Chrome and Data Saver

[KPMcClave]

I have been setting the Chrome Data Saver toggle to On by defualt ever since it appeared in the browser. Whenever I re-install a new flavor of Chrome, I make sure that's on. The percentages I see displayed as data saved has made me think it's worthwhile.

Recently I turned Data Saver off. It dawned on me that this is the sort of setting that could be draining battery more than it otherwise would. Because Chrome of any flavor is usually a pretty big battery consumer, I figured testing it out would be worth the time.

I haven't documented the drain percentages in any fixed form, but have been noticing anecdotally. It seems there is a slight decrease in the amount (or percentage to be more accurate) of Chrome usage in my battery stats. Where 3-4% seemed to be most common, which usually put it atop the apps list, just after Screen, Android System and Kernel (Android OS), I've been seeing it top out at around 2% since turning off Data Saver.

Has anyone else ever tried this comparison or seen other info on it? I'd think especially if you're on WiFi a good deal of the time, it may be worth trying for yourself.

FYI, I'm currently using the latest version of Chrome Dev.

 

[muckrakerX]

Are you using chrome, or chrome beta?

 

[KPMcClave]

Are you using chrome, or chrome beta?

Chrome Dev.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[muckrakerX]

Ok. I knew Beta had that option, but didn't know if regular chrome had it. I thought all the data compression was done at Google's end. Doesn't seem like it should effect battery if that is the case, but who knows

 

[RedOctobyr]

The phone would still have to decompress it, at least, which could cause more drain.

 

[cribble2k]

I thought the point of that feature was so Google could bypass ad blockers.

I remember using this early on, and came to the conclusion that any data that may of been saved was used up in ads.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[KPMcClave]

I thought the point of that feature was so Google could bypass ad blockers.

I remember using this early on, and came to the conclusion that any data that may of been saved was used up in ads.

Posted via the Android Central App

Interesting. If that's true, I would think the biggest boost would be with #NoChromo and Data Saver turned off. I didn't notice much of a difference in battery drain when I used #NoChromo (two tries in fact), so I have just gone back to Chrome Dev for the latest (and hopefully) greatest.

 

[Matt Welsh]

Hi there,

I'm the tech lead on the Chrome Data Saver. Glad you are a happy user We haven't seen any reports of reduced battery usage for this feature. I'd be surprised if it did drain your battery, since all it's doing on the client is setting a proxy. Indeed, on cellular networks I would expect a modest amount of battery improvement since fewer bytes over the air means less time with the radio on. That said, it would be interesting to measure this in a controlled setting to confirm. Happy to answer any questions you have.

 

[Matt Welsh]

I am the tech lead on Chrome Data Saver. The system knows nothing about ads. Indeed, we avoid modifying the HTML for pages in any way, and certainly don't inject ads -- not sure where you're getting this from. Also, not sure what you mean about bypassing ad blockers -- there are no ad blockers for Chrome on Android or iOS to my knowledge. This feature is strictly about saving mobile data use and should not affect the number or type of ads you see.

 

[stmax]

I wonder if there has been any thoughts to have an option to auto trigger data saver mode when on mobile data.

Posted via the Android Central App