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On a computer, turn off Chrome’s Memory Saver at More > Settings > Performance > Memory Saver. If you want to keep Memory Saver on, add the sites you rely on to Always keep these sites active. On phones and tablets, look for Chrome’s separate Inactive tabs controls: mobile tabs may be moved out of the main tab view rather than unloaded by desktop Memory Saver.
First, tell whether Chrome closed a tab or made it inactive
A tab that stays in the tab strip but reloads when selected was probably deactivated, also called discarded. Chrome unloads the page to free memory; selecting the tab loads it again. The tab itself was not closed, though unsaved page state may be lost. Google describes this behavior in its Chrome Enterprise tab-discarding documentation.
- Still visible, but reloads: Check Memory Saver or system memory pressure.
- Moved to an Inactive tabs section: Check Chrome’s mobile tab organization settings.
- Gone completely: It may have been closed, lost in a crash, or be in another window or profile. Use recently closed tabs or history to look for it.
Turn off Memory Saver on a computer
On Windows, Mac, Linux, and Chromebook, open More > Settings > Performance, then switch Memory Saver off. Chrome’s control is documented in its Performance settings help.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteWhen Memory Saver is on, Chrome offers Moderate, Balanced, and Maximum levels. Those adjust how aggressively inactive tabs are deactivated; choose Off if you do not want Memory Saver to unload tabs. Turning it off can increase memory use, particularly when many tabs are open.
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Protect selected sites without disabling Memory Saver
To preserve Chrome’s memory savings for most tabs while protecting a few important pages, go to More > Settings > Performance and add sites under Always keep these sites active. Consider using this for a document with ongoing edits, work dashboard, webmail, conference app, or a page whose background activity matters.
Chrome accepts domains and supports path-specific entries and some wildcard patterns. A domain such as google.com also covers subdomains such as drive.google.com and calendar.google.com; broad patterns such as *oogle.com are not supported. See Google’s site-exception instructions for the current entry rules. Keeping more sites active uses more memory, so protect only the pages that need it.
Find and manage inactive tabs on Android
Open Chrome’s Tab switcher and look for Inactive tabs. Google’s Android help says tabs or groups unused for 14 days or more may be moved there, but its documentation also reflects differing thresholds and controls across versions or rollouts. Treat the timing as device- and version-dependent rather than universal.
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If your Chrome version exposes an inactivity control, look under More > Settings > Tabs or Advanced > Tabs > Inactive. Choose Never or turn off automatic closure if that option appears. Google’s Android tabs help describes inactive-tab access; use the labels actually shown in your app because menus vary.
Stop inactive-tab movement on iPhone and iPad
To find tabs already moved, open Tab Switcher > Inactive Tabs. To prevent future moves where the setting is available, open More > Settings > Tabs and tab groups > Inactive, then select Never move. Google documents these iOS controls in its iPhone and iPad tabs help.
These mobile inactive-tab controls are separate from desktop Memory Saver; Chrome’s desktop performance personalization is not available on Android or iOS.
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If tabs still disappear or background pages stop working
- Check the right window and profile. Inspect Chrome’s profile avatar and open windows; a tab may be in another profile or window.
- Look in Recently closed. Open History > Recently closed and restore the tab or window if listed.
- Check mobile Inactive tabs. A tab moved there has not necessarily been deleted.
- Consider extensions. Temporarily disable tab managers or other extensions that may close tabs, then see whether the problem recurs.
- Check for crashes or memory pressure. An operating system can terminate Chrome, and severe memory pressure can disrupt a session even with Memory Saver off. Reducing open tabs, closing other apps, or removing resource-heavy extensions may help.
- Check whether Chrome is managed. Work or school administrators can configure memory limits or tab-discarding behavior. If a setting is enforced, ask the administrator rather than trying to override it. See Chrome’s enterprise policy documentation.
- Update Chrome. Google’s performance guidance includes updating the browser and closing tabs you are not using.
Restore a tab that was actually closed
On Windows, Linux, and ChromeOS, press Ctrl + Shift + T. On Mac, press Command + Shift + T. Repeat the shortcut to reopen additional recently closed tabs or windows. You can also use History > Recently closed; Google lists the shortcuts in its desktop tabs help.
If the item is no longer in Recently closed, check browsing history or synced tabs on another device if Chrome sync was enabled. A restored page may reload without unsaved form contents, temporary state, or an active login session.
Check Energy Saver separately
Energy Saver is not the same as Memory Saver. Memory Saver deactivates tabs to reclaim memory; Energy Saver reduces background work and can stop eligible CPU-intensive background tabs. If a web app merely stops updating while in the background, check both settings at More > Settings > Performance, along with the site’s own background-activity controls. Chrome says the Energy Saver behavior described in its Performance help does not affect video-conferencing and audio-playing tabs.
Quick Recap
Reduce the risk of losing work
- Save documents and submit or copy important form contents before leaving a page.
- Add essential sites to Always keep these sites active when they need to retain page state.
- Bookmark a page or add it to a reading list if you need to find it later; neither is a substitute for saving unsaved work.
- Pinning can help organize a tab, and Chrome lists pinned tabs among activities that may prevent deactivation, but it is not an absolute guarantee under every system or administrator condition.
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