M1 iMac memory usage in Safari

[FirDerrig33]

Recently, my M1 iMac 16GB unified starting using a LOT of memory and also a lot of SWAP to the point where I had to shut it down to be able to close applications to keep it running. I'm noticing that Safari with the 9 tabs I have to have open is using a lot of memory, resulting in 30GB+ in SWAP.

I don't think this is normal and just wondering if anyone has experienced this. If it's normal then that seems weird to me that running multiple tabs in Safari would result in That much memory usage.

Thanks for taking a look at this thread!

 

[FirDerrig33]

As an example, I just checked this now and with 1 tab running (Gmail), this is what Activity Monitor is showing:

 

[Adora]

Doesn't look normal. I have 120MB usage with just MacRumors open.

Maybe clearing all website data and restarting Safari and macOS helps.

Not even Firefox ever used that much with many Tabs and 24GB RAM.

 

[MacCheetah3]

Why does the GMail web page use so much RAM?

When I log into my GMail account (using Firefox 31.0 via Ubuntu 14.04 64bit), if I save that web page to my desktop, the file size is 1.3 MB. However, if I look at Firefox's RAM consumption before

superuser.com

Read the (spanning years) comments to the Answer.

Anyway… If you are interested in viewing/monitoring things yourself:

Enabling features for web developers​

Enable features and settings for web developers in Safari.

Safari on macOS has several tools for web developers, including the Develop menu, Web Inspector, and WebDriver, which are turned off by default. To enable these tools:

1. From the menu bar, choose Safari.
2. Select Settings… (⌘,).
3. Go to the Advanced pane.
4. Check the Show features for web developers checkbox.

Enabling features for web developers | Apple Developer Documentation

Enable features and settings for web developers in Safari.

developer.apple.com

Start Timeline Recording
Open Web Inspector and record detailed information about the status of incoming HTTP requests, JavaScript events, and layout. Learn more about timeline recordings…

Develop menu | Apple Developer Documentation

Access tools for debugging webpages in Safari, as well as tools for debugging web content in other apps and on other devices.

developer.apple.com

Related:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/why-does-safari-write-to-disk.2447657/

 

[FirDerrig33]

Why does the GMail web page use so much RAM?

When I log into my GMail account (using Firefox 31.0 via Ubuntu 14.04 64bit), if I save that web page to my desktop, the file size is 1.3 MB. However, if I look at Firefox's RAM consumption before

superuser.com

Read the (spanning years) comments to the Answer.

Anyway… If you are interested in viewing/monitoring things yourself:

Enabling features for web developers | Apple Developer Documentation

Enable features and settings for web developers in Safari.

developer.apple.com

Develop menu | Apple Developer Documentation

Access tools for debugging webpages in Safari, as well as tools for debugging web content in other apps and on other devices.

developer.apple.com

Related:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/why-does-safari-write-to-disk.2447657/

Ok, S I did read that webpage and forum posting and that does give me some answers but doesn't answer a major one that I have now. Is that a difference in memory handling between Apple's M Processors and the Intel boards? I decided to open up my Mac Pro 5,1 after not using it for a while and this is what I show with multiple tabs open and also one tab with Gmail.

Because if this is simply a memory handling thing due to Apple's newer Unified memory setup, then this kind of makes me want to stick with Intel for as long as possible until Apple beefs up the memory a bit in their systems to allow for the immediate access to memory from all angles thanks to their SOC.

 

[MacCheetah3]

Ok, S I did read that webpage and forum posting and that does give me some answers but doesn't answer a major one that I have now. Is that a difference in memory handling between Apple's M Processors and the Intel boards?

Somewhat, but nothing notable in most usage. Generally, regarding RAM management, Apple’s SOC is similar to many other IGPU systems.

Technically, the unified memory architecture can reduce RAM usage — basically, it removes the need to duplicate data required to be accessed by multiple hardware components (e.g., CPU and GPU). However, unified memory requests need to be specifically implemented in software and UMA isn’t beneficial for every task.

Anyway...

Something in your first screenshot caught my attention: com.apple.Safari.History

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a lot about it. I did come across a Web search result that pointed back here:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/is-com-apple-safari-history-taking-up-1-05-gb-of-your-memory.1937812/

So, I think, we then circle back to some more common troubleshooting:

Maybe clearing all website data and restarting Safari

Clear cookies in Safari on Mac

In Safari on your Mac, clear cookies and website data for some or all websites.

support.apple.com

If you want to try something less destructive first, the Develop menu (as I also linked about earlier) has an Empty Caches command (i.e., you won’t lose login sessions).

A couple other questions:

Do you have any extensions installed?

3 Ways to Fix Safari High Memory Usage on Mac

Safari's high memory usage can slow down your Mac system in no time. Here are the best ways to fix the problem.

www.guidingtech.com

Is the RAM usage accumulation quick or does it escalate slowly over hours or days?

 

[FirDerrig33]

Somewhat, but nothing notable in most usage. Generally, regarding RAM management, Apple’s SOC is similar to many other IGPU systems.

Technically, the unified memory architecture can reduce RAM usage — basically, it removes the need to duplicate data required to be accessed by multiple hardware components (e.g., CPU and GPU). However, unified memory requests need to be specifically implemented in software and UMA isn’t beneficial for every task.

Anyway...

Something in your first screenshot caught my attention: com.apple.Safari.History

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a lot about it. I did come across a Web search result that pointed back here:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/is-com-apple-safari-history-taking-up-1-05-gb-of-your-memory.1937812/

So, I think, we then circle back to some more common troubleshooting:

Clear cookies in Safari on Mac

In Safari on your Mac, clear cookies and website data for some or all websites.

support.apple.com

If you want to try something less destructive first, the Develop menu (as I also linked about earlier) has an Empty Caches command (i.e., you won’t lose login sessions).

A couple other questions:

Do you have any extensions installed?

3 Ways to Fix Safari High Memory Usage on Mac

Safari's high memory usage can slow down your Mac system in no time. Here are the best ways to fix the problem.

www.guidingtech.com

Is the RAM usage accumulation quick or does it escalate slowly over hours or days?

I looked at all of those things and there are places for improvement but I think it really is my reliance on Google somewhat and the need for multiple tabs being open AND also needing Google Hangouts. AL of this combined leads t a lot of memory usage and not sure if thats going to change anytime soon.

I am backing up the iMac locally to time machine so having it backup to iCloud is completely unnecessary unless it did it all by itself after a softer update.

The memory usage is built up quickly just due tot he number of tabs I need to have open since this is a work-from-home computer and there is a lot of remote management happening.

 

[Adora]

Why not use a local email client for your Gmail account? You could add it to Apple Mail or anything else like Thunderbolt. It can also be connected to other apps.

 

[Adora]

You can also try if this app is using less RAM than Hangouts in a Browser, if it is even the same. Is it called Google Chat now?

https://dl.google.com/chat/20.11.241/InstallHangoutsChat.dmg