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Using Web Sockets to overcome Chrome Tab Freezing

Using Web Sockets to overcome Chrome Tab Freezing

With Chrome 133, Google is taking a step forward in energy efficiency by freezing inactive, CPU-intensive tabs when Energy Saver mode is active. While this is great for battery-conscious users, it can disrupt background processes like notifications, file uploads, or real-time updates. So, how do you adapt to these changes and ensure your app stays functional? One effective solution is to implement web sockets.

Why Web Sockets?

Web sockets provide a persistent, full-duplex communication channel between the client and server. Unlike traditional polling, which repeatedly sends HTTP requests to check for updates, web sockets maintain an open connection, enabling real-time communication with minimal overhead. This efficiency makes web sockets ideal for avoiding CPU-intensive tasks that could trigger Chrome's freezing mechanism.

In other words, we would need to focus on how to handle Freezing with the Page Lifecycle API (Use the freeze and resume events to pause non-essential processes and ensure the web socket remains functional), and Optimize Resource Usage by minimizing the data sent over the socket to avoid being flagged as CPU-intensive. Compress messages if possible, and ensure the server handles idle connections efficiently. Some of the benefits of using web sockets include:

  • Real-Time Updates : Maintain instant communication with users even when tabs are inactive.
  • Lower Overhead : Reduce CPU usage compared to polling, making your app less likely to be frozen.
  • Scalability : Easily manage multiple connections for chat apps, notifications, or live feeds.

For even greater efficiency, consider migrating background tasks to service workers. Service workers operate independently of the page and won’t be affected by freezing. Pairing web sockets with service workers ensures robust background functionality.

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