiwi Browser" to remove this ability, at least for YouTube.com.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Malik |first=Aisha |title=Kiwi Browser app vanishes from Google Play Store |url=https://mobilesyrup.com/2019/05/07/kiwi-browser-removed-from-play-store/ |website=Mobile Syrup |date=7 May 2019 |access-date=8 Jun 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507232416/https://mobilesyrup.com/2019/05/07/kiwi-browser-removed-from-play-store/ |archive-date=7 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Davenport |first=Corbin |title=Kiwi Browser removed from Play Store due to YouTube background playback |url=https://www.androidpolice.com/2019/05/07/kiwi-browser-removed-from-play-store-due-to-youtube-background-playback/ |website=Android Police |date=7 May 2019 |access-date= |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507180735/https://www.androidpolice.com/2019/05/07/kiwi-browser-removed-from-play-store-due-to-youtube-background-playback/ |archive-date=7 May 2019}}</ref> | |||
Google apparently wants users to not get used to background video playback on a mobile device, to match the behaviour that the YouTube app had since the beginning, even before YouTube Premium (YouTube Red) had existed. | |||
== | == Browsing behaviour == | ||
If | === Large images not downscaled to screen size === | ||
If a picture has a resolution of at least several megapixels, Chrome fails to downscale it enough that the entire image fits on screen. | |||
So Chrome even struggles with something as simple as image viewing. How embarrassing. | |||
=== Unable to see which page redirected me to the current page === | |||
While Firefox stores all redirects in the browsing history, Chrome makes it impossible to know which intermittent pages redirected me to the current page. | |||
=== Unable to block redirects and self-refreshes === | |||
Some web pages misuse self-refreshing redirects, making it hard to go back to the last page. | |||
Firefox on desktop offers the <code>accessibility.blockautorefresh</code> property in <code>about:config</code> for this purpose. | |||
== Giving credit where credit is due == | == Giving credit where credit is due == | ||