For administrators who manage Chrome browser or ChromeOS devices for a business or school.
- For emails about future releases, sign up here.
- To try out new features before they're released, sign up for the trusted tester program.
- Connect with other Chrome Enterprise IT admins through the Chrome Enterprise Customer Forum.
- Sign up to take the ChromeOS administrator credential exam.
- Get help and see additional resources below.
Table updated: September 27, 2022
Previous release notes
Open all | Close allChrome 101
Chrome browser updates
- Removing setTimeout(,0) clamping to 1ms
Chrome 101 removes a web intervention for some users that clamped setTimeout(,0) timers to 1ms. In Chrome 101, those users see timers fire immediately. Note that nested timer calls clamp to 4ms after repeated nested calls. This change brings Chrome in line with web specifications and might improve performance on some pages.
It's possible that this change will introduce bugs in web applications that rely on the current clamped behavior. If you have any apps affected by this change, you can use the SetTimeoutWithout1MsClampEnabled policy to revert to the Chrome 100 behavior.
- Deprecation Origin Trial for UA reduction
As previously announced, Chrome 101 protects user privacy by reducing the granularity of information in the User-Agent string. In this phase, the MINOR.BUILD.PATCH version info is reduced to 0.0.0. If a site needs this information, it should migrate to the User Agent Client Hints API. Sites that need more time to test or migrate can take advantage of a Deprecation Trial, which started in Chrome 100.
You can also control this using the UserAgentReduction enterprise policy. You can test the new reduced-granularity User-Agent string by setting the policy to 2, or you can delay the change while you update your apps by setting it to 1.
- Chrome Browser Cloud Management maintains compatibility with the most recent 12 versions of Chrome
Starting with Chrome 101, Chrome Browser Cloud Management maintains compatibility with the most recent 12 versions of Chrome. Older versions may lose some Chrome Browser Cloud Management features without notice, or behave unexpectedly. For your security, you should keep Chrome auto-update enabled, which keeps your fleet on the most recent version of Chrome. If you manage Chrome updates manually, staying close to the most recent version both keeps your users safer, and ensures you stay within the compatibility window.
- Chrome 101 supports notification permission changes in Android 13 and above
Android 13 is changing the way push notification permissions behave by default. All Android apps require users to explicitly allow OS notification permissions, as opposed to Android 12 and earlier where it was granted by default. Chrome running on Android 13 now prompts the user for permission at app launch up to two times.
- Chrome removes support for WebSQL in a third-party context
The WebSQLInThirdPartyContextEnabled policy was introduced to give admins additional time to react to the removal of WebSQL in a third-party context. As planned, this policy is removed in Chrome 101.
- Compare search results with new Side Search feature
Side Search allows users to compare search results via a side panel UI to get the right answer faster. This means users can view a page and the search results at the same time, without needing to navigate back and forth or losing their search results. This is helpful for users who are actively searching for something and need more than one site, for example, planning an employee dinner, putting together presentations, and so on. You can control this feature using the SideSearchEnabled policy.
- Control camera and microphone permissions on iOS
In Chrome 101, after granting Chrome both app level and site level permission to use the camera or microphone, users can now control camera or microphone usage. Users can tap the icon on the left of the location bar to trigger a popup that shows switches to control the camera or microphone. Alternatively, users can go to Site Information in the context menu and do the same.
- Chrome runs prerendering autocomplete suggestions from the Omnibox
Chrome 101 enables Omnibox, or URL bar, prerendering. With this feature, Chrome starts prerendering the high-confidence Omnibox autocomplete suggestions. Chrome is currently prefetching resources for high-confidence suggestions using No-state Prefetch, but with this feature we can further process the webpage, including DOM tree construction and script execution. Enterprises can opt-out of this feature using the NetworkPredictionOptions policy.
- Chrome removes legacy policies with non-inclusive names
Chrome 86 through Chrome 90 introduced new policies to replace policies with less inclusive names (for example, whitelist, blacklist). In order to minimize disruption for existing managed users, both the old and the new policies currently work.
This transition period was originally planned for Chrome 95, but was extended to Chrome 101 to give admins more time to transition their policies. In Chrome 101, the policies in the left column of the following table no longer function. Please ensure you're using the corresponding policy from the right column instead:
Legacy Policy Name
New Policy Name
NativeMessagingBlacklist
NativeMessagingBlocklist
NativeMessagingWhitelist
NativeMessagingAllowlist
AuthNegotiateDelegateWhitelist
AuthNegotiateDelegateAllowlist
AuthServerWhitelist
AuthServerAllowlist
SpellcheckLanguageBlacklist
SpellcheckLanguageBlocklist
AutoplayWhitelist
AutoplayAllowlist
SafeBrowsingWhitelistDomains
SafeBrowsingAllowlistDomains
ExternalPrintServersWhitelist
ExternalPrintServersAllowlist
NoteTakingAppsLockScreenWhitelist
NoteTakingAppsLockScreenAllowlist
PerAppTimeLimitsWhitelist
PerAppTimeLimitsAllowlist
URLWhitelist
URLAllowlist
URLBlacklist
URLBlocklist
ExtensionInstallWhitelist
ExtensionInstallAllowlist
ExtensionInstallBlacklist
ExtensionInstallBlocklist
UserNativePrintersAllowed
UserPrintersAllowed
DeviceNativePrintersBlacklist
DevicePrintersBlocklist
DeviceNativePrintersWhitelist
DevicePrintersAllowlist
DeviceNativePrintersAccessMode
DevicePrintersAccessMode
DeviceNativePrinters
DevicePrinters
NativePrinters
Printers
NativePrintersBulkConfiguration
PrintersBulkConfiguration
NativePrintersBulkAccessMode
PrintersBulkAccessMode
NativePrintersBulkBlacklist
PrintersBulkBlocklist
NativePrintersBulkWhitelist
PrintersBulkAllowlist
UsbDetachableWhitelist
UsbDetachableAllowlist
QuickUnlockModeWhitelist
QuickUnlockModeAllowlist
AttestationExtensionWhitelist
AttestationExtensionAllowlist
PrintingAPIExtensionsWhitelist
PrintingAPIExtensionsAllowlist
AllowNativeNotifications
AllowSystemNotifications
DeviceUserWhitelist
DeviceUserAllowlist
NativeWindowOcclusionEnabled
WindowOcclusionEnabled
If both the legacy policy and the new policy are set for any row in the table above, the new policy overrides the legacy policy.
If you're managing Chrome via the Admin console (for example, Chrome Browser Cloud Management), no action is required; the Admin console manages the transition automatically.
- New and updated policies in Chrome browser
Policy
Description
Allow showing the most recent default search engine results page in a browser side panel.
Frequency of cloud reporting in hours.
Enable Optimization Guide Fetching.
Force WebSQL to be enabled.
Control Javascript
setTimeout()function minimum timeout.
Chrome OS updates
- Network-based recovery for Chrome OS
Network-based recovery provides a built-in recovery mechanism for Chrome OS that doesn’t need external tools such as a USB stick, an Android device, a second computer, a USB cable, and so on. It is available on most of the new Chrome OS devices launching after April 20, 2022.
- Policy support for additional openVPN settings
Additional OpenVPN properties can now be set in the Admin console when configuring a managed VPN connection. This includes packet authentication and encryption algorithms, compression algorithm, key direction, and TLS auth key.
- UI-based firmware updates for peripherals
Chrome OS now performs firmware updates for peripherals using fwupd, an open source firmware update framework. The previous automatic firmware update approach has its limits as major market players introduce significant changes requiring long update sessions, which can sometimes cause devices to malfunction.
Using fwupd, Chrome OS provides a UI for firmware updates for peripheral devices, allowing users to perform the update when needed.
- Crostini upgrades to Debian 11 (Bullseye)
When users signed up for Crostini, they received a container with Debian 10 (Buster). Debian 11 (Bullseye) is now stable and used for new Crostini installs. We recommend that existing Crostini users upgrade to Bullseye to access new features and simplify support.
Chrome allows users to trigger an upgrade, both via a prompt that occurs at certain times, as well as through Settings. The upgrade displays progress to the user and explains any errors that might occur.
In addition, Chrome 101 now stores an upgrade log, in Downloads, and notifies the user about it, so it's easier to troubleshoot upgrade issues.
- UI improvements for the Camera app
Chrome 101 includes improvements for the Chrome OS Camera app, to make it simpler and easier to use. On the left-side tool, it is easier to access the different options and users can now clearly see what feature is currently turned on or off. Under the Settings tab, we’ve made all Camera options more readable and easier to find.
- Cursive canvas lock
A new canvas lock toggle in Cursive allows you to quickly enable or disable pan and zoom for the canvas. This helps avoid any accidental movements of the canvas while you write. You can turn on canvas lock from the 3-dot menu, and then quickly toggle it using a button on top of the canvas.
- Forced reboot across managed devices
Admins can now automate the reboot process across managed devices. To help reduce operational overhead and improve certain application flows, you can schedule recurring device reboots across kiosks, managed guest and standard user sessions. This essentially forces the device to reboot, even during an active session.
Admin console updates
- Identification variables for Android managed configuration policy
Managed configuration files can now include placeholders that Chrome OS substitutes for the indicated value(s) before providing the configuration file to the Android app. Admins can work with the Android app developer to determine what values to use in a custom policy. All values are optional. See the help center for more details on specific identification variables.
- New policies in the Admin console
Policy Name
Pages
Supported on
Category/Field
User & Browser Settings
Chrome
Chrome OS
Android
Network > CORS non-wildcard request headers support
User & Browser Settings
Managed Guest Session
Chrome OS
Accessibility > On-screen keyboard in tablet mode
Device Settings
Chrome OS
Imprivata > Shared Kiosk mode
Device Settings
Chrome OS
Imprivata > Shared apps & extensions
User & Browser Settings
Managed Guest Session
Chrome OS
Other settings > Fast Pair (fast Bluetooth pairing)
Coming soon
Note: The items listed below are experimental or planned updates. They might change, be delayed, or canceled before launching to the Stable channel.
Upcoming Chrome browser changes
- Chrome apps no longer supported on Windows, Mac, and Linux as early as Chrome 102
As previously announced, Chrome apps will be phased out in favor of Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) and web-standard technologies. The deprecation schedule was adjusted to provide enterprises who used Chrome apps additional time to transition to other technologies, and Chrome apps will now stop functioning in Chrome 102 or later on Windows, Mac, and Linux. If you need additional time to adjust, a policy called ChromeAppsEnabled will be available to extend the lifetime of Chrome Apps an additional 2 releases.
If you're force-installing any Chrome apps, users will be shown a message stating that the app is no longer supported. To fix this, remove the extension ID from the force-install extension list, and if necessary they can add the corresponding install_url to the Web App force install list. For common Google apps, the install_urls are listed below:
Property
Extension ID (Chrome App)
install_url (PWA / Web App)
Gmail
pjkljhegncpnkpknbcohdijeoejaedia
https://mail.google.com/mail/
installwebapp?usp=adminDocs
aohghmighlieiainnegkcijnfilokake
https://docs.google.com/document/
installwebapp?usp=adminDrive
apdfllckaahabafndbhieahigkjlhalf
https://drive.google.com/drive/
installwebapp?usp=adminSheets
felcaaldnbdncclmgdcncolpebgiejap
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/
installwebapp?usp=adminSlides
aapocclcgogkmnckokdopfmhonfmgoek
https://docs.google.com/presentation/
installwebapp?usp=adminYoutube
blpcfgokakmgnkcojhhkbfbldkacnbeo
https://www.youtube.com/s/notifications/
manifest/cr_install.html
- Privacy Sandbox updates in Chrome 102
The Privacy Sandbox release in Chrome 102 will provide controls for the new Topics & Interest Group APIs. It will also introduce a one-time dialog that explains Privacy Sandbox to users and will allow them to manage their preferences. This dialog will not be shown for Guest users or managed EDU users.
Admins will be able to prevent the dialog from appearing for their managed users by controlling third party cookies explicitly via policy:
- To allow third party cookies and Privacy Sandbox features, set BlockThirdPartyCookies to disabled
- To disallow third party cookies and Privacy Sandbox features, set BlockThirdPartyCookies to enabled. This may cause some sites to stop working.
- Private extensions using Manifest V2 no longer accepted in the Chrome Web Store in June 2022
As part of the gradual deprecation of Manifest V2, the Chrome Web Store stopped accepting submissions of new Public or Unlisted Manifest V2 extensions after January 17, 2022. In June 2022, Chrome expands this restriction to new extensions with Private visibility, which may have a more significant impact on Enterprise extension workflows. Extensions that are already submitted can continue to be updated until January 2023.
