Discord acknowledges that its Windows programs do consume more than 4GB of RAM.

 

Many Discord users on Windows have likely noticed their computers slowing down or lagging unusually lately. This isn't surprising, as Discord has admitted that the current version of their app is using a significant amount of RAM, reaching almost 4GB. The main reason is the switch to Electron, which causes all servers, chat rooms, and app features to function like opening multiple Chrome tabs. Leaving them open for extended periods without restarting causes RAM to swell, leading to noticeable slowdowns.

This problem isn't unique to Discord. Many Windows apps are now switching to Electron or WebView2 to save costs and development time, but users are ultimately bearing the burden of high RAM usage, excessive CPU workload, and overall slower performance. Even Microsoft Teams uses WebView2 and consuming over 2GB of RAM is commonplace.

Now, they've added an automatic restart feature when RAM reaches 4GB. This activates only when the user is inactive (AFK) for more than 30 minutes and not in a voice or video channel. It sounds like a temporary fix. But it reflects the fact that modern apps on Windows are becoming large web applications that consume more system resources than they should.

A report from Windows Latest indicates that Discord is now a full-fledged Electron application. To visualize this, imagine opening a Chrome window with Node.js inside, and within Discord, each server has become its own sub-tab. As new messages load or servers switch, RAM usage increases continuously. This problem is similar to what WhatsApp on Windows experienced after switching to WebView2, which consumed so much RAM that users complained. However, Microsoft didn't push for a complete abandonment of its use because their own app still uses the same technology.

Discord reports that upon launching, the app uses approximately 1GB of RAM, and this can spike to 4GB during use. This has prompted them to address issues such as reducing memory usage and testing the aforementioned automatic restart feature, which has several conditions and aims to restart no more than once a day to minimize user disruption.

Many tech companies, including Discord, Meta, and even Microsoft itself, seem to be heading in the same direction. This raises the question of whether Windows should have standards to ensure apps use resources more efficiently, or whether we will soon face a situation where all apps consume massive amounts of RAM, similar to Chrome.