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Chrome flags are experimental features that allow you to customize browser behavior beyond standard settings. Helium includes all Chromium flags plus several Helium-specific flags for additional privacy and customization.
Experimental Features: Flags are experimental and may cause instability, data loss, or security issues. Use at your own risk and only enable flags you understand.

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Accessing Flags

Navigate to the flags page: 
chrome://flags
Or search in the address bar: “chrome flags”
Helium’s flags page features improved UI with better search, cleaner styling, and more obvious focus indicators compared to Chromium.

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Helium-Specific Flags

These flags are unique to Helium and control Helium-specific features:

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Update Channel

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helium-update-channel
choice
default:"Automatic"
Selects which update channel to use for update checking.Options:
  • Automatic (Default): Uses stable channel
  • Stable: Stable release channel
  • Beta: Beta release channel for testing new features
Location: chrome://flags/#helium-update-channel
Changing the update channel requires a browser restart. The selected channel determines which updates you receive. See Updates for more information about channels.

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Energy Saver Frame Rate

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energy-saver-fps-limit
choice
default:"Automatic"
Configures the frame rate the browser is throttled to when Energy Saver is enabled.Options:
  • Automatic (Default): 30 FPS
  • 30: 30 FPS - Best battery life
  • 60: 60 FPS - Balanced
  • 120: 120 FPS - Smooth animations, less battery savings
  • Disabled: No frame rate limiting
Location: chrome://flags/#energy-saver-fps-limit
When Energy Saver mode is active, Helium throttles all frame rendering to the specified rate. This reduces CPU and GPU usage, extending battery life.
  • 30 FPS: Significant power savings, acceptable for most web browsing
  • 60 FPS: Standard refresh rate, good balance
  • 120 FPS: For high-refresh displays, minimal power savings
  • Disabled: Disables frame throttling entirely (not recommended)
This flag works in conjunction with the Energy Saver setting in Settings → Performance.

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Disable ECH

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disable-ech
boolean
default:"false"
Disables TLS Encrypted Client Hello (ECH).When to use: Only enable this flag if you live in an area with heavy internet censorship and ECH prevents websites from loading.Security impact: Disabling ECH reduces your privacy by making your TLS connections more observable to network intermediaries.Location: chrome://flags/#disable-ech
Not Recommended: ECH is an important privacy protection that encrypts the initial TLS handshake. Only disable this if websites fail to load due to censorship infrastructure blocking ECH.

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Middle Click Autoscroll

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middle-click-autoscroll
boolean
default:"Windows: Enabled, Others: Disabled"
Enables autoscroll when you middle-click (scroll wheel click) on a page.Behavior: Middle-clicking creates an autoscroll anchor. Moving the mouse scrolls the page.Default state:
  • Windows: Enabled (matches Windows system behavior)
  • macOS/Linux: Disabled
Location: chrome://flags/#middle-click-autoscroll
  1. Enable the flag and restart the browser
  2. Middle-click (press scroll wheel) on any webpage
  3. An autoscroll anchor appears
  4. Move your mouse up/down to scroll
  5. Click anywhere to stop autoscrolling

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Notable Chromium Flags

Helium includes all standard Chromium flags. Here are some notable ones:

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Performance and Privacy

chrome://flags/#enable-parallel-downloadingEnables parallel download connections to speed up file downloads. Can significantly improve download speeds on fast connections.Default: Disabled
chrome://flags/#smooth-scrollingEnables smooth scrolling animations. When enabled, scrolling feels more fluid and animated.Default: Platform-dependent
chrome://flags/#tab-groups-saveAllows saving tab groups for later restoration. Useful for organizing workflows.Default: Varies by version
chrome://flags/#enable-reader-modeEnables a distraction-free reading mode for articles. Appears in the address bar when available.Default: Disabled