For more details, refer to the Manifest V2 support timeline.
- Chrome will send Private Network Access preflights for subresources as early as Chrome 102
As early as Chrome 102, Chrome plans to send a CORS preflight request ahead of any private network requests for subresources, asking for explicit permission from the target server. This request carries a newAccess-Control-Request-Private-Network: trueheader. In this initial phase, this request is sent, but no response is required from network devices.
In a future milestone of Chrome, the response must carry a matchingAccess-Control-Allow-Private-Network: trueheader.
A private network request is any request from a public website to a private IP address or localhost, or from a private website, for example, an intranet, to localhost. Sending a preflight request mitigates the risk of cross-site request forgery attacks against private network devices such as routers, which are often not prepared to defend against this threat.
- Chrome will use MiraclePtr to improve security as early as Chrome 102
MiraclePtr is a technology that reduces the risk of security vulnerabilities relating to memory safety. Chrome is currently testing the impacts of MiraclePtr for some users. A full release is planned as early as Chrome 102.
- MetricsReportingEnabled policy available on Android in Chrome 102
Chrome-on-Android will slightly modify the first run experience to support the MetricsReportingEnabled policy. If the admin has disabled metrics reporting, there will be no change. If the admin has enabled metrics, users will still be able to disable it.
- Chrome 103 will use case-matching on CORS preflight requests
Chrome 101 and below uppercases request methods when matching with Access-Control-Allow-Methods response headers in CORS preflight. Chrome 101 doesn't uppercase request methods, except for those normalized in the spec https://fetch.spec.whatwg.org/#concept-method-normalize, and so requires exact case-sensitive matching.
Previously accepted, but now rejected:
Request:fetch(url, {method: 'Foo'})
Response Header:Access-Control-Allow-Methods: FOO
Previously rejected, but now accepted:
Request:fetch(url, {method: 'Foo'})
Response Header:Access-Control-Allow-Methods: Foo
Note:postandputare not affected because they are in https://fetch.spec.whatwg.org/#concept-method-normalize, whilepatchis affected.
- Chrome Actions on iOS in Chrome 103
Chrome Actions help users get things done fast, directly from the address bar. We first released Chrome Actions on desktop a couple of years ago, with Actions like Clear browsing data. In Chrome 103, we will bring some of them to Chrome on iOS, like:
- Manage passwords
- Open Incognito tab
- Clear browsing data
- And more!
Chrome on iOS will allow users to take actions directly from the address bar, like clearing browsing data, using a button that will appear among auto-complete suggestions. This feature is already available on desktop platforms.
- Chrome 104 will no longer support OS X 10.11 and macOS 10.12
Chrome 104 will no longer support macOS versions 10.11 and 10.12, which are already outside of their support window with Apple. Users will have to update their operating systems in order to continue running Chrome browser. Running on a supported operating system is essential to maintaining security.
- Network Service on Windows will be sandboxed in Chrome 104
As early as Chrome 104, to improve security and reliability, the network service, already running in its own process, will be sandboxed on Windows. As part of this, third-party code that is currently able to tamper with the network service might be prevented from doing so. This might cause interoperability issues with software that injects code into Chrome's process space, such as Data Loss Prevention software. The NetworkServiceSandboxEnabled policy will allow you to disable the sandbox if incompatibilities are discovered. You can test the sandbox in your environment using these instructions and report any issues you encounter.
- Default to origin-keyed agent clustering in Chrome 106
As early as Chrome 106, websites will be unable to set document.domain. Websites will need to use alternative approaches such as postMessage() or Channel Messaging API to communicate cross-origin. If a website relies on same-origin policy relaxation via document.domain to function correctly, it will need to send anOrigin-Agent-Cluster: ?0header along with all documents that require that behavior.
Note: document.domain has no effect if only one document sets it.
An enterprise policy will be available to extend the current behavior.
- Chrome 107 will replace master_preferences with initial_preferences
Initial preferences allow you to deploy default preferences when users first open Chrome browser. Theinitial_preferencesfile will replace themaster_preferencesfile, which accomplished the same thing before Chrome 91. To minimize disruption, Chrome currently accepts bothmaster_preferencesandinitial_preferences. In Chrome 107, Chrome will stop accepting the oldmaster_preferencesfile name, and only accept the file if it is namedinitial_preferences.
Please ensure that if you're using initial preferences, that the file is namedinitial_preferencesand notmaster_preferences. You do not need to change the contents of the file in any way.
Upcoming Admin console changes
- New CSV export for some Chrome Admin console reports in Chrome 103
As early as Chrome 103, Chrome will introduce a new CSV download option for the Apps & Extensions Usage report data and the Versions report data.
Chrome browser updates
- Screen sharing fix for macOS
If your users are having trouble sharing their screens on macOS, please see this guide for instructions on how to fix it.
- Chrome major version number reaches 100
Chrome is now on a 3-digit version number. When browsers went from version 9 to 10, the increase in the number of digits uncovered many issues in User-Agent string parsing libraries.
An Enterprise policy ForceMajorVersionToMinorPositionInUserAgent is available to control whether the User-Agent string major version should be frozen at 99. If you have an app that is broken in version 100 due to a User-Agent parsing error, you can set the policy to 2 and the User-Agent string freezes the major version at 99 and includes the browser's major version in the minor position.
- Updates for Legacy Browser Support <open-in> rules
When the BrowserSwitcherParsingMode policy is set to IE-compatible, Chrome updates the Legacy Browser Support rules:
- For v2 sitelists,
<open-in>behavior is changed in the following ways:<open-in>None</open-in>entries are treated as a greylist, and will open in any browser, rather than as inverted sitelist entries.<open-in>MSEdge</open-in>entries will open in Chrome, as Windows treats this to mean the default, modern browser.- Anything unspecified opens in any browser, the same as greylist entries
- For v1 sitelists,
doNotTransition="true"entries are treated as a greylist, and will open in any browser, rather than as inverted sitelist entries.
To mitigate disruption, this change only applies if you set BrowserSwitcherParsingMode policy is set to 1.
The documentation for Legacy Browser Support can be found here. - For v2 sitelists,
- Chrome 100 removes the AllowSyncXHRInPageDismissal policy
The AllowSyncXHRInPageDismissal policy was introduced in Chrome 78 to give enterprises more time to adapt to the removal of synchronous XHR requests during page dismissal. Though this policy was originally planned to be removed in Chrome 93, the transition period was extended to allow developers more time to adapt. This transition period is now closed and Chrome 100 removes this policy.
- New WebHID enterprise policies
As early as Chrome 100, Chrome adds new policies to manage the WebHID API. DefaultWebHidGuardSetting configures the default API behavior for all URLs and can be configured to allow origins to Ask for new device permissions or Block all permission requests. The WebHidAskForUrls and WebHidBlockedForUrls policies override the default policy for specific URLs.
Three new policies are added for automatically granting device permissions. URLs contained in the WebHidAllowAllDevicesForUrls policy will be automatically granted permissions for any connected device. The WebHidAllowDevicesForUrls and WebHidAllowDevicesWithHidUsagesForUrls policies can be used to grant narrower permissions by matching against vendor and product IDs or application collection usages in the HID report descriptor.
- Chrome 100 removes Lite Mode on Android
Lite Mode was a way to reduce data usage on Android devices. Since its introduction, the cost of data has been reduced in many countries, and Chrome has invested in other ways to save data. As a result, Lite Mode is no longer available, including the DataCompressionProxyEnabled policy used to control it.
- Chrome Actions introduced on Android
Chrome Actions help users get things done fast, directly from the address bar. We first released Chrome Actions on desktop a couple of years ago, with Actions like Clear browsing data. Now, we’re bringing some of them to Chrome on Android, like:
- Manage passwords
- Open Incognito tab
- Clear browsing data
- And more!
Chrome on Android allows users to take actions directly from the address bar, like clearing browsing data, using a button that appears among auto-complete suggestions. This feature is already available on desktop platforms.
- Chrome on Android supports login using QR codes
Chrome 100 allows users to use any Android phone as a security key by scanning a QR code. Previously, only phones that were syncing to the same Google account as the desktop could be used. Bluetooth is still required to show proximity.
- Updates to the Certificate Transparency policy
In Chrome 100, the Certificate Transparency requirements in Chrome change; certificates are no longer required to include signed certificate timestamps (SCTs) from one Google operated and one non-Google operated log, and instead are required to include SCTs from at least two logs from different operators. Additionally, the amount of SCTs required for certificates with a lifetime between 180 days and 15 months increase, from 2 to 3. The existing policies that allow selectively disabling CT enforcement (CertificateTransparencyEnforcementDisabledForCas, CertificateTransparencyEnforcementDisabledForLegacyCas, and CertificateTransparencyEnforcementDisabledForUrls) continue to work.
- Multi-Screen Window Placement API stable launch
Multi-Screen Window Placement API adds new screen information APIs and makes incremental improvements to existing window placement APIs, allowing web applications to offer compelling multi-screen experiences. The existing singularwindow.screenoffers a limited view of available screen space, and window placement functions generally clamp bounds to the current screen. This feature unlocks modern multi-screen workspaces for web applications.
A new set of policies, DefaultWindowPlacementSetting, WindowPlacementAllowedForUrls, and WindowPlacementBlockedForUrls, lets admins force their fleet to employ a default setting and automatically accept or deny the Window Placement permission without prompting the user, per origin.
- Changes to tab-sharing blue border behavior
When a user shares their tab, the blue border used to indicate that a tab is being shared no longer appears around the whole tab. Instead, only the captured content has a blue border.
- Chrome on iOS users can choose their default website view
In Chrome on iOS, users can choose the default view, Desktop or Mobile, in which the websites are requested. You can access this from Settings.
- Chrome adds Google Account-tied tokens to Enhanced Safe Browsing pings
For users who consented to Enhanced Safe Browsing and are signed in to their Google accounts, Chrome adds Google Account-tied tokens to various incident reporting pings, except when in Incognito mode. This enables better tailored protection after encountering Safe Browsing warnings.
You control this feature on your environment using the SafeBrowsingProtectionLevel enterprise policy.
- Dismiss password alerts on Desktop
To reduce noise from unnecessary alerts, Chrome Desktop users can now dismiss password alerts for compromised passwords. You can prevent end users from dismissing password alerts with the PasswordDismissCompromisedAlertEnabled policy.
- Chrome expands SCT auditing to more users
As part of Chrome's Certificate Transparency protections, Chrome expands the existing signed certificate timestamp (SCT) auditing to all users that have Safe Browsing enabled. With this change, Chrome makes rare — less than one in 10,000 TLS connections — privacy-preserving queries to Google to ensure that Certificate Transparency logs are operating correctly. If a query detects a misbehaving log, the client will provide evidence of that misbehavior (the certificate chain and all SCTs) to Google. Chrome does not share certificates that are not issued by publicly trusted root certificates. CT ensures that all certificates or SCTs from publicly trusted roots are already public information, and no additional data is collected.
- Chrome no longer supports TLS 1.0/1.1 on Android WebView
In Chrome 98, TLS 1.0/1.1 support was fully removed from Chrome on Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS. Starting in Chrome 100, TLS 1.0/1.1 is no longer supported on Android WebView. This might affect Android Apps using WebView which rely on connecting to a server that does not support TLS 1.2 or higher. Please update any servers to support modern TLS versions.
- Enterprise policies are available for new users on iOS
Chrome 100 on iOS checks for enterprise policies at the very beginning of a user’s first run experience, so that the user's experience immediately corresponds to the enterprise configuration.
- New and updated policies in Chrome browser
Policy
Description
Enable dismissing compromised password alerts for entered credentials.
List of origins allowing all HTTP authentication.
Control use of the WebHID API.
Allow the WebHID API on these sites.
Block the WebHID API on these sites.
Automatically grant permission to sites to connect to any HID device.
Automatically grant permission to these sites to connect to HID devices with the given vendor and product IDs.
Automatically grant permission to these sites to connect to HID devices containing top-level collections with the given HID usage.
Allows origin-keyed agent clustering by default.
Default Window Placement permission setting.
Allow Window Placement permission on these sites.
Block Window Placement permission on these sites.
Disable download file type extension-based warnings for specified file types on domains.
Chrome OS updates
- Chrome OS Dictation text editing
Dictation lets you use your voice to dictate text anywhere you would usually type on your Chromebook. Now, you can also edit text with your voice using commands like delete, undo, or select all. This feature is particularly useful for those who have motor impairments or anyone who prefers to use their voice to type.
We’re initially launching with a small number of commands; we plan to add more in the future. Try it out by turning on dictation under Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard and text input. Whenever you are in a text area, you can select Search + d to activate dictation.
