Chrome users on Mac, sometimes run into browser speed issues, causing high CPU usage.
When you check the Mac Activity Monitor, you find the Google Chrome Helper (Renderer and GPU) eating up the CPU and system memory. Hence, enraging your laptop’s fan goes off.
It indicates, there’s an issue between a plug-in and the built-in Google Chrome Helper feature.
If this is happening more than often, then you should fix the Google Chrome helper high CPU usage problem, and stop it from rampaging the CPU, RAM & FAN. Although you can turn off the renderer by quitting all the helper processes. But you might want to disable Google Chrome Helper completely on your browser if it’s running slow.
What is Google Chrome Helper?
Chrome users can sometimes run into browser speed issues if there’s an issue between a plug-in and the built-in Chrome Helper feature.
It’s difficult to determine what it is exactly that Chrome Helper renderer does, but after doing some research, long story short is it’s the bridge between your browser and the remote servers needed for plug-ins to work.
And while you can’t see the Helper, the tool is using a portion of your computer’s memory and processing power.
So, if you’ve already tried several troubleshooting methods, and Chrome is still running slow, then it might be a good idea to disable Google Chrome Helper.
In some cases Chrome helper renderer problem causes massive computer overheating pushing your PC fans to run at full speed.
Here’s how to manually disable Chrome Helper in the latest Chrome ver.
Read Also: What Should be the Ideal CPU fan Speed While Playing Games?
How to disable Google Chrome Helper
- Open Google Chrome on your Mac or PC.
- Click the three vertical dots in the top-right corner.
- Go to Settings > Advanced > Privacy and Security> Site Settings.
You can also enterchrome://settings/content/unsandboxedPluginsin your browser to get to the plugin settings immediately. - Scroll down to “Additional permissions” and click “Unsandboxed plugin access.”
Click on the blue slider so it turns gray. - That’s it you disabled the Chrome helper tool.
You just changed the Chrome permission from “Ask when a site wants to use a plugin to access your computer (recommended)” to “Do not allow any site to use a plugin to access your computer.”
Disabling all plugin access to your computer is the best way to stifle an overactive Helper. Once you disable Google Chrome Helper, you’ll have to manually enable plug-ins.
What Happen Once You Turn Off Chrome Helper (Renderer)?
Disabling Helper’s auto-helping is easy, and it won’t prevent you from using plug-ins. You’ll just have to opt in to view plug-in content on a case-by-case basis. Deactivating it isn’t entirely intuitive, though – there’s no mention of the Helper outside of your Activity Monitor and forum complaints. You’ll have to dig a couple of levels deep into your Chrome settings.
P.S. It also helps to remove unwanted extensions regularly
How to Remove Google Chrome Helper on Apple Macintosh
Apple Macintosh users can also stop the Chrome helper dialog madness. Follow these steps:
- Logged into the user having the issue
- Navigate to :\ApplicationsRight-Click (Control+Click) on Google Chrome and select “Show Package Contents”
- The window will change. Now
- Navigate to:\Contents\Frameworks\Google Chrome Framework\Helpers and remove the Chrome Helper plugin
- This has worked for many Apple users so far. No more crazy pop-ups are appearing while they use Google Chrome.
Google Chrome Helper FAQ
Who do I blame for “Google Chrome Helper (Not Responding)”?
The Chrome Help Center doesn’t explain what it is or what it does, although you can find plenty of users complaining about it there. The Chrome FAQ isn’t any help, either. What is this mysterious helper, and what is it “helping” with except hogging all the CPU processing power and setting on the fan? We got all the answers.
Even if you run only one program you will see multiple processes in the activity monitor. The reason is that Chrome takes benefit of properties and sets web apps and plug-ins in separate processes from the browser itself.
It’s built-in protection so when a rendering engine crashes in one web app, it will not affect the other web apps in the browser. Usually, each plug-in or extension has one active process.
No. Chrome helper is not a problem. The chrome helper goes astray only when multiple Google Chrome processes run at once. Or when you download Chrome extension not protected from malware/ spyware.
Chrome helper is a process that opens when you run Chrome browser. It tends to go on the rampage when there’s a rogue extension or when Google Chrome’s plug-in settings are configured to run everything by default. There’s a long list of the plug-ins supported by Chrome here, but most users in the Help Center forums seem to run into trouble when it’s working with Flash content.
Some sites need unsandboxed plugin access so they can let you do tasks like stream video or install the software. By default, Chrome asks you if a site’s plug-in can bypass Chrome’s sandbox to access your computer. Automatic downloads: Sites might automatically download related files together to save you time.
