If you’re the kind of person who constantly has dozens (or even hundreds) of tabs open, all with the best intentions of reading them “eventually,” then Google’s latest Chrome feature might just be your new best friend. As spotted by Android Authority, the latest unstable versions of Chrome for Android now include a handy tool that lets you transfer all your tabs to a new device in one go.
How the New Chrome Tab Recovery Feature Works
The new feature is straightforward and designed to save time. As long as you’re signed in to the same Google account on both devices, your new phone will automatically offer to “retrieve your tabs from another device” as soon as you switch to the tab selection interface (that little square in the top-right corner of your Chrome window).
Mass Import Saves Time and Effort
When you activate the feature, you’ll see a list of your synced devices, allowing you to choose which device’s tabs you want to bring over. You can either reopen all the tabs you had open on your old phone or browse through your history and select only the ones you really need.
Previously, if you wanted to access your synced tabs on a new installation of Chrome, you had to dig through the “Recent Tabs” menu and open each tab one by one. This new mass import option should make life a lot easier for anyone who hoards tabs and doesn’t want to risk losing their precious browsing data.
How to Enable the Feature Now
As noted by Android Authority, this feature is likely enabled by default in Chrome’s beta and dev versions (and possibly in Canary as well), but you can also activate it in the standard public version of the browser. Here’s how:
- Sign in to your Google account on Chrome.
- Type “chrome://flags” in the address bar.
- Search for “Tab Resumption Mode” in the search field.
- Set the option to “Enabled.”
- Restart Chrome.
- Open the tab selection interface.
Your Chrome should then offer to restore your tabs if you have another instance of Chrome running somewhere. This feature also works to restore tabs on the same device if you’ve reset Chrome or your phone.
With this new tool, you’ll have no excuse not to revisit that article you saved weeks ago and finally check it off your reading list.
My name is Noah and I’m a dedicated member of the “Jason Deegan” team. With my passion for technology, I strive to bring you the latest and most exciting news in the world of high-tech.