- Chrome OS Flex
We announced early access to a new version of Chrome OS bringing the benefits of Chrome OS to PCs and Macs. Chrome OS Flex is the cloud-first, fast, easy-to manage, and secure operating system for PCs and Macs. Chrome OS Flex is now on the beta channel and since launch, 100+ more devices have been verified to work with Chrome OS Flex. Try it out and share your feedback to help us shape this product.
Admin console updates
- Chrome Browser Cloud Management (CBCM) supports Chrome on Android
CBCM now supports enrolling Chrome on Android and sends reporting information back to the Admin console. Admins can get reporting information on policies that have been enabled, the OS version, model name, and other important data. More details are in our help center.
- Remotely connect to any device from the Admin console
Admins can now establish a remote Chrome Remote Desktop (CRD) connection using a remote command under Device details for any device with an affiliated user or managed guest session. Previously, this feature was only available for devices in kiosk mode. More details are in our help center.
- New policies in the Admin console
Policy Name
Pages
Supported on
Category/Field
User & Browser Settings;
Managed Guest Session
Chrome
Chrome OS
Content > iframe navigation
User & Browser Settings
Browser
Network > Network service sandbox
User & Browser Settings;
Managed Guest Session
Chrome
Chrome OS
Android
Network > User-Agent Reduction
User & Browser Settings;
Managed Guest Session
Chrome
Chrome OS
Android
Network > User-Agent client hints
Device Settings
Chrome OS
Other settings > International keyboard shortcuts mapping
User & Browser Settings;
Managed Guest Session
Chrome OS
User experience > Quick Answers > Enable Quick Answers
User & Browser Settings;
Managed Guest Session
Chrome OS
User experience > Quick Answers > Enable Quick Answers definition
User & Browser Settings;
Managed Guest Session
Chrome OS
User experience > Quick Answers > Enable Quick Answers translation
User & Browser Settings;
Managed Guest Session
Chrome OS
User experience > Quick Answers > Enable Quick Answers unit conversion
Coming soon
Note: The items listed below are experimental or planned updates. They might change, be delayed, or canceled before launching to the Stable channel.
Upcoming Chrome browser changes
- Chrome 101 will remove setTimeout clamping to 1ms
Chrome 101 removes a web intervention for some users that clampedsetTimeout(function,0)timers to 1ms. In Chrome 101, those users will see timers fire immediately. Note that nested timer calls will clamp to 4ms after repeated nested calls. This change brings Chrome in line with web specifications and may improve performance on some pages.
It's possible that this change will introduce bugs in web applications that rely on the current clamped behavior. If you have any apps affected by this change, you can use the SetTimeoutWithout1MsClampEnabled policy to revert to the Chrome 100 behavior.
- Chrome 101 will add new CSV Export for some Chrome Admin console reports
As early as Chrome 101, Chrome will introduce a new CSV download option for the Apps & Extensions Usage report data and the Versions report data.
- Deprecation Origin Trial for UA Reduction in Chrome 101
As previously announced, Chrome 101 protects user privacy by reducing the granularity of information in the User-Agent string. In this phase, the MINOR.BUILD.PATCH version info is reduced to "0.0.0". If a site needs this information, it should migrate to the User Agent Client Hints API. Sites that need more time to test or migrate can take advantage of a Deprecation Trial, starting in Chrome 100.
You can also control this using the UserAgentReduction Enterprise policy. You can test the new reduced-granularity User-Agent string by setting the policy to 2, or you can delay the change while you update your apps by setting it to 1.
- Chrome Browser Cloud Management will maintain compatibility with the most recent 12 versions of Chrome
Starting with Chrome 101, Chrome Browser Cloud Management will maintain compatibility with the most recent 12 versions of Chrome. Older versions may lose some CBCM features without notice, or behave unexpectedly. For your security, you should keep Chrome auto-update enabled, which will keep your fleet on the most recent version of Chrome. If you manage Chrome updates manually, staying close to the most recent version will both keep your users safer, and ensure you stay within the CBCM compatibility window.
- Chrome 101 will support Android 13 and above notification permission changes
Android 13 is changing the way push notification permissions behave by default. All Android apps will require users to explicitly allow OS notification permissions (as opposed to Android 12 and earlier where it was granted by default). Chrome running on this version of Android will prompt the user for permission at app launch up to two times.
- MetricsReportingEnabled policy available in Chrome 101 on Android
Chrome-on-Android will be slightly modifying the First Run Experience to support the MetricsReportingEnabled policy. If the admin has disabled metrics reporting, there will be no change. If the admin has enabled metrics, users will still be able to disable it.
- Privacy Sandbox updates in Chrome 101
The Privacy Sandbox release in Chrome 101 provides controls for the new Topics & Interest Group APIs. It also introduces a one-time dialog that explains Privacy Sandbox to users and allows them to manage their preferences. This dialog is not shown for Guest users or managed EDU users.
Admins can prevent the dialog from appearing for their managed users by controlling third party cookies explicitly via policy:
- To allow third party cookies and Privacy Sandbox features, set BlockThirdPartyCookies to disabled
- To disallow third party cookies and Privacy Sandbox features, set BlockThirdPartyCookies to enabled. This may cause some sites to stop working.
Privacy Sandbox features will also be disabled (and no dialog shown) if DefaultCookiesSetting is set to Do not allow any site to set local data.
- WebSQLInThirdPartyContextEnabled will be removed in Chrome 101
WebSQLInThirdPartyContextEnabled was introduced to give admins additional time to react to the removal of WebSQL in a third-party context. As planned, it is removed in Chrome 101.
- Compare search results with new Side Search feature in Chrome 101
Side Search allows users to compare search results via a side panel UI to get the right answer faster. This means users can view a page and the search results at the same time, without needing to navigate back and forth or losing their search results. This is helpful for users who are actively searching for something and need more than one site, for example, planning an employee dinner, putting together presentations, and so on. This feature can be controlled using the SideSearchEnabled policy.
- Legacy policies with non-inclusive names will be removed in Chrome 101
Chrome 86 through Chrome 90 introduced new policies to replace policies with less inclusive names (for example, whitelist, blacklist). In order to minimize disruption for existing managed users, both the old and the new policies currently work.
This transition period was originally planned for Chrome 95, but was extended to Chrome 101 to give admins more time to transition their policies. In Chrome 101, the policies in the left column of the following table will no longer function. Please ensure you're using the corresponding policy from the right column instead:
Legacy Policy Name
New Policy Name
NativeMessagingBlacklist
NativeMessagingBlocklist
NativeMessagingWhitelist
NativeMessagingAllowlist
AuthNegotiateDelegateWhitelist
AuthNegotiateDelegateAllowlist
AuthServerWhitelist
AuthServerAllowlist
SpellcheckLanguageBlacklist
SpellcheckLanguageBlocklist
AutoplayWhitelist
AutoplayAllowlist
SafeBrowsingWhitelistDomains
SafeBrowsingAllowlistDomains
ExternalPrintServersWhitelist
ExternalPrintServersAllowlist
NoteTakingAppsLockScreenWhitelist
NoteTakingAppsLockScreenAllowlist
PerAppTimeLimitsWhitelist
PerAppTimeLimitsAllowlist
URLWhitelist
URLAllowlist
URLBlacklist
URLBlocklist
ExtensionInstallWhitelist
ExtensionInstallAllowlist
ExtensionInstallBlacklist
ExtensionInstallBlocklist
UserNativePrintersAllowed
UserPrintersAllowed
DeviceNativePrintersBlacklist
DevicePrintersBlocklist
DeviceNativePrintersWhitelist
DevicePrintersAllowlist
DeviceNativePrintersAccessMode
DevicePrintersAccessMode
DeviceNativePrinters
DevicePrinters
NativePrinters
Printers
NativePrintersBulkConfiguration
PrintersBulkConfiguration
NativePrintersBulkAccessMode
PrintersBulkAccessMode
NativePrintersBulkBlacklist
PrintersBulkBlocklist
NativePrintersBulkWhitelist
PrintersBulkAllowlist
UsbDetachableWhitelist
UsbDetachableAllowlist
QuickUnlockModeWhitelist
QuickUnlockModeAllowlist
AttestationExtensionWhitelist
AttestationExtensionAllowlist
PrintingAPIExtensionsWhitelist
PrintingAPIExtensionsAllowlist
AllowNativeNotifications
AllowSystemNotifications
DeviceUserWhitelist
DeviceUserAllowlist
NativeWindowOcclusionEnabled
WindowOcclusionEnabled
If both the legacy policy and the new policy are set for any row in the table below, the new policy will override the legacy policy.
If you're managing Chrome via the Google Admin console (for example, Chrome Browser Cloud Management), no action is required; the Google Admin console will manage the transition automatically.
- Chrome apps will no longer work in Chrome 102 on Windows, Mac, and Linux
As previously announced, Chrome apps are being phased out in favor of Progressive Web Apps and web-standard technologies. The deprecation schedule was adjusted to provide enterprises who used Chrome apps additional time to transition to other technologies, and Chrome apps on Windows, Mac, and Linux will now stop functioning in Chrome 102. If you need additional time to adjust, a policy ChromeAppsEnabled will be available to extend the lifetime of Chrome Apps for an additional 2 releases.
- Chrome 102 to use case-matching on CORS preflight requests
Chrome 101 and previous releases uppercase request methods when matching with Access-Control-Allow-Methods response headers in CORS preflight. Chrome 102 no longer uppercases request methods, except for those normalized in the spec. So, Chrome 102 and later will require exact case-sensitive matching.
Previously accepted, but now rejected:
Request:
fetch(url, {method: 'Foo'})
Response Header:Access-Control-Allow-Methods: FOOPreviously rejected, but now accepted:
Request:
fetch(url, {method: 'Foo'})
Response Header:Access-Control-Allow-Methods: Foo
Note:postandputmethods are not affected because they are in in the spec, whilepatchis affected.
- Chrome to send Private Network Access preflights for subresources
As early as Chrome 102, Chrome plans to send a CORS preflight request ahead of any private network requests for subresources, asking for explicit permission from the target server. This request carries a new Access-Control-Request-Private-Network: true header. In this initial phase, this request is sent, but no response is required from network devices.
In a future release of Chrome, the response must carry a matchingAccess-Control-Allow-Private-Network: trueheader.
A private network request is any request from a public website to a private IP address or localhost, or from a private website, for example, an intranet, to localhost. Sending a preflight request mitigates the risk of cross-site request forgery attacks against private network devices such as routers, which are often not prepared to defend against this threat.
- Chrome to use MiraclePtr to improve security
MiraclePtr is a technology that reduces the risk of security vulnerabilities relating to memory safety. Chrome is currently testing the impacts of MiraclePtr for some users. A full release is planned as early as Chrome 102.
- Network Service on Windows will be sandboxed in Chrome 102
As early as Chrome 102, to improve security and reliability, the network service, already running in its own process, will be sandboxed on Windows. As part of this, third-party code that is currently able to tamper with the network service may be prevented from doing so. This might cause interoperability issues with software that injects code into Chrome's process space, such as Data Loss Prevention software. The NetworkServiceSandboxEnabled policy allows you to disable the sandbox if incompatibilities are discovered. You can test the sandbox in your environment using these instructions and report any issues you encounter.
- Default to origin-keyed agent clustering in Chrome 106
As early as Chrome 106, websites will be unable to set document.domain. Websites will need to use alternative approaches such aspostMessage()or Channel Messaging API to communicate cross-origin. If a website relies on same-origin policy relaxation via document.domain to function correctly, it will need to send anOrigin-Agent-Cluster: ?0header along with all documents that require that behavior.
Note: document.domain has no effect if only one document sets it.
An enterprise policy will be available to extend the current behavior.
Chrome browser updates
- Uninstall WebApps from Windows OS settings
Windows provides a mechanism to uninstall native Win32 apps through Windows settings or the Control Panel. This feature allows you to uninstall Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) in the same way on the Windows operating system.
- Certificate Transparency expanded on Android
Certificate transparency is already enforced on desktop platforms, and for some Android users. Chrome 99 expands certificate transparency to all Android Chrome users.
- Rollback on private network access pre-flights
Chrome 98 introduced Private Network Access pre-flights to improve user security. Due to bug reports, Chrome 99 rolls back this feature to better address interactions with developer and enterprise environments. We will announce plans to re-introduce this feature in future release notes.
- Chrome 99 adds the NTPMiddleSlotAnnouncementVisible policy
Enterprise administrators are able to control the visibility of the middle slot announcement on the Desktop New tab page using the NTPMiddleSlotAnnouncementVisible enterprise policy.