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Experimental Features

chrome://flags/#scrollable-tabstripChanges tab overflow behavior to use scrolling instead of shrinking tabs.Default: Disabled
chrome://flags/#enable-force-darkAutomatically inverts bright web pages to dark mode. Experimental and may break some sites.Default: Disabled
chrome://flags/#enable-heavy-ad-interventionBlocks ads that use excessive resources (CPU, network, etc.).Default: Enabled on some platforms

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Flags UI Improvements

Helium enhances the chrome://flags interface:

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Visual Improvements

  • Better focus indicators: Clearer outlines when navigating with keyboard
  • Improved search box: Larger, more prominent search with better styling (8px border radius)
  • Refined dropdown menus: Improved select controls with 6px border radius
  • Better spacing: Increased max-width and better padding for readability

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User Experience

  • Cleaner layout: Streamlined design matching Helium’s aesthetic
  • Keyboard navigation: Improved accessibility for keyboard users
  • Responsive design: Better behavior on different screen sizes
The flags page is implemented as a WebUI component and inherits Helium’s design system, making it feel more integrated with the rest of the browser.

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Removed and Excluded Flags

Helium removes or excludes flags that conflict with privacy goals:
  • Ad-related flags (Autofill offers in keyboard accessory, etc.)
  • Tracking and analytics flags
  • Google-specific integration flags
  • Features that phone home unnecessarily
Many irrelevant flags are hidden via the exclude-irrelevant-flags patch. This keeps the flags page focused on useful features.

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Managing Flags

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Searching Flags

Use the search box at the top of chrome://flags to find specific flags: 
Type keyword (e.g., "download", "scroll", "dark")

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Enabling/Disabling Flags

1

Navigate to Flags

Open chrome://flags in your address bar
2

Find Your Flag

Use the search box or scroll to find the flag you want to modify
3

Change Setting

Click the dropdown next to the flag and select your desired option:
  • Default: Use Chromium’s default behavior
  • Enabled: Force enable the feature
  • Disabled: Force disable the feature
  • (Some flags have additional options)
4

Restart Browser

Click the “Relaunch” button that appears at the bottom of the page

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Resetting Flags

To reset all flags to their defaults:
  1. Navigate to chrome://flags
  2. Click “Reset all” at the top of the page
  3. Restart the browser
Resetting flags cannot be undone. Make note of any custom flag configurations before resetting.

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Command Line Flags

Some flags can be set via command line arguments: 
# Example: Disable ECH via command line
/Applications/Helium.app/Contents/MacOS/Helium --disable-ech

# Example: Set update channel
/Applications/Helium.app/Contents/MacOS/Helium --helium-update-channel=beta
Command line flags override flags set in chrome://flags. They’re useful for testing or automation.

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Best Practices

Test Carefully

Enable experimental flags one at a time and test thoroughly before enabling more. This helps identify which flag causes issues if problems arise.

Document Changes

Keep a list of flags you’ve enabled, especially if you modify many. This makes troubleshooting easier.

Update Awareness

Some flags may be removed, promoted to standard features, or changed in behavior after updates.

Privacy First

Be cautious with flags that enable new features, as they may introduce tracking or privacy issues not yet addressed in Helium.

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Troubleshooting

  1. Restart the browser in safe mode (disable all flags temporarily)
  2. Navigate to chrome://flags
  3. Click “Reset all”
  4. Restart normally
If crashes persist, check the browser console for errors or report the issue on GitHub.
  1. Verify you restarted the browser after changing the flag
  2. Check if the flag requires additional conditions (e.g., specific platform, other flags enabled)
  3. Try setting the flag via command line to ensure it’s being applied
  4. Check the browser console (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + J) for related errors
  1. Use the search box - flag names may not match your expectations
  2. Check if the flag has been promoted to a standard setting (check Settings)
  3. Some flags are platform-specific and may not appear on your OS
  4. The flag may have been removed in your version of Helium

Settings Guide

Standard settings that don’t require experimental flags

Updates

Learn about update channels and the update channel flag

Keyboard Shortcuts

Configure keyboard behavior including middle-click actions

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