The other main use for flags is when developers need to enable or disable a feature for testing purposes. From there, it was added to the experimental chrome://flags page where it was tested thoroughly. What may seem like a simple, must-have feature like PiP once began its life as an experimental Chrome extension. Did you know that once upon a time, Picture in Picture wasn’t a thing in Chrome or Chromium-based browsers like Edge, Vivaldi, Brave, and many others? That’s right. For the curious types, like myself, enabling flags can gain you access to new, cutting-edge features that aren’t readily available in Chrome or ChromeOS. There are two main reasons that you would want to enable a flag or flags in Chrome. Then, we’ll take a look at the ins and outs of using flags in Chrome and ChromeOS. First, let’s look at why you’d want to enable a flag in the first place.

Resetting finicky flags is relatively quick and easy. Many of the features that we use in Chrome today once began life as experimental flags and while many features evolved from flags to prime time, some are deprecated entirely for various reasons.Īgain, Chrome flags are experimental, and yes, occasionally enabling a flag can result in a buggy user experience and even crashes. More specifically, Chrome flags but what are these mysterious features that are hidden right in plain sight in Chrome? Simply put, flags are nothing more than experimental features and tools in Chrome and other software that have either not made it into the stable build of said software, or are used solely for developmental purposes and are disabled by default. You may have heard us or other tech outlets mention the term flags. While I don’t recommend trying to install Windows or macOS on your Chromebook, there are some experimental features built into ChromeOS and the Chrome browser that might interest you. Whether I’m looking for new features in the Canary channel of ChromeOS or trying to install unofficial software via the Linux container, I’m always trying to push the boundaries of our beloved ChromeOS ecosystem. If you’ve followed Chrome Unboxed for any amount of time, you’re likely aware that I’m the tinkerer of the family.

Flags chrome