- Chrome 99 updates the code signing certificate for Chrome on macOS
The code signing certificate for Chrome on macOS is changing. If you are managing Chrome with Parental Controls Application Restrictions, you need to update the designated requirement in the configuration profile, under theappIDkey. An example profile with the updated designated requirements can be found here: https://crbug.com/1295049#c3.
Similarly, managing Chrome's Privacy Preferences Policy Control with theCodeRequirementkey might also require an update. If you have been using the designated requirement from a previous version of Chrome, you need to update theCodeRequirementkey. You can view the updated requirement with the following command:
> codesign -d -r- /Path/to/Chome99.app
- Chrome 99 removes the CrossOriginWebAssemblyModuleSharingEnabled policy
Chrome 95 prevented WebAssembly module sharing between cross-origin but same-site environments, but included a temporary policy, CrossOriginWebAssemblyModuleSharingEnabled, to bypass the feature. Chrome 99 removes this temporary policy.
- New and updated policies in Chrome browser
Policy Description NTPMiddleSlotAnnouncementVisible Show the middle slot announcement on the New Tab Page ForceMajorVersionToMinorPositionInUserAgent Test the 3-digit Major Version number in UA strings NewTabPageLocation
New on iOSConfigure the New Tab page URL
Chrome OS updates
- Nearby Share background scanning
Nearby Share is Google’s solution to enable seamless sharing from device to device. To provide a better user experience, Chrome OS adds support for background scanning, which allows a Chrome OS device to detect and proactively notify a user when someone nearby is sharing which makes it easier to share without having to temporarily enter high visibility mode. This functionality has been present on Android since the launch of Nearby Share in 2019, and now behaves the same way on Chrome OS, to ensure consistency and predictability.
- Keep full-screen mode after unlock
Chrome 99 improves support for full screen VDI use cases. Until now, full screen virtualized desktops returned to a maximized window after unlocking a device. The new KeepFullscreenWithoutNotificationUrlAllowList policy allows admins to exempt certain URLs and apps from exiting full screen after unlock. This unblocks the use of virtualized desktops in user sessions and in Imprivata-based managed guest sessions.
- Introducing the Files SWA
Up to now, the Files app was a Chrome App. Chrome 99 implements FIles as a System Web App (SWA). The Files SWA provides the same features as the Files Chrome App.
- Optimized user experience on touch screens
Chrome 99 improves the user experience on touchscreen devices through better palm rejection performance. This is achieved by optimizing touches from multiple fingers.
- Drag windows to New Desk in Overview
You can now create a new desk on the fly for an existing window by dragging and dropping a window to New Desk in Overview.
- GIF animation mode on Camera
With GIF mode, you can now record up to five-second videos of product demos, and it will automatically turn into a shareable GIF.
Admin console updates
- New policies in the Admin console
Policy Name
Pages
Supported on
Category/Field
User & Browser Settings
Chrome OS
Omnibox search provider > Side panel search history
User & Browser Settings
Chrome
Network > Network service sandbox
Additional Apps Settings
Chrome OS
Additional application settings > Full restore
Additional Apps Settings
Chrome OS
Additional application settings > Android ghost windows
User & Browser Settings
Chrome
Chrome OS
Content > Custom Protocol Handlers
User & Browser Settings;
Managed Guest Session
Chrome
Chrome OS
Android
Security > WebSQL in third-party context
User & Browser Settings
Chrome
Legacy Browser Support > Sitelist parsing mode
Device settings
Chrome OS
Power and shutdown > Scheduled reboot
User & Browser Settings;
Managed Guest Session
Chrome OS
User Experience > Quick Answers > Enable Quick Answers
User & Browser Settings;
Managed Guest Session
Chrome OS
User Experience > Quick Answers > Enable Quick Answers definition
User & Browser Settings;
Managed Guest Session
Chrome OS
User Experience > Quick Answers > Enable Quick Answers translation
User & Browser Settings;
Managed Guest Session
Chrome OS
User Experience > Quick Answers > Enable Quick Answers unit conversion
Coming soon
Note: The items listed below are experimental or planned updates. They might change, be delayed, or canceled before launching to the Stable channel.
Upcoming Chrome browser changes
- Chrome 100 will remove the AllowSyncXHRInPageDismissal policy
The AllowSyncXHRInPageDismissal policy was introduced in Chrome 78 to give enterprises more time to adapt to the removal of synchronous XHR requests during page dismissal. Though this policy was originally planned to be removed in Chrome 93, the transition period was extended to allow developers more time to adapt. This transition period is now closed and the policy will be removed in Chrome 100.
- Chrome 100 will update Legacy Browser Support <open-in> rules
In Chrome 100, when the BrowserSwitcherParsingMode policy is set to IE-compatible, Legacy Browser Support rules are updated:
- For v2 sitelists, <open-in> behavior is changed in the following ways:
- <open-in>None</open-in> entries are treated as a greylist, and will open in any browser, rather than as inverted sitelist entries.
- <open-in>MSEdge</open-in> entries will open in Chrome, as Windows treats this to mean the default, modern browser.
- Anything unspecified opens in any browser, the same as greylist entries
- For v1 sitelists:
- doNotTransition="true" entries are treated as a greylist, and will open in any browser, rather than as inverted sitelist entries.
To mitigate disruption, this change only applies if you set BrowserSwitcherParsingMode policy is set to 1.
For more details on Legacy Browser Support, see here. - For v2 sitelists, <open-in> behavior is changed in the following ways:
- Chrome Major Version number will reach 100
Chrome will reach a 3-digit major version number in March, 2022. When browsers went from version 9 to 10, the increase in the number of digits uncovered many issues in User-Agent string parsing libraries. In order to avoid the same issue again, developers and IT admins should test their services in advance.
To help, the Chrome team created the ForceMajorVersion100InUserAgent flag (chrome://flags/#force-major-version-to-100). This forces the browser to send 100 as the major version number; see blog for details. You should use this flag to uncover and address any issues before Chrome 100 rolls out. We encourage admins to submit any issues encountered here.
An enterprise policy ForceMajorVersionToMinorPositionInUserAgent is also available to control whether the User-Agent string major version should be frozen at 99. If you have an app that is broken in version 100 (due to a User-Agent parsing error), you can set the policy to 2 and the User-Agent string will freeze the major version as 99 and include the browser's major version in the minor position.
- Chrome 100 will remove Lite Mode on Android
Lite Mode was a way to reduce data usage on Android devices. Since its introduction, the cost of data has been reduced in many countries, and Chrome has invested in other ways to save data. As a result, Lite Mode will no longer be available, including the DataCompressionProxyEnabled policy used to control it.
- Updates to Certificate Transparency policy
In Chrome 100, the Certificate Transparency requirements in Chrome will change, certificates will no longer be required to include signed certificate timestamps (SCTs) from one Google operated and one non Google operated log, and instead will be required to include SCTs from at least two logs from different operators. Additionally, the amount of SCTs required for certificates with a lifetime between 180 days and 15 months will increase, from 2 to 3. The existing policies that allow selectively disabling CT enforcement (CertificateTransparencyEnforcementDisabledForCas, CertificateTransparencyEnforcementDisabledForLegacyCas, and CertificateTransparencyEnforcementDisabledForUrls) will continue to work.
- Network Service on Windows will be sandboxed
As early as Chrome 100, to improve security and reliability, the network service, already running in its own process, will be sandboxed on Windows. As part of this, third-party code that is currently able to tamper with the network service may be prevented from doing so. This might cause interoperability issues with software that injects code into Chrome's process space, such as Data Loss Prevention software. The NetworkServiceSandboxEnabled policy allows you to disable the sandbox if incompatibilities are discovered. You can test the sandbox in your environment using these instructions and report any issues you encounter.
- New WebHID enterprise policies
As early as Chrome 100, Chrome will add policies to manage the WebHID API. DefaultWebHidGuardSetting configures the default API behavior for all URLs and can be configured to allow origins to Ask for new device permissions or Block all permission requests. The WebHidAskForUrls and WebHidBlockedForUrls policies override the default policy for specific URLs.
Three new policies are added for automatically granting device permissions. URLs contained in the WebHidAllowAllDevicesForUrls policy will be automatically granted permissions for any connected device. The WebHidAllowDevicesForUrls and WebHidAllowDevicesWithHidUsagesForUrls policies can be used to grant narrower permissions by matching against vendor and product IDs or application collection usages in the HID report descriptor.
- Support for Encrypted Client Hello (ECH)
As early as Chrome 100, Chrome will start supporting ECH as a continuation of our network related efforts to improve our users’ privacy and safety on the web, for example, Secure DNS. Many organizations’ infrastructure relies on the ability to inspect Server Name Indication (SNI), for example, with filtering, logging, and so on. You might want to explore a DNS-based approach and the associated group policies from the OS, or Chrome browser for DNS-over-HTTPS.
- New CSV export for some Admin console reports
As early as Chrome 100, Chrome will introduce a new CSV download option for the Apps & Extensions Usage report data and the Versions report data.
- Deprecation Origin Trial for UA reduction
As previously announced, Chrome 101 protects user privacy by reducing the granularity of information in the User-Agent (UA) string. In this phase, the MINOR.BUILD.PATCH version info is reduced to "0.0.0". If a site needs this information, it should migrate to the User Agent Client Hints API. Sites that need more time to test or migrate can take advantage of a Deprecation Trial, starting in Chrome 100.
You can also control this using the UserAgentReduction enterprise policy. You can test the new reduced-granularity UA string by setting the policy to 2. Alternatively, you can delay the change while you update your apps by setting it to 1.
- chrome://management for Chrome-on-Android
The chrome://management page is being updated to have more detail when Chrome-on-Android is managed via Chrome Browser Cloud Management.
- Multi-Screen Window Placement API stable launch
Multi-Screen Window Placement API will add new screen information APIs and will make incremental improvements to existing window placement APIs. This will allow web applications to offer compelling multi-screen experiences. The existing singular window.screen offers a limited view of available screen space, and window placement functions generally restrict the current screen. This feature will unlock modern multi-screen workspaces for web applications.
A new set of policies, DefaultWindowPlacementSetting, WindowPlacementAllowedForUrls, and WindowPlacementBlockedForUrls, will let admins force their fleet to employ a default setting and automatically accept or deny the Window Placement permission without prompting the user, on a per-origin basis.
- Chrome Browser Cloud Management will extend Chrome compatibility
As early as with Chrome 101, Chrome Browser Cloud Management will maintain compatibility with the most recent 12 versions of Chrome. Older versions may lose some CBCM features without notice, or behave unexpectedly. For your security, you should keep Chrome auto-update enabled, which will keep your fleet on the most recent version of Chrome. If you manage Chrome updates manually, staying close to the most recent version will both keep your users safer, and ensure you stay within the CBCM compatibility window.
- Legacy policies with non-inclusive names will be removed in Chrome 101
Chrome 86 through Chrome 90 introduced new policies to replace policies with less inclusive names (for example, whitelist, blacklist). In order to minimize disruption for existing managed users, both the old and the new policies currently work.
This transition period was originally planned for Chrome 95, but was extended to Chrome 101 to give admins more time to transition their policies. In Chrome 101, the policies in the left column of the following table will no longer function. Please ensure you're using the corresponding policy from the right column instead:
Legacy Policy Name
New Policy Name
NativeMessagingBlacklist
NativeMessagingBlocklist
NativeMessagingWhitelist
NativeMessagingAllowlist
AuthNegotiateDelegateWhitelist
AuthNegotiateDelegateAllowlist
AuthServerWhitelist
AuthServerAllowlist
SpellcheckLanguageBlacklist
SpellcheckLanguageBlocklist
AutoplayWhitelist
AutoplayAllowlist
SafeBrowsingWhitelistDomains
SafeBrowsingAllowlistDomains
ExternalPrintServersWhitelist
ExternalPrintServersAllowlist
NoteTakingAppsLockScreenWhitelist
NoteTakingAppsLockScreenAllowlist<
PerAppTimeLimitsWhitelist
PerAppTimeLimitsAllowlist
URLWhitelist
URLAllowlist
URLBlacklist
URLBlocklist
ExtensionInstallWhitelist
ExtensionInstallAllowlist
ExtensionInstallBlacklist
ExtensionInstallBlocklist
UserNativePrintersAllowed
UserPrintersAllowed
DeviceNativePrintersBlacklist
DevicePrintersBlocklist
DeviceNativePrintersWhitelist
DevicePrintersAllowlist
DeviceNativePrintersAccessMode
DevicePrintersAccessMode
DeviceNativePrinters
DevicePrinters
NativePrinters
Printers
NativePrintersBulkConfiguration
PrintersBulkConfiguration
NativePrintersBulkAccessMode
PrintersBulkAccessMode
NativePrintersBulkBlacklist
PrintersBulkBlocklist
NativePrintersBulkWhitelist
PrintersBulkAllowlist
UsbDetachableWhitelist
UsbDetachableAllowlist
QuickUnlockModeWhitelist
QuickUnlockModeAllowlist
AttestationExtensionWhitelist
AttestationExtensionAllowlist
PrintingAPIExtensionsWhitelist
PrintingAPIExtensionsAllowlist
AllowNativeNotifications
AllowSystemNotifications
DeviceUserWhitelist
DeviceUserAllowlist
NativeWindowOcclusionEnabled
WindowOcclusionEnabled
If both the legacy policy and the new policy are set for any row in the table below, the new policy will override the legacy policy.
