Google Chrome Helper

If you’re like me, it didn’t take you long to switch from Safari to Chrome as your default Mac browser. For all that Apple does well, Safari just misses the mark for me. Like many Mac users, I favor Chrome for its speed and its easy integration with my Google accounts—something that Safari hasn’t yet been able to match.

Google Chrome Helper Virus
Google Chrome Helper Gpu
Google Chrome Helper Big Sur
Google Chrome Helper Renderer Mac

There are some tradeoffs with Chrome, though. While it is a great browser, Chrome is not native to the Mac ecosystem. This leads to mild annoyances, like links in Messages opening in Safari by default (which requires some workarounds to change). Additionally, Chrome’s outsider status makes for some bigger structural issues. For one thing, it’s energy-intensive. Using Chrome instead of Safari typically costs MacBook users about an hour of battery life per charge.

'Google Chrome Helper attempted to access a secure website. Screen Time restricts access to secure websites. To add this website to your list, click Add Website.' In my case, the is either the number above with one of a few last digits in place of the 'x' I.
Zoom for Google Chrome. StayFocusd increases your productivity by limiting the amount of time that you can spend on time-wasting websites.

Official Google Chrome Help Center where you can find tips and tutorials on using Google Chrome and other answers to frequently asked questions.

What’s to blame for Chrome’s greedy use of battery life? Part of the problem is the background tools Chrome runs. These don’t just drain your Mac’s juice faster—they also hog memory and monopolize your CPU, which can put unnecessary strain on your computer. Below, we’ll explain how to save your Mac’s performance from one such culprit: Google Chrome Helper.

What is Google Chrome Helper?

Google Chrome Helper is one of the background tools designed to help Chrome run smoothly. It’s a utility that fetches content from various browser plugins. When you open a page with an embedded flash video, for example, the Chrome browser loads all of the page’s main content (anything that is written in HTML code). However, the browser uses Chrome Helper to fetch the Flash video from the server where it’s stored.

In most cases, this runs smoothly enough. Your browser uses Chrome Helper automatically, and the embedded images and videos show up right where they should be. In its default setup, Chrome uses Helper to display any and all plugins that it encounters, from embedded videos and forms to banner ads.

In theory, this should all work smoothly. However, Chrome helper can sometimes go a bit overboard. Users have reported seeing up to seven instances of Chrome Helper running simultaneously—this can put a ton of unnecessary strain on a computer. While it’s not clear exactly what causes this issue when the utility encounters certain plugins, its CPU and battery usage spike.

According to user reports, Google Chrome Helper most commonly encounters this duplication issue in response to Flash content, though it can happen in response to any web plugin.

So, how to minimize Google Helper activity?

As we said earlier, without too much clicking in typing, you can switch off Google Helper with CleanMyMac X. This is a memory-cleaner for macOS, which has recently been notarized by Apple.
Run CleanMyMac X — Download a free edition here.
Navigate to the Optimization tab.
Then, click Launch Agents.

As you can see, there a few Google “agents” operating in the background on my Mac. There are even “agents” from apps I thought I had deleted months ago! Here you can disable or remove these small memory-eaters altogether. The performance of your Mac should go up. For greater effect, click on the Login Items tab, located just above this one.

How does Google Chrome Helper affect Mac's memory?

One challenge that users face in diagnosing this issue is the difficulty of detecting it. Your Mac has tools that can identify the problem quickly, but they’re not exactly intuitive. One indicator might be a significant drop in battery life, but that alone isn’t enough to be certain.

The best way to find out if Google Chrome Helper is impacting your Mac’s CPU is to use the Activity Monitor, a handy tool for determining which applications and processes are using the most space on your Mac. Here’s how to use it:

Open your Applications folder
Open the Utilities folder
Click on “Activity Monitor”
In the Activity Monitor Window, use the tabs marked CPU, Memory, and Energy to see which functions are hogging your Mac’s processing power

If you see Google Chrome Helper listed multiple times, there’s a good chance that you’ve found the culprit.

Activity Monitor is a useful tool for evaluating your Mac’s performance, but many Mac users don’t even know it’s available—out of sight, out of mind. Consider creating a shortcut for the utility, or adding it to your Dock so you remember to check it every now and then.

Another good option for detecting CPU hogs is CleanMyMac X. This multipurpose disk analyzer and the cleanup app has a range of tools that can help improve your Mac’s performance. Its System Junk module can scan your Mac and help you see quickly and clearly where your computer is using energy and memory.

Get a free version of CleanMyMac X here.

How to disable Google Chrome helper process

Because of the strain, it places on your CPU, it’s natural to wonder whether you can disable or remove Chrome Helper. Luckily, the answer is yes! Below, I’ll walk you through a couple of methods for disabling this utility and taking control of your Mac’s performance. Because Helper works behind the scenes you won’t be able to find and disable the utility itself, but you can change your Chrome settings to make Helper inactive.

At this point, it’s natural to wonder whether disabling Chrome Helper is safe. The short answer is, yes! You can disable the utility without risking any damage to your Mac or your Chrome app.

Here’s how to manually disable Google Chrome Helper:

Close all Chrome windows (but do not quit the program)
Open on the Chrome menu and go to chrome://settings
In the sidebar, click the “Privacy and security” tab.
Click Site Settings.
In the section 'Additional permissions,' select “Unsandboxed plugin access” and make sure it’s set to “Ask when a site wants to use a plugin to access your computer”
In the site settings menu, click “Flash” and make sure it’s set to “Block sites from running flash”

When you configure Chrome this way, it stops Chrome Helper from automatically running every time you encounter a plugin on a website. Instead, Chrome will display a gray box and ask you for permission to play the content. This can help stop runaway Chrome Helper processes from monopolizing your CPU.

When Chrome helper is disabled, you have to manually authorize flash content and images to load. This works out as an automatic ad blocker, so you save processing power that would have been used on annoying banner ads and pop-ups!