How to Enable or Disable Preload Pages in Chrome

To enable or disable preload pages in Chrome, go to Settings › Performance › Preloading and choose a preloading level. Preload pages loads websites in the background before you click them, so pages open much faster.

Chrome turns on Standard preloading by default, and it uses that setting to guess which links you are likely to click next. You can change it in the Performance section of Chrome’s settings. Google plans to improve the feature with smarter prediction rules, so the labels and wording may change slightly over time. The steps below are written for current Chrome on Windows 11, and they work the same on Home and Pro editions of Windows.

Enable or disable “Preload pages” in Chrome

To preload pages, Chrome uses network prediction. It looks at the page you have open, guesses which links you might click next, and loads those pages ahead of time. When you click one of those links, the page is already waiting, so it appears almost at once.

The change takes a minute and you can reverse it at any time by repeating the same steps.

These steps turn preload pages on, or off, by setting the preloading level in Chrome.

1. Open the Google Chrome browser on your PC. A Chrome window opens on your desktop.

2. Click the Customize and Control button. It is the three vertical dots in the top right corner of the window, and a menu drops down when you click it.
3. Select Settings. Chrome opens the Settings⚙️ page in a new tab.

4. Click Performance. It is in the left panel of the Settings⚙️ page, and the performance options now appear on the right.

The Preloading section appears on the right side of the window. If you do not see it right away, scroll down the Performance page a little. If your Chrome looks slightly different, look for the entry named Preloading, since Google sometimes moves or renames options between releases.

5. Click Preloading. The available options now appear on screen.

chrome://settings/preloading

6. Select the level of preloading that fits your needs. You will see three choices:

• No preloading
• Standard preloading
• Extended preloading

Here is what each choice does:

• No preloading turns the feature off, so pages load only when you click them. That saves data and some battery, but pages may open a little slower.
• Standard preloading is the default and a good middle ground.
• Extended preloading preloads more pages for extra speed, and it can use more data.

To enable preload pages, pick Standard or Extended. To disable it, pick No preloading. If you are unsure, leave the setting on Standard preloading.

If the options are greyed out or you cannot change them, your PC may be managed by an organization that controls Chrome settings. In that case, ask your administrator.

7. Close the Settings⚙️ tab. Chrome saves your preference automatically, so there is no Save button to click.

Chrome applies the new preloading choice immediately, so you do not need to restart the browser. To undo the change, open the same page and pick a different option.

Source: Google