Chrome Browser - Android - Data and Battery Usage

cheaplee on 25/05/2022 - 07:08

So I've been using Edge on my pixel 4a and MacBook for a few months now. After a short transition period with passwords and such I don't even notice the difference now.

However I did notice today that Chrome has used 2-3gb of data each month for the past few months as well as 14% of my battery usage yesterday, despite not actually opening the app at all. It tells me that 90% of this data is foreground, which must have a very loose definition…

A quick Google revealed this is an issue, at least a couple of years ago, but no real explanation that I could find.

I opened Chrome today and I had 3 tabs open and
I guess sitting there for the last couple of months.

Despite not actually using Chrome could the 3 tabs be responsible for the data +/- energy use?

I've disabled it now, but seriously what's that all about? I don't even use the app but it still managed to use more days than anything else I do.

Computing

Comments

  • Davo1111 on 25/05/2022 - 08:34

    keep using chrome, but change the default browser to a 3rd party like firefox. restart, then wait 48h

    My bet it's a weird app skin or something.

    btw, 2-3GB/data a month is not that much imo. Do you have it connected to wifi? Updates will go through wifi if that's an option

    • md333 on 25/05/2022 - 12:00
      +1

      2-3GB a month is massive for something you aren't using. Pretty much needs to be video.

      I've noticed pixel 4a opens web pages from the google feed (whatever the left most home page is called) and from email links in something which is not called chrome by the phone, but appears very similar. I wonder if that is called chrome on data use. Seems to link to a lot of stories with lots of video ads, so could account for the data if it is being used.

      • cheaplee on 25/05/2022 - 17:15

        This might be it. I do browse the news feed, but clicking on items opens them in edge. Some of them play videos on their own though.

        Email links do not open in edge, but I don't really get email videos or anything that would account for use.

    • cheaplee on 25/05/2022 - 17:19

      App updates set to wifi only.

      2g might not be much if I was using it, as said below, but given I use the lower Boost plan 24-30g a year is significant if I don't even know what it is!

  • MarsDK9 on 25/05/2022 - 13:50
    +1

    Sometimes the Chrome browser operates through a webview like when you click on a link inside another app it'll browse to that page in-app. Discord does this by default, I think.
    You could set up a metered connection, or use a software firewall like Netguard or a VPN to track what kind of traffic Chrome is requesting and sending out to help pin down what's happening.

    • cheaplee on 25/05/2022 - 17:16

      Could be. Instead of trying to pin it down however I decided to just disable Chrome. If it keeps using the data/battery I'll have to think about this again.

      Thanks

    • Chandler on 26/05/2022 - 08:32

      This.

      Much how on a old PC at work opening links in Outlook would try to open them in Internet Explorer, even though I had Edge, Chrome and Firefox installed (with Firefox as the default).

  • Kangal on 28/05/2022 - 03:29

    For your MacBook, get rid of Chrome. It's pretty slow, resource intensive, and a battery hog.
    Firefox is more secure and better, and gives you lots of power/options. But the best browser is still Safari, it sips battery life like an Italian drinking coffee.

    On your phone, I would uninstall Chrome.
    You can use the full-desktop Firefox on your phone now, and share the account with your MacBook. Outside of that, the best browser on Android at the moment is Brave Browser. And they also make a great Search Engine too. I just cannot use DuckDuckGo anymore it's too bad, pulling all these inaccurate searches through MS/Bing. If you want a bit more power/options, there is "searx" which seems to be the gold standard. Google Search is too bad these days, no privacy, full of ads, and politically motivated.

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