If you're managing Chrome via the Google Admin Console (for example, Chrome Browser Cloud Management), no action is required; the Google Admin Console will manage the transition automatically.
- Default to origin-keyed agent clustering
As early as Chrome 103, websites will be unable to set document.domain. Websites will need to use alternative approaches such as postMessage() or Channel Messaging API to communicate cross-origin. If a website relies on same-origin policy relaxation via document.domain to function correctly, it will need to send an Origin-Agent-Cluster: ?0 header along with all documents that require that behavior.
Note: document.domain has no effect if only one document sets it.
An enterprise policy will be available when this change ships to extend the current behavior.
Chrome browser updates
- Use Chrome passwords in other apps on iOS
Chrome 98 informs iOS users that they can use any passwords saved in Chrome in other apps on their device.
The Chrome > Settings > Passwords screen shows a new option for Passwords in Other Apps, which guides users to turn on this feature in iOS autofill settings.
You can control if users can save passwords using Chrome with the PasswordManagerEnabled policy.
- Update GREASE brand list generation
User-Agent Client Hints GREASE aims to prevent bad or exclusionary assumptions from being built on top of the proposed replacement for User-Agent strings. This means that users of less well-tested browsers will not be rejected for not matching the precise format of a more-well tested browsers UA string.
This change aligns our implementation of GREASE in User-Agent Client Hints with the current spec, which includes additional GREASE characters beyond the current semicolon and space, and which recommends varying the arbitrary version. While we are rolling out this change gradually and continue to watch for negative impacts, such as WAF software flagging headers as invalid traffic, admins can opt out using the UserAgentClientHintsGREASEUpdateEnabled enterprise policy.
- Chrome disables the U2F API by default
The U2F API is Chrome's legacy API for interacting with USB security keys. It has been superseded by the W3C Web Authentication API (WebAuthn). Chrome 98 disables the U2F API by default. With Chrome 104, the U2F API will be removed from Chrome.
Sites can continue to use the U2F API beyond Chrome 98 if they enroll in an Origin Trial. Using the Origin Trial also suppresses the deprecation prompt on the enrolled pages. The Origin Trial will end on July 26, 2022, shortly before the release of Chrome 104.
Enterprises can suppress deprecation related changes, and keep the U2F enabled, by using the U2fSecurityKeyApiEnabled enterprise policy. This enterprise policy will be removed from Chrome, together with the U2F API, in Chrome 104.
If you run a website that still uses this API, please refer to the deprecation announcement and blog post for more details.
- Chrome no longer allows TLS 1.0 or TLS 1.1
The SSLVersionMin policy no longer allows setting a minimum version of TLS 1.0 or 1.1. This means the policy can no longer be used to suppress Chrome's interstitial warnings for TLS 1.0 and 1.1. Administrators must upgrade any remaining TLS 1.0 and 1.1 servers to TLS 1.2.
In Chrome 91, we announced that the policy no longer works, but users could still bypass the interstitial. In Chrome 98, it is not possible to bypass the interstitial.
- Private network access preflights for subresources
Chrome sends a CORS preflight request ahead of any private network requests for subresources, asking for explicit permission from the target server. This request carries a newAccess-Control-Request-Private-Network: trueheader, and the response must carry a matchingAccess-Control-Allow-Private-Network: trueheader.
A private network request is any request from a public website to a private IP address or localhost, or from a private website, for example, an Intranet, to a localhost. Sending a preflight request mitigates the risk of cross-site request forgery attacks against private network devices such as routers, which are often not prepared to defend against this threat.
Chrome 98 sends these preflight requests but does not yet require them to succeed. Failed preflights only display warnings in DevTools, which you can use to detect problematic fetches in your web apps. In Chrome 101 at the earliest, failed preflights will cause the entire request to fail depending on compatibility data. See the blog post for more information.
You can control this behavior using enterprise policies InsecurePrivateNetworkRequestsAllowed and InsecurePrivateNetworkRequestsAllowedForUrls.
- Integrate Enhanced Safe Browsing preference with account settings
Chrome now prompts users who opt in to Account Enhanced Safe Browsing to enable Enhanced Safe Browsing in Chrome. Their Safe Browsing setting is still controlled by the SafeBrowsingProtectionLevel policy.
- TFLite model for client-side phishing detection
Chrome uses an on-device Machine Learning (ML) model to better detect phishing attempts, and better protect users. As in earlier versions, Chrome displays a full-page interstitial warning if Chrome detects a possible phishing attempt. This was previously launched for Android in Chrome 92, and is now on desktop platforms as well.
With this change, Chrome sends the following to the Safe Browsing service:- the version of the model that was executed
- the scores the model gave for each category
- a boolean describing whether the new model was used to generate the scores
You can control Safe Browsing using the SafeBrowsingProtectionLevel policy. This feature applies to users with the protection level set at 1 or greater.
- Chrome deprecates the installed_browser_version field in the Directory API
TheinstalledBrowserVersionproperty inChromebrowserresources in Directory API: Chrome Browsers has been deprecated and replaced by thependingBrowserVersionproperty. ThependingBrowserVersionrepresents the version of Chrome browser that is installed on browser restart.
- New extensions must be submitted with Manifest v3
As part of the gradual deprecation of Manifest V2, the Chrome Web Store has stopped accepting submissions of new Manifest V2 extensions as of January 17, 2022. This applies to all new extension submissions with visibility set to Public or Unlisted.
This change does not affect updates to already published extensions. Also, it does not impact extensions with visibility set to Private. The change is not expected to affect the operation of any existing extensions already deployed in Chrome. Note that the next phase of deprecation, in June of 2022, is expected to expand this restriction to extensions with Private visibility, which may have a more significant impact on Enterprise extension workflows. For more details, refer to the Manifest V2 support timeline.
- New and updated policies in Chrome browser
Policy Description URLBlocklist (new on iOS) Block access to a list of URLs URLAllowlist (new on iOS) Allow access to a list of URLs UserAgentClientHintsGREASEUpdateEnabled Control the User-Agent Client Hints GREASE Update feature UserAgentReduction Enable or disable the User-Agent Reduction
Chrome OS updates
- Expanded keyboard shortcuts for Desks
Chrome 98 adds a new shortcut to make it faster and easier to switch Desks. Create up to 8 desks to organize your projects and use the shortcut Shift + Search + 1 through Shift + Search + 8 to jump from one desk to another using only the keyboard.
- Add Save to settings to screen capture
Now users can save screen captures to any local or drive folder of their choice, making capturing and using content even more efficient.
- Support for Network Based Recovery (NBR)
In Chrome 98, some users can re-flash their devices with a fresh copy of the OS and firmware, letting them recover if the message: Chrome OS is missing or damaged appears. NBR requires a network connection. This feature will roll out to more devices in later releases.
Admin console updates
- Search devices by version or model
In the Chrome filters view for the devices page for ChromeOS, you can now filter and search the devices by version and by model.
- New policies in the Admin console
Policy Name Pages Supported on Category/Field ScreenBrightnessPercent User & Browser Settings; Managed Guest Session Chrome OS Security > Screen brightness PrintPostScriptMode User & Browser Settings Chrome Printing > PostScript printer mode SandboxExternalProtocolBlocked User & Browser Settings; Managed Guest Session Chrome Chrome OS Content > iframe navigation U2fSecurityKeyApiEnabled User & Browser Settings Chrome Security > U2F Security Key API DeviceRebootOnUserSignout Device Settings Chrome OS Power and shutdown > Reboot on sign-out
Coming soon
Note: The items listed below are experimental or planned updates. They might change, be delayed, or canceled before launching to the Stable channel.
Upcoming Chrome browser changes
- Chrome Major Version number will reach 100
Chrome will reach a 3-digit major version number in March, 2022. When browsers went from version 9 to 10, the increase in the number of digits uncovered many issues in User-Agent string parsing libraries. In order to avoid the same issue again, developers and IT admins should test their services in advance.
To help, the Chrome team created the ForceMajorVersion100InUserAgent flag (chrome://flags/#force-major-version-to-100). This forces the browser to send 100 as the major version number (blog). You should use this flag to uncover and address any issues before Chrome 100 rolls out. We encourage admins to submit any issues encountered here.
- Network Service on Windows will be sandboxed
As early as Chrome 100, to improve security and reliability, the network service, already running in its own process, will be sandboxed on Windows. As part of this, third-party code that is currently able to tamper with the network service may be prevented from doing so. This might cause interoperability issues with software that injects code into Chrome's process space, such as Data Loss Prevention software. The NetworkServiceSandboxEnabled policy allows you to disable the sandbox if incompatibilities are discovered. You can test the sandbox in your environment using these instructions and report any issues you encounter.
- WebHID enterprise policies
As early as Chrome 100, Chrome will add policies to manage the WebHID API. DefaultWebHidGuardSetting configures the default API behavior for all URLs and can be configured to allow origins to Ask for new device permissions or Block all permission requests. The WebHidAskForUrls and WebHidBlockedForUrls policies override the default policy for specific URLs.
Three new policies are added for automatically granting device permissions. URLs contained in the WebHidAllowAllDevicesForUrls policy will be automatically granted permissions for any connected device. The WebHidAllowDevicesForUrls and WebHidAllowDevicesWithHidUsagesForUrls policies can be used to grant narrower permissions by matching against vendor and product IDs or application collection usages in the HID report descriptor.
- Default to origin-keyed agent clustering
As early as Chrome 103, websites will be unable to set document.domain. Websites will need to use alternative approaches such aspostMessage()or Channel Messaging API to communicate cross-origin. If a website relies on same-origin policy relaxation via document.domain to function correctly, it will need to send anOrigin-Agent-Cluster: ?0header along with all documents that require that behavior.
Note: document.domain has no effect if only one document sets it.
An enterprise policy will be available when this change ships to extend the current behavior.
- Change tab-sharing blue border behavior
When a user chooses to share their tab from a site participating in the region capture origin trial, the blue border used to signify that a tab is being shared will no longer be shown.
Chrome browser updates
- Launch Control Flow Guard for Windows
Chrome 97 improves security by introducing Control Flow Guard (CFG) for Windows to make memory corruption vulnerabilities more difficult to exploit. This change might cause interoperability issues with software that injects code into Chrome’s process space, such as Data Loss Prevention software. Please file a bug to let us know if you encounter issues.
As CFG affects how Chrome is compiled, it is not possible to control it using enterprise policies, but you can test it in the Dev and Beta channels for Chrome 97.
- Certificate Transparency enabled on Chrome for Android
Certificate Transparency is already enforced on desktop platforms, and is now enforced for some users on Chrome 97 for Android, with a wider release planned for a later version. You can selectively disable Certificate Transparency using the CertificateTransparencyEnforcementDisabledForCas, CertificateTransparencyEnforcementDisabledForLegacyCas, and CertificateTransparencyEnforcementDisabledForUrls enterprise policies.
- About this site
Some users in Chrome 97 see a short description of a website in the Site information UI if the Make searches and browsing better setting is enabled.
- Test improvements to the Manage search engines settings
Site search helps users save time by searching through specific sites directly from the address bar on Chrome desktop. We are improving the Settings>Manage search engines page to help users have better control over Site search. Chrome 97 tests a number of these improvements:
- To help users better understand Site search, we renamed the page to Manage search engines and site search and added explanations to each section of the page.
- Now, when users visit a site that is eligible to work with Site search, that is, compliant with the OpenSearch spec, it will no longer be automatically activated for Site search. To activate a site, users select Settings>Manage search engines and site search>Inactive shortcuts>Activate. To prevent user workflows from being disrupted, Site search providers that people have used before in Chrome remain activated.
- The DefaultSearchProviderEnabled enterprise policy maintains the same behavior.
