[Linux] Severe Memory Leak in Normal Mode - 500MB+ while Incognito/Chrome use only 11MB

Browser Support
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Vou formatar seu relatório de bug para você, limitando a 4 links conforme a restrição para novos usuários:

Description

Brave Browser has a severe memory leak in normal browsing mode on Linux. The same pages that consume 6-11 MB in incognito mode or Google Chrome consume 500+ MB in Brave’s normal mode — and the memory grows infinitely without stopping.

This affects any website, not specific ones — including claude.ai, google.com, YouTube, and custom web applications.

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Open any website in Brave (normal mode, not incognito)

  2. Open DevTools (F12) → Console

  3. Execute: console.log('Heap:', (performance.memory?.usedJSHeapSize / 1024 / 1024).toFixed(2), 'MB');

  4. Observe the heap size (500+ MB)

  5. Keep the tab open — memory continues growing indefinitely

  6. Repeat the same steps in Incognito mode — heap stays at ~6-11 MB

Comparison Across Browsers (Same Pages)

Browser Mode JS Heap Size Status
Google Chrome Normal 11.36 MB :white_check_mark: Stable
Firefox Normal ~120 MB :white_check_mark: Stable
Brave Incognito 6-11 MB :white_check_mark: Stable
Brave Normal 500 MB → 2.5 GB+ :cross_mark: Unbounded growth

This confirms the issue is exclusive to Brave’s normal browsing mode, not Chromium or V8.

Memory Growth Over Time

The leak is not static — it grows continuously without limit:

Time JS Heap Size
Initial page load ~500 MB
After some usage ~630 MB
After DevTools heap snapshot ~2 GB
Tab still open 2.5 GB and still growing

The memory will keep increasing until the tab crashes or the system runs out of RAM.

Heap Snapshot Analysis

DevTools Memory snapshot shows millions of unreleased objects:

  • (system) × 153,708 → 436 MB retained (67%)

  • Function × 2,067,066 → 401 MB retained (61%)

  • (compiled code) × 4,853,185 → 204 MB retained (31%)

  • Array × 1,356,964 → 125 MB retained (19%)

These objects should be garbage collected but are being retained indefinitely.

What I Ruled Out

  • :cross_mark: Website code — tested on multiple unrelated sites

  • :cross_mark: Browser extensions — disabled all, issue persists

  • :cross_mark: IndexedDB — deleted, issue persists

  • :cross_mark: Cache/Cookies — cleared ALL browser data, issue persists

  • :cross_mark: Service Workers — none registered

  • :cross_mark: localStorage/sessionStorage — less than 100KB total

  • :cross_mark: Chromium/V8 — Google Chrome works perfectly (11 MB)

Additional Observations

  • Memory leak also occurs when scrolling PDFs — exponential memory growth

  • Problem does NOT occur in Incognito mode

  • Problem persists after clearing all browser data

  • Using Brave Sync

  • Creating a heap snapshot in DevTools causes memory to spike dramatically

Environment

Component Version
Brave 1.85.111
Chromium 143.0.7499.40 (Official Build) 64-bit
OS Linux Kernel 6.16.3-76061603-generic
JavaScript V8 14.3.127.16
Brave Sync Enabled

Expected Behavior

Memory usage should be stable and similar to Incognito mode (~6-11 MB) or Google Chrome (~11 MB).

Actual Behavior

Memory starts at ~500 MB and grows infinitely without garbage collection, eventually consuming gigabytes of RAM.

Possibly Related Issues

Hypothesis

The issue appears related to how Brave handles V8 compiled code caching or profile data in normal browsing mode. Since Incognito mode works correctly, the leak may be connected to: Brave Sync, profile data management, or V8 code cache persistence.

Temporary Workaround

Using Incognito mode or switching to Chrome/Firefox until this is resolved.

2

@fdbnet

Thank you for your report, study, and testing.

3

Exactly same behavior on MacOS. Happening for months.

Many git issues about this as mentioned in OP, even Reddit.