How I stopped (after being forced to) using google chrome incognito mode

Sometime last month, I noticed that my chrome browser started behaving strangely. It all started when I activated one of my extensions, eyeCare. This extension reminds you to take a break from staring at the screen too long by creating a new tab and reminding you to do so (hello, myopia).

It was really annoying but effective.

After turning it off for almost 3 months (hey, I’m forgetful) I felt I needed to use it after noticing how bloodshot my eyes were at the end of the day.

However, once I turned the extension on, I notice that Chrome would ‘hang’ for almost a minute, periodically, almost every 5 minutes. That’s a huge productivity hole. It use to irritate the crap out of me.

So I did what any clueless person would do. I googled the problem. I tried deleting the ‘appdata’ folder, I tried re-installing the browser, I even tried deleted all my extensions thinking I’d be getting rid of the root cause. My browser was still stalling.

At the end of all the threads, there always seems to be the same temporary workaround; use incognito mode. That seems to work, the browser doesn’t hang anymore.

But I want my history! I want my passwords to be automatically filled in! I want to re-open a tab that I stupidly closed by mistake! I want to click on an active link and have it appear instantly, not right click -> save link -> open new incognito browser -> past link and go.

Using incognito mode didn’t seem to be a viable option in the long run.

So with much tinkering and loads of trial and error, I finally found out my problem.

It had something to do with my bookmarks. As I started sorting out my data on chrome (and started getting used to Firefox) I noticed that some of my bookmarks caused the browser to be unresponsive for a good 3 minutes (even in incognito mode) Getting rid of these websites on my bookmark seemed to do the trick.

Once I had (over 50) bookmarks sorted into proper folders, I noticed that I could use chrome again (how do I know this? I accidentally clicked on an active link INSTEAD of right clicking. Oh happy accidents)

So, if you’re having problems with chrome, try looking at your bookmarks. There’s probably a saved corrupted site that’s interrupting the browser. I can honestly say the faulty site wasn’t even a working one because all the sites I organized were working fine.

Try it!