- Chrome 97 removes profiles from memory when their windows are closed
Previously, when users closed Chrome windows for a profile, the profile object would stay loaded in memory. It would continue using memory and other system resources. It would also run jobs in the background like Sync and extension background scripts. The only way to unload a profile from memory was to exit Chrome entirely.
Chrome 97 removes profiles from memory when their windows are closed. This can save lots of system resources in multi-profile scenarios. It also lets Chrome clean up ephemeral profile data from disk more efficiently, strengthening its privacy guarantees.
- Chrome disables WebSQL in third-party contexts
Chrome 97 disables WebSQL in third-party contexts, such as cross-origin iframes, as a continuation to the deprecation in Chrome 94. This change does not affect WebSQL in first-party contexts, but the eventual goal is to deprecate and remove all WebSQL.
An enterprise policy, WebSQLInThirdPartyContextEnabled, can re-enable WebSQL in third-party contexts until Chrome 101, when support for WebSQL in third-party contexts will be removed entirely.
- New Manifest V2 extensions not accepted after January 17, 2022
As part of the gradual deprecation of Manifest V2, the Chrome Web Store will stop accepting submissions of new Manifest V2 extensions after January 17, 2022. This applies to all new extension submissions with visibility set to Public or Unlisted.
The change does not affect updates to already published extensions. Also, it does not impact extensions with visibility set to Private. The change is not expected to affect the operation of any existing extensions already deployed in Chrome.
Note that the next phase of deprecation, in June of 2022, is expected to expand this restriction to extensions with Private visibility, which may have a more significant impact on Enterprise extension workflows.
For more details, refer to the Manifest V2 support timeline.
- Improved Chrome Autofill on Desktop
A shifted Autofill position enables users to preview autofilling more clearly within form fields. The addition of visual icons is a first step to clarifying what fields are expected to be filled. For example, a profile icon means Autofill fills any form fields related to address and contact info saved in Autofill.
- Optimized user experience on iOS
Chrome on iOS optimizes user experience by fetching page load metadata from a Google service, based on the pages that users navigate to. All requests to Google are anonymous, and you can control this behavior with the UrlKeyedAnonymizedDataCollectionEnabled enterprise policy.
- Private Network Access preflights for subresources
Sends a CORS preflight request ahead of any private network requests for subresources, asking for explicit permission from the target server. This request carries a new `Access-Control-Request-Private-Network: true` header, and the response must carry a matching `Access-Control-Allow-Private-Network: true` header.
A private network request is any request from a public website to a private IP address or localhost, or from a private website, for example, intranet, to localhost. Sending a preflight request mitigates the risk of cross-site request forgery attacks against private network devices such as routers, which are often not prepared to defend against this threat.
You can control this behavior using enterprise policies InsecurePrivateNetworkRequestsAllowed and InsecurePrivateNetworkRequestsAllowedForUrls.
- New and updated policies in Chrome browser
Policy Description HistoryClustersVisible Controls the visibility of history clusters on the Chrome history page RemoteAccessHostClipboardSizeBytes The maximum size, in bytes, that can be transferred between client and host via clipboard synchronization RemoteAccessHostAllowRemoteSupportConnections Allow remote support connections to this machine PolicyListMultipleSourceMergeList
(New on Android)Allow merging list policies from different sources CloudUserPolicyMerge
(New on Android)Enables merging of user cloud policies into machine-level policies BrowserSignin
(Force sign in new on iOS)Force users to sign-in to use the browser CloudPolicyOverridesPlatformPolicy
(new on Android)Google Chrome cloud policy overrides platform policy CloudUserPolicyOverridesCloudMachinePolicy
(new on Android)Allow user cloud policies to override Chrome Browser Cloud Management policies. CORSNonWildcardRequestHeadersSupport CORS non-wildcard request headers support
Chrome OS updates
- Chrome Management Telemetry API
This is a new API that provides telemetry information from managed Chrome OS devices. The initial set of telemetry data focuses on hardware performance—CPU, memory, storage, and graphics. You can see the full documentation here.
- Revamped user and device reporting controls
There are now additional controls for reporting within device settings. You can view all available data for features that require reporting, such as the device details, insight reports, or the Telemetry API. Please see the support article for additional information.
- Chrome Policy API supports Device settings
The Chrome Policy API is a suite of services that allows Chrome administrators to view, manage, and get insights about the usage of Chrome OS and Chrome browsers in their organization. The API was launched in March 2021 with support for User and printer settings. Subsequently, support for Apps and Extensions settings was added. Now in Chrome 97, the API includes support for Device Settings.
- Offline grammar check
Grammar check is now available on Chrome OS devices with or without the internet. It’s enabled by default, so just click on the suggested text to accept it. It works on text fields across the web so you can write notes, send calendar invites, build docs, and more.
- Magnifier continuous panning
Chrome OS Magnification now allows you to choose to move the portion of the screen that is magnified continuously as you move the mouse. This is in addition to the previous existing options that allow you to move the magnified area when your mouse touches the edge of the screen or the option that keeps the mouse in the center of the screen. To access this feature, go to Chrome OS Settings > Advanced > Accessibility > Manage accessibility features > Enable fullscreen magnifier.
- Gallery app supports audio playing and multi window
Audio playing experience on Chrome OS gets a brand new look under the Gallery app. Additionally, Gallery now supports multiple windows. This means users can view and edit multiple media files simultaneously.
Admin console updates
- Browser list data downloadable in CSV format
Chrome introduces an optional CSV format to download the browser list data from the Admin console.
- Read-only privilege for managed browsers
Chrome introduces a read-only privilege for managed browsers. Admins can easily create custom admin roles with read-only access to managed browsers in the Admin console.
- Reports overview page
A new reports overview page provides a summary of all the reports available. The new page is available under the Device > Chrome > Reports menu.
- Insights report: Devices that need attention
A new report highlights categories of devices that require attention. The new report is available under the Device > Chrome > Reports > Insights menu.
The categories are:- Devices that have not synched policies in 28 days
- Devices that have not seen user activity in 28 days
- Devices that are pending OS updates
- Devices that are not compliant with the OS version that was set by policy
- For example, if a device policy requires Chrome 94 running on devices, but several devices are on Chrome 90.
- Devices that are unable to apply a policy due to an OS mismatch
- For example, if a set policy due to be applied has a minimum supported Chrome OS version of Chrome 96, but devices are on Chrome 90.
Clicking on the category takes you to the device list page with filters applied according to the category. For more details, see this Help Center article.
- New policies in the Admin console
Policy Name Pages Supported on Category/Field RelaunchWindow User & Browser Settings Chrome Chrome OS Chrome Updates > Relaunch Notification > Relaunch window duration
TermsOfServiceURL
(support docs)New to User & Browser Settings; Managed Guest Session Chrome OS General > Custom terms of service DeviceDebugPacketCaptureAllowed Device Settings Chrome OS Other settings > Allow debug network packet captures AdditionalDnsQueryTypesEnabled User & Browser Settings; Managed Guest Session Chrome Chrome OS Android Network > DNS queries for additional DNS record types LockIconInAddressBarEnabled User & Browser Settings; Managed Guest Session Chrome Chrome OS Android User experience > Lock icon in the omnibox for secure connections PrintPreviewUseSystemDefaultPrinter User & Browser Settings Chrome Printing > System Default Printer DeviceLoginScreenPromptOn
MultipleMatchingCertificatesDevice Settings Chrome OS Other settings > Prompt when multiple certificates match on the sign-in screen PromptOnMultipleMatchingCertificates User & Browser Settings Chrome Chrome OS Other settings > Prompt when multiple certificates match
Coming soon
Upcoming Chrome browser changes
- Network Service on Windows will be sandboxed
As early as Chrome 98, to improve security and reliability, the network service, already running in its own process, will be sandboxed on Windows. As part of this, third-party code that is currently able to tamper with the network service may be prevented from doing so. This might cause interoperability issues with software that injects code into Chrome's process space, such as Data Loss Prevention software. The NetworkServiceSandboxEnabled policy has been added to allow early testing of the new sandbox, and to disable the sandbox if incompatibilities are discovered. You can test the sandbox in your environment using these instructions and report any issues you encounter.
- Use of Chrome passwords in other apps on iOS
From Chrome 98, iOS users will be informed that they can use their saved passwords in other apps on their device.
The Chrome > Settings > Passwords screen will show a new option for Passwords in Other Apps, which will guide users to turn on this feature in iOS autofill settings.
- Update GREASE brand list generation
User-Agent GREASE aims to prevent bad or exclusionary assumptions from being built on top of User-Agent strings. This change aligns our implementation of GREASE in User-Agent Client Hints with the current spec, which includes additional GREASE characters beyond the current semicolon and space, and which recommends varying the arbitrary version. While we will roll out this change gradually and watch for negative impacts, admins can opt out via the UserAgentClientHintsGREASEUpdateEnabled enterprise policy escape hatch (available in Chrome 98).
- Chrome will maintain its own default root store
As early as Chrome 98, to improve user security, and provide a consistent experience across different platforms, Chrome intends to maintain its own default root store. If you are an enterprise admin managing your own Certificate Authority (CA), you should not have to manage multiple root stores. We do not anticipate any changes will be required for how enterprises currently manage their fleet and trusted enterprise CAs, such as through group policy, macOS Keychain Access, or system management tools like Puppet.
- Chrome will disable the U2F API by default
The U2F API is Chrome's legacy API for interacting with USB security keys. It has been superseded by the W3C Web Authentication API (WebAuthn). In Chrome 98, Chrome will disable the U2F API by default. With Chrome 104, the U2F API will be removed from Chrome.
Sites can continue to use the U2F API beyond Chrome 98 if they enroll in an Origin Trial. Using the Origin Trial also suppresses the deprecation prompt on the enrolled pages. The Origin Trial will end on July 26, 2022, shortly before the release of Chrome 104.
Enterprises can suppress deprecation related changes, and keep the U2F enabled, by using the U2fSecurityKeyApiEnabled enterprise policy. This enterprise policy will be removed from Chrome, together with the U2F API, in Chrome 104.
If you run a website that still uses this API, please refer to the deprecation announcement and blog post for more details.
- Chrome will no longer allow TLS 1.0 or TLS 1.1
The SSLVersionMin policy no longer allows setting a minimum version of TLS 1.0 or 1.1. This means the policy can no longer be used to suppress Chrome's interstitial warnings for TLS 1.0 and 1.1. Administrators must upgrade any remaining TLS 1.0 and 1.1 servers to TLS 1.2.
In Chrome 91 we announced that the policy no longer works, but users could still bypass the interstitial. In Chrome 98, it will no longer be possible to bypass the interstitial.
- Chrome may leverage MiraclePtr to improve security
As early as Chrome 99, Chrome will leverage MiraclePtr to reduce the risk of security vulnerabilities relating to memory safety. The Chrome team gathered data on the performance cost of MiraclePtr in Chrome 91, but domain-joined enterprises on the stable channel were excluded from MiraclePtr builds during that phase. A full release of MiraclePtr in Chrome is planned as early as Chrome 101.
