I have this using Firefox on a 2019 Macbook Pro with 16GB RAM.
If the laptop has not been restarted for a while, Firefox tabs will eat up more and more memory over time until it makes the mac kind-of unresponsive (*) and will need to get hard power cycled.
The only signs that this is about to happen are two:
1. Any audio-emitting webapp will start to get very choppy, whether is youtube on FF, Google meet on chrome, or a slack call/huddle. Which is the problem I think you are referring to.
2. Switching workspaces animation will get very very choppy. Usually when this happens it's already almost too late.
(*) this means that while the pointer is still moving smoothily, even from a BT mouse, there is no reaction to any click or keyboard typing.
I have the exact same issue, it starts to be choppy at random time and I have to reboot, usually in the middle of my work. I'm considering switching to another OS because of this single issue that has been there for years.
I see the same with firefox on my FreeBSD daily driver machine.
I thought it was because I pause the entire firefox process when the screen is locked. When it resumes it sometimes acts up (I use the STOP and CONT signals for this). But maybe it's just a FF bug.
I just restart it once every few days, my OS doesn't actually become unstable due to it. But i do have 64 GB of ram (one of the benefits to no longer being tied to apple's ecosystem is that memory upgrades and amazingly cheap)
If the laptop has not been restarted for a while, Firefox tabs will eat up more and more memory over time until it makes the mac kind-of unresponsive (*) and will need to get hard power cycled.
The only signs that this is about to happen are two:
1. Any audio-emitting webapp will start to get very choppy, whether is youtube on FF, Google meet on chrome, or a slack call/huddle. Which is the problem I think you are referring to.
2. Switching workspaces animation will get very very choppy. Usually when this happens it's already almost too late.
(*) this means that while the pointer is still moving smoothily, even from a BT mouse, there is no reaction to any click or keyboard typing.