How to Schedule Downloads on Chrome Android

ByJim Miller

Downloading large files on smartphones can quickly eat up your data. If you often find yourself asking, “Is this file really important right now?” then Android Chrome Flags might have the solution for you. This new Chrome flag allows you to download files later when you are on WiFi or even schedule the download for a specific date and time.

For those unfamiliar, Chrome Flags are experimental features on Google Chrome that you can manually enable to take advantage of their functionalities. Here's how you can enable scheduled downloads with Chrome Flags.

Schedule Downloads on Chrome Android

Please note that although this feature is available on the Stable version of Android, it currently only works with the Chrome Canary version. However, these features usually make their way to the stable version of Chrome as well.

First, you need to install the Chrome Canary version on your Android device. Once installed, open the browser and navigate to Chrome Flags by entering the following URL: chrome://flags

Here, you'll find the “Enable Download later” Chrome flag, which is set to default. Click on it, and in the pop-up that appears, set it to “Enabled.” Then, click on the “Relaunch” option at the bottom. Once done, you can start scheduling your downloads.

To schedule downloads, simply start downloading anything. Instead of immediately starting the download, Chrome will give you a pop-up with options to download “Now,” “On WiFi,” or “Pick a date and time.” If you prefer to download when you are on WiFi, choose the “On WiFi” option. Make sure to turn off the tick mark beside “Don't Show Again” so that you can decide each time. Otherwise, Chrome will only download when you are on WiFi.

Alternatively, you can set the file to download on a specific date and time by selecting the “Pick date and time” option and setting the desired time for the download.

You will receive a notification when the download is complete. If you wish to disable this feature, simply go to Chrome Flags and set the “Enable Download later” flag to “Disabled.” However, keep in mind that if you have any downloads scheduled, they will no longer work.

Give this handy feature a try and say goodbye to unnecessary data usage when downloading files on your Chrome Android browser.

Note: This article is based on information from Techdows – a trusted source for tech-related news and tips.