The Great Suspender replacement
A modern Great Suspender replacement
The Great Suspender was removed from the Chrome Web Store in 2021 after it changed hands and shipped malicious code. If you still miss it, Roost gives you a safer, Manifest V3 way to reclaim RAM — and it saves your tabs so you can close them entirely and restore them later.
What happened to The Great Suspender
The Great Suspender suspended inactive tabs to save memory and was hugely popular. In 2021 the project was sold to a new maintainer, a version was found to contain malicious code, and Google removed and disabled it. Millions of users were left looking for something trustworthy — and the episode is a lasting reminder to check who maintains the extensions you rely on.
Your options in 2026
- Chrome Memory Saver (built in): Chrome now automatically frees memory from inactive tabs. Good for hands-off suspending, but it doesn't save or organize sessions.
- Dedicated suspenders (e.g. Auto Tab Discard): focus purely on discarding inactive tabs.
- Roost: suspend inactive tabs on demand to free estimated RAM and save every tab as a named session you can restore later — so you can close tabs completely, not just park them.
Why Roost is a safe, modern choice
Roost is built from scratch for Manifest V3, so it won't break the way legacy suspenders did. It's local-first: your sessions live in your browser, and the only network call is license verification — no account, no servers holding your data. And it's maintained by an identifiable solo developer who answers support email. Where a suspender only parks a tab, Roost lets you save the whole session, close everything to reclaim full memory, and restore it exactly later.
| Capability | Old Great Suspender | Chrome Memory Saver | Roost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free RAM from inactive tabs | Yes | Yes (auto) | Yes (on demand) |
| Save tabs as sessions | No | No | Yes |
| Restore with layout | No | No | Yes |
| Manifest V3, maintained | Removed | Built in | Yes |
| Private / local-first | Later versions untrusted | Yes | Yes |
| Price | — | Free | Free · $5 once |
If you only want auto-suspend
Be honest with yourself about the job. If all you want is Chrome to quietly free memory with zero interaction, turn on Memory Saver in Chrome settings — you may not need an extension at all. Reach for Roost when you want to save and bring back your tabs, not just suspend them.
Reclaim RAM — and keep your tabs
Suspend on demand, save the session, restore it whenever.
Add Roost to Chrome — FreeRelated comparisons
Frequently asked questions
Why was The Great Suspender removed?
In 2021 the extension changed ownership and a version was found to contain malicious code, so Google removed it from the Chrome Web Store and disabled it for users.
Does Roost automatically suspend tabs like the old extension?
Roost suspends inactive tabs on demand to free up estimated RAM, and its Pro tier adds auto-archive scheduling. For fully automatic memory management, Chrome's built-in Memory Saver also works and can be used alongside Roost.
How is Roost safer than the extension that replaced The Great Suspender?
Roost is Manifest V3, stores data locally, makes only a single license-verification network request, and is maintained by an identifiable developer. You can also export sessions to Markdown as your own backup.
Can I close tabs completely and get them back?
Yes — that's the point. Save a session, close the tabs to reclaim full memory, and restore the whole window later with its layout intact.