- Feature flag to force the Chrome Major Version number to 100
Users and site owners can experiment with the upcoming three-digit (Chrome 100) major release version number in the User-Agent string by turning on the ForceMajorVersion100InUserAgent flag. This forces the browser to send 100 as the major version number. When browsers went from version 9 to 10, the increase in the number of digits in the major version number uncovered many issues in User-Agent string parsing libraries. With this feature flag, we can uncover and address these issues before Chrome 100 rolls out. We encourage admins to submit any issues encountered here.
| Chrome browser updates | Security | User productivity/ Apps | Management |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chrome on Android no longer supports Android Lollipop | ✓ | ||
| Apps shortcut in the bookmarks bar defaults to off | ✓ | ||
| Network data moves to a new folder on Windows | ✓ | ||
| New security events for BeyondCorp Enterprise Threat and Data Protection | ✓ | ||
| Feature flag to force the Chrome Major Version number to 100 | ✓ | ||
| DNS-based HTTP to HTTPS redirect | ✓ | ||
| Chrome shows Journeys in the History page | ✓ | ||
| Chrome starts deprecating the U2F security key API | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Chrome on Android shows reuse warnings for Google passwords | ✓ | ||
| Chrome sync ends support for Chrome 48 and earlier | ✓ | ||
| Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer no longer available | ✓ | ||
| Chrome installer for macOS now available as a single universal version | ✓ | ||
| New and updated policies in Chrome browser | ✓ | ||
| Chrome OS updates | Security | User productivity/ Apps | Management |
| Long-term support channel | ✓ | ||
| Cloud Based Certificate Provisioning using SCEP | ✓ | ✓ | |
| SAML password change : Chrome Device Token API | ✓ | ||
| Terms of Service for managed user sessions | ✓ | ||
| Side Search on Chrome OS | ✓ | ||
| Nearby Share from ARC++ sharesheet | ✓ | ||
| Switch Access Setup Guide | ✓ | ||
| New preference setting for Link capturing | ✓ | ||
| Add clipboard suggestions to on-screen keyboard | ✓ | ||
| Chrome Wallpaper app enhancements | ✓ | ||
| Notification settings move to Chrome OS Settings | ✓ | ||
| Admin console updates | Security | User productivity/ Apps | Management |
| New interface for selecting Chrome apps and extensions | ✓ | ✓ | |
| New policies in the Admin console | ✓ | ||
| Upcoming Chrome browser changes | Security | User productivity/ Apps | Management |
| Launch Control Flow Guard for Windows | ✓ | ||
| Network Service on Windows will be sandboxed | ✓ | ||
| Certificate Transparency enabled on Chrome for Android | ✓ | ||
| CORS Authorization mishandling | ✓ | ||
| Chrome will maintain its own default root store | ✓ | ||
| Chrome will no longer allow TLS 1.0 or TLS 1.1 | ✓ | ||
| Chrome autofill will be more predictable | ✓ | ||
| New Manifest V2 extensions not accepted after January 17, 2022 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Different-origin iframes JavaScript dialogs deprecation has been postponed indefinitely | ✓ | ||
| Upcoming Admin console changes | Security | User productivity/ Apps | Management |
| Browser list data downloadable in CSV format | ✓ | ||
| Read-only privilege for managed browsers | ✓ | ||
| Reports overview page | ✓ | ||
| Insights report: Devices that need attention | ✓ |
Chrome browser updates
- Chrome on Android no longer supports Android Lollipop
Chrome 96 does not support or ship to users running Android Lollipop.
The last version of Chrome that supports Android Lollipop is Chrome 95, and it included a message to affected users informing them to upgrade their operating system.
- Apps shortcut in the bookmarks bar defaults to off
The Apps shortcut in the bookmarks bar now defaults to off. Chrome also updates the current state for all users who have not changed their setting to the new default (off).
- Network data moves to a new folder on Windows
Data that is needed by the network service, including cookies and other data files, is now stored in a subdirectory underneath the previous location called Network. This is to support the upcoming Network Sandbox (see below). This migration happens automatically and transparently. No action is required, however, you might need to update any scripts that rely on the location of these files.
- New security events for BeyondCorp Enterprise Threat and Data Protection
Chrome 96 adds two new security events to BeyondCorp Enterprise Threat and Data Protection: Password leak and login. This functionality allows admins to understand enterprise credential usage, to shadow IT within their organization, and to stay ahead of potential security incidents regarding passwords exposed in data breaches.
- Feature flag to force the Chrome Major Version number to 100
Starting in Chrome 96, users and site owners can experiment with the upcoming three-digit (Chrome 100) major release version number in the User-Agent string by turning on the ForceMajorVersion100InUserAgent flag. This forces the browser to send 100 as the major version number. When browsers went from version 9 to 10, the increase in the number of digits in the major version number uncovered many issues in User-Agent string parsing libraries. With this feature flag, we can uncover and address these issues before Chrome 100 rolls out. We encourage admins to submit any issues encountered here.
- DNS-based HTTP to HTTPS redirect
Chrome queries DNS for HTTPS records (alongside traditional A and AAAA queries). When a website has deployed an HTTPS DNS record and Chrome receives it, Chrome always connects to the website via HTTPS (Chrome Status). This was previously enabled for 50% of users on the Canary, Dev, and Beta channels.
- Chrome shows Journeys in the History page
For some users, Chrome 96 clusters local browsing activity on the History page into Journeys to make it easier to find prior activity and continue it with related search suggestions. For keywords typed into the Omnibox that match a cluster, an action chip displays for seamless access to the Journeys view. Users can delete clusters and disable Journeys, if desired. Additionally, admins will have the option to disable this feature using the HistoryClustersVisible policy, starting in Chrome 97.
- Chrome starts deprecating the U2F security key API
The U2F API is Chrome's legacy API for interacting with USB security keys. It has been superseded by the W3C Web Authentication API (WebAuthn). Beginning with Chrome 96, when sites make U2F API requests, users might see a prompt that includes a notice about the U2F API’s deprecation. In Chrome 98, Chrome will disable the U2F API by default. With Chrome 104, the U2F API will be removed from Chrome.
Sites can continue to use the U2F API beyond Chrome 98 if they enroll in an Origin Trial. Using the Origin Trial also suppresses the deprecation prompt on the enrolled pages. The Origin Trial will end on July 26, 2022, shortly before the release of Chrome 104.
Enterprises can suppress deprecation related changes, and keep the U2F enabled, by using the U2fSecurityKeyApiEnabled enterprise policy. This enterprise policy will be removed from Chrome, together with the U2F API, in Chrome 104.
If you run a website that still uses this API, please refer to the deprecation announcement and blog post for more details.
- Chrome on Android shows reuse warnings for Google passwords
Similar to Chrome on other platforms, Chrome on Android now shows warnings if it detects that your Google passwords were reused on a malicious website. You can control this behavior using the PasswordProtectionWarningTrigger enterprise policy.
- Chrome sync ends support for Chrome 48 and earlier
As previously communicated, Chrome sync no longer supports Chrome 48 and earlier. You need to upgrade to a more recent version of Chrome if you want to continue using Chrome sync.
- Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer no longer available
The Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer is being phased out. As of mid-November, it will no longer be available for download.
- Chrome installer for macOS now available as a single universal version
The.dmginstaller available to users on macOS now contains both the x86_64 and the arm64 versions of the product. When installing, users no longer have to choose the CPU architecture. With Chrome 96, existing Chrome installations will be updated to universal automatically. This may increase the size of Chrome on disk.
Note that the enterprise-specific.pkginstaller was already a universal installer.
- New and updated policies in Chrome browser
Policy Description SyncDisabled (new on iOS)
Control Chrome sync.
Allow use of the deprecated U2F Security Key API.
Allow user cloud policies to override Chrome Browser Cloud Management policies.
Allow Chrome to block navigations toward external protocols in sandboxed iframes.
BrowsingDataLifetime (new on Android)
Configure (per data-type) when data is deleted by the browser.
Temporarily re-enables WebSQL in third-party contexts.
Prompt for the client certificate when multiple certificates match.
Controls whether or not the network service process runs sandboxed.
Chrome OS updates
For over a decade, Chrome OS has delivered new milestone releases every six weeks, providing users and IT with a secure, speedy, and stable experience. Earlier this year, we announced that Chrome OS would switch to a 4-week stable release, starting with Chrome 96. This shift allows us to deliver features and security updates more quickly.
- Long-term support channel
From Chrome 96, Chrome OS provides an option for organizations to use a new Long-term support (LTS) channel, with feature milestone updates every six months. Devices on the LTS channel will still receive frequent security updates. Admins can easily switch from LTS to other channels if desired. For more details, see this article.
- Cloud Based Certificate Provisioning using SCEP
Chrome OS provides a new way to provision and renew certificates on managed devices in Microsoft Active Directory Certificate Service (ADCS) environments using the Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol (SCEP). The new provisioning flow, for device-based certificates, enables automated certificate deployment and renewals that occur with no end user interaction and before user sign-in. For more details, see this article.
- SAML password change : Chrome Device Token API
Chrome 96 supports password updates on Chrome OS devices after a user’s password is changed on a third-party Identity Provider (IdP). This helps to increase the convenience for the end user, and to enforce corporate policies on Chrome OS devices. Admins can use the Chrome Device Token API to allow IdPs to notify Chrome OS devices that users have changed their password. API documentation is available, and this article (step 4/5) has been updated with guidance for administrators.
- Terms of Service for managed user sessions
Admins can now display their Terms of Service to users at the beginning of every managed user’s session. This functionality was previously available for managed guest sessions only.
- Side Search on Chrome OS
To make it easier to compare search results and find what you’re looking for more quickly in Chrome browser, there’s a new side panel in Chrome OS. You can now view a page and the search results at the same time. This lets you view a page right in your main browser window without needing to navigate back and forth or losing your search results. Admins can disable this feature via the SideSearchEnabled policy.
- Nearby Share from ARC++ sharesheet
This feature allows users to use Nearby Share from Android Runtime for Chrome (ARC++). Prior to this Nearby Share has been available in Files app, PWAs and other system apps. Nearby Share allows users to easily share content across devices, for example, from Chromebook to a device running Chrome browser, such as an Android phone or a Windows PC.
- Switch Access setup guide
Switch Access is an alternate input method that enables users to control their device with just one or more buttons. As of Chrome 96, Switch Access users will now have a setup guide which will help walk new users through the process of setting up and using their switches.
- New preference setting for link capturing
This adds a new preference to Apps settings that allows users to set apps as the default handler of supported links. For example, the Zoom PWA can become the default handler for zoom.us links.
- Add clipboard suggestions to on-screen keyboard
Chrome 96 suggests recently copied items in the on-screen keyboard or Virtual Keyboard suggestion row to simplify your paste actions. If you copy an item and open your Virtual Keyboard you should see that item as an option in the top row. Click it to paste. Previously, Chrome 94 made clipboard items accessible from the virtual keyboard. Chrome 96 adds clipboard items copied within the last two minutes to the suggestion row in the virtual keyboard for even easier access.
- Chrome Wallpaper app enhancements
TheChrome OS wallpaper picker now has a more visual UI that helps users to select from a variety of wallpaper collections or their own images. Users can open it from the home screen using right-click > Set wallpaper.
- Notification settings move to Chrome OS Settings
Chrome 96 includes a new dedicated Notifications page in Chrome OS Settings. In earlier releases, Notifications were accessed from the Quick Settings menu.
Admin console updates
- New interface for selecting Chrome apps and extensions
The Admin console now uses the same user interface as the Chrome Web Store for selecting new Chrome apps and extensions.
- New policies in the Admin console
Policy Name Pages Supported on Category/Field Device Settings
Chrome OS
Other settings > Data access protection for peripherals
User & Browser Settings;
Managed Guest Session Settings
Chrome
Chrome OS
Android
Content > Request from insecure websites to more-private network endpoints
Device Settings
Chrome OS
Kiosk settings > Kiosk virtual keyboard features
User & Browser Settings;
Managed Guest Session Settings
Chrome OS
User experience > Allowed input methods
User & Browser Settings;
Managed Guest Session Settings
Chrome
Chrome OS
Security > Insecure Media Capture
User & Browser Settings;
Managed Guest Session Settings
Chrome OS
User experience > Allowed chrome OS languages
User & Browser Settings;
Managed Guest Session Settings
Chrome
Chrome OS
User experience > Spell check > Enforced spellcheck languages
User & Browser Settings;
Managed Guest Session Settings
Chrome
Chrome OS
User experience > Spell check > Disabled spellcheck languages
User & Browser Settings
Chrome
Chrome OS
Content > Allow WebAssembly cross-origin
User & Browser Settings
Chrome OS
Security > SAML single sign-on password synchronization flows
User & Browser Settings
Chrome OS
Security > SAML single sign-on password synchronization > Password synchronization between third-party SSO providers and Chrome devices
User & Browser Settings
Chrome OS
Security > SAML single sign-on password synchronization > How many days in advance to notify SAML users when their password is due to expire
User & Browser Settings
Chrome
Sign-in settings > Separate profile for managed Google Identity
User & Browser Settings
Chrome OS
Android applications > Sharing from Android apps to Web apps
Coming soon
Note: The items listed below are experimental or planned updates. They might change, be delayed, or canceled before launching to the Stable channel.
Upcoming Chrome browser changes
- Launch Control Flow Guard for Windows
As early as Chrome 97, Chrome will make security improvements by introducing Control Flow Guard (CFG) for Windows. This change might cause interoperability issues with software that injects code into Chrome’s process space, such as Data Loss Prevention software. Please file a bug to let us know if you encounter issues.
As CFG affects how Chrome is compiled, it will not be possible to control it via enterprise policies, but you can test it in the Dev and Beta channels for Chrome 97.
- Network Service on Windows will be sandboxed
As early as Chrome 97, to improve security and reliability, the network service, already running in its own process, will be sandboxed on Windows. As part of this, third-party code that is currently able to tamper with the network service may be prevented from doing so. This might cause interoperability issues with software that injects code into Chrome's process space, such as Data Loss Prevention software. An enterprise policy has been added to allow early testing of the new sandbox, and to disable the sandbox if incompatibilities are discovered. You can test the sandbox in your environment using these instructions and report any issues you encounter.
- Certificate Transparency enabled on Chrome for Android
Certificate Transparency is already enforced on desktop platforms, and will be enforced for some users on Chrome 97 for Android, with a wider release planned for a later version. You can selectively disable Certificate Transparency using the CertificateTransparencyEnforcementDisabledForCas, CertificateTransparencyEnforcementDisabledForLegacyCas, and CertificateTransparencyEnforcementDisabledForUrls enterprise policies.
- CORS Authorization mishandling
When scripts make a cross-origin network request via fetch() and XMLHttpRequest with an Authorization header, the header should be explicitly allowed by the Access-Control-Allow-Headers header in the CORS preflight response (Chrome Status). The wildcard symbol (*) in the Access-Control-Allow-Headers should not work. This has not been implemented correctly, and the wildcard symbol has taken effect. This will be fixed in Chrome 97.
Note that Authorization headers attached by Chrome during the authentication process are out of scope for this change.
- Chrome will maintain its own default root store
As early as Chrome 98, to improve user security, and provide a consistent experience across different platforms, Chrome intends to maintain its own default root store. If you are an enterprise admin managing your own Certificate Authority (CA), you should not have to manage multiple root stores. We do not anticipate any changes will be required for how enterprises currently manage their fleet and trusted enterprise CAs, such as through group policy, macOS Keychain Access, or system management tools like Puppet.
- Chrome will no longer allow TLS 1.0 or TLS 1.1
The SSLVersionMin policy no longer allows setting a minimum version of TLS 1.0 or 1.1. This means the policy can no longer be used to suppress Chrome's interstitial warnings for TLS 1.0 and 1.1. Administrators must upgrade any remaining TLS 1.0 and 1.1 servers to TLS 1.2.
In Chrome 91 we announced that the policy no longer works, but users could still bypass the interstitial. In Chrome 98, it will no longer be possible to bypass the interstitial.
- Chrome Autofill will be more predictable
Chrome Autofill will be more visible with a new menu position. It will also add dynamic highlighting to show precisely what fields will be filled automatically.
- New Manifest V2 extensions not accepted after January 17, 2022
As part of the gradual deprecation of Manifest V2, the Chrome Web Store will stop accepting submissions of new Manifest V2 extensions after January 17, 2022. This applies to all new extension submissions with visibility set to Public or Unlisted.
The change will not affect updates to already published extensions. Also, it will not impact extensions with visibility set to Private. The change is not expected to affect the operation of any existing extensions already deployed in Chrome.
Note that the next phase of deprecation in June of 2022, is expected to expand this restriction to extensions with Private visibility, which may have a more significant impact on Enterprise extension workflows.
For more details, refer to the Manifest V2 support timeline.
- Different-origin iframes JavaScript dialogs deprecation has been postponed indefinitely
Previously, we announced a planned change that would cause Chrome to prevent iframes from triggering prompts (window.alert,window.confirm,window.prompt), if the iframe is a different origin from the top-level page. This change was originally planned for Chrome 92, but has been postponed indefinitely due to the feedback we received on this change. We will provide advance notice in the future if we decide to re-enable this change.
You can test if this future change will affect applications now by setting the enable_features=SuppressDifferentOriginSubframeJSDialogs flag.
Upcoming Admin console changes
- Browser list data downloadable in CSV format
As early as Chrome 97, Chrome will introduce an optional CSV format to download the browser list data from the Admin console.
- Read-only privilege for managed browsers
As early as Chrome 97, Chrome will introduce a read-only privilege for managed browsers. Admins will be able to easily create custom admin roles with read-only access to managed browsers in the Admin console.
- Reports overview page
A new reports overview page will provide a summary of all the reports available. The new page will be available under the Device > Chrome > Reports menu.
- Insights report: Devices that need attention
A new report will highlight categories of devices that require attention. The new report will be available under the Device > Chrome > Reports > Insights menu.
The categories are:- Devices that have not synched policies in 28 days
- Devices that have not seen user activity in 28 days
- Devices that are pending OS updates
- Devices that are not compliant with the OS version that was set by policy
- For example, if a device policy requires Chrome 94 running on devices, but several devices are on Chrome 90
- Devices that are unable to apply a policy due to an OS mismatch
- For example, if a set policy due to be applied has a minimum supported Chrome OS version of Chrome 96, but devices are on Chrome 90
Clicking on the category will take you to the device list page with filters applied according to the category.
For more details, see this Help Center article.
These Chrome 95 release notes contain Chrome Browser updates only. To bridge the gap between Chrome 94 and Chrome 96, Chrome OS will skip Chrome 95 and will include all relevant security fixes on the Chrome 94 milestone.
| Chrome browser updates | Security | User productivity/ Apps | Management |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stricter parsing rules for Legacy Browser Support | ✓ | ||
| Origin Trial for reduced User-Agent strings | ✓ | ||
| Chrome deprecates WebAssembly cross-origin module sharing | ✓ | ||
| Explicit user prompts for Autofill addresses | ✓ | ✓ | |
| New Side Panel feature | ✓ | ||
| New and updated policies in Chrome browser | ✓ | ||
| Admin console updates | Security | User productivity/ Apps | Management |
| New policies in the Admin console | ✓ | ||
| Upcoming Chrome browser updates | Security | User productivity/ Apps | Management |
| Chrome on Android will no longer support Android Lollipop | ✓ | ||
| Apps shortcut in the bookmarks bar will default to off | ✓ | ||
| Network data will be migrated to a new folder on Windows | ✓ | ||
| Network service on Windows will be sandboxed | ✓ | ||
| New security events for BeyondCorp Enterprise Threat and Data Protection | ✓ | ✓ | |
| NewTabPageLocation enterprise policy on Incognito | ✓ | ||
| Feature flag to force the Chrome major version number to 100 | ✓ | ||
| DNS-based HTTP to HTTPS redirect | ✓ | ||
| Chrome will begin deprecating the U2F Security Key API | ✓ | ✓ | |
| CORS Authorization mishandling | ✓ | ||
| Chrome will maintain its own default root store | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Chrome will remove legacy policies with non-inclusive names | ✓ | ||
| Chrome will no longer allow TLS 1.0 or TLS 1.1 | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Different-origin iframes will no longer trigger JavaScript dialogs | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Upcoming Admin console updates | Security | User productivity/ Apps | Management |
| Browser list data downloadable in CSV format | ✓ |
Chrome browser updates
- Stricter parsing rules for Legacy Browser Support
Organizations that rely on Legacy Browser Support (LBS) to redirect their users to Microsoft Edge or Internet Explorer can use the BrowserSwitcherParsingMode policy to choose how their site list is interpreted by Chrome. If set to IESiteListMode, Chrome interprets those rules in the same way as Edge and Internet Explorer.
- Origin Trial for reduced User-Agent strings
Chrome 95 begins an Origin Trial for the fully reduced User-Agent string. We would like sites to begin participating in the trial so we may collect feedback and allow sites to have ample time to address breakage. The reduced User-Agent string appears in both the User-Agent HTTP request header and the JavaScript APIs that access the User-Agent string (navigator.userAgent,navigator.appVersion,navigator.platform). This Origin Trial will run over the next six releases, until the reduced User-Agent starts a phased rollout. Subsequently, for sites that may need more time for migration, a deprecation Origin Trial will be available. Enterprises can opt in to the Origin Trial here when it is available.
- Chrome deprecates WebAssembly cross-origin module sharing
Chrome 95 prevents WebAssembly module sharing between cross-origin but same-site environments. This allows agent clusters to be tied to origins in the long-term. This change conforms to recent changes in the WebAssembly spec (Chrome Status).
If your enterprise needs any additional time to adjust to this change, a temporary enterprise policy CrossOriginWebAssemblyModuleSharingEnabled is available to allow module sharing for cross-origin same-site environments. This policy will be removed in Chrome 97.
- Explicit user prompts for Autofill addresses
In previous releases, when Autofill was enabled, Chrome saved detected addresses as users submitted forms. This update provides more transparency and control to the user by adding a save prompt, and giving the user the control to edit, save, update, or discard the detected address before it is stored. When the AutofillAddressEnabled policy is set to false, this feature is not enabled.
- New Side Panel feature
Chrome on Windows, Mac, ChromeOS, and Linux, introduces a new side panel feature. This panel, opened by a toolbar icon, provides easier access to the Reading list and Bookmarks, in a vertical list. The side panel can be left open while the user browses.
- New and updated policies in Chrome browser
Policy
Description
Setting the policy to Enabled or leaving it unset will enable ProcessExtensionPointDisablePolicy to block legacy extension points in the Browser process.
This policy controls how Google Chrome interprets sitelist/greylist policies for the Legacy Browser Support feature. It affects the following policies: BrowserSwitcherUrlList, BrowserSwitcherUrlGreylist, BrowserSwitcherUseIeSitelist, BrowserSwitcherExternalSitelistUrl, and BrowserSwitcherExternalGreylistUrl.
Enables Chrome Enterprise Platform Identity Connector for a list of URLs.
Setting this policy specifies which URLs should be allowed to be part of the attestation flow to get the set of signals from the machine.Controls if Google Chrome makes the Print as image option default to set when printing PDFs.
Controls how Google Chrome prints on Microsoft Windows.
Admin console updates
- New policies in the Admin console
Policy Name
Pages
Supported on
Category/Field
Managed Guest Session Settings
Chrome OS
Session settings / Display the logout confirmation dialog
Device Settings
Chrome OS
Device update settings / Auto-update settings / Enforce updates
Device Settings
Chrome OS
Device update settings / Auto-update settings / Enforce updates Auto Update Expiration (AUE) message
User & Browser Settings;
Managed Guest Session Settings
Chrome
Chrome OS
Android
Content / JavaScript JIT / Allow JavaScript to use JIT on these sites
User & Browser Settings;
Managed Guest Session Settings
Chrome
Chrome OS
Android
Content / JavaScript JIT
User & Browser Settings;
Managed Guest Session Settings
Chrome
Chrome OS
Android
Content / JavaScript JIT / Block JavaScript from using JIT on these sites
User & Browser Settings;
Managed Guest Session Settings
Chrome
Chrome OS
Security / Allow remote debugging
User & Browser Settings
Chrome
Content / Desktop sharing in the omnibox and 3-dot menu
Coming soon
Note: The items listed below are experimental or planned updates. They might change, be delayed, or canceled before launching to the Stable channel.
Upcoming Chrome browser changes
- Chrome on Android will no longer support Android Lollipop
The last version of Chrome that will support Android Lollipop will be Chrome 95, and it includes a message to affected users informing them to upgrade their operating system. Chrome 96 will not support nor ship to users running Android Lollipop.
- Apps shortcut in the bookmarks bar will default to off
As early as Chrome 96, Chrome will make the Apps shortcut in the bookmark bar default to off. Chrome will also update the current state for all users who have never changed their setting to the new default (off).
- Network data will be migrated to a new folder on Windows
In Chrome 96, data that is needed by the network service, including cookies and other data files, will be migrated to a subdirectory underneath the current location called Network. This is to support the upcoming Network Sandbox (see below). This migration will happen automatically and transparently. No action is required, however, you might need to update any scripts that rely on the location of these files.
- Network Service on Windows will be sandboxed
To improve the security and reliability of the service, the network service, already running in its own process, will be sandboxed on Windows to improve the security and reliability of the service (as early as Chrome 97). As part of this, third-party code that is currently able to tamper with the network service will be prevented from doing so. This might cause interoperability issues with software that injects code into Chrome's process space, such as Data Loss Prevention software. An enterprise policy has been added to allow early testing of the new sandbox, and to disable the sandbox if incompatibilities are discovered. Please consider testing the sandbox in your environment using these instructions and report any issues encountered.
- New security events to BeyondCorp Enterprise Threat and Data Protection
Chrome 96 will add two new security events to BeyondCorp Enterprise Threat and Data Protection: Password leak and login. This functionality will allow admins to understand enterprise credential usage, to shadow IT within their organization, and to stay ahead of potential security incidents regarding passwords exposed in data breaches.
- NewTabPageLocation enterprise policy on Incognito
Chrome 96 will fix a bug that prevents users from starting new Incognito sessions when the enterprise policy NewTabPageLocation is set to a chrome://… URL. In future, this policy will be ignored in Incognito mode. Users on Incognito will see the default new tab page. There’s no change in how the policy is applied on regular mode (non-Incognito windows).
- Feature flag to force the Chrome Major Version number to 100
Starting in Chrome 96, users and site owners can experiment with the upcoming three-digit (Chrome 100) major release version number in the User-Agent string by turning on the ForceMajorVersion100InUserAgent flag. This forces the browser to send 100 as the major version number. When Chrome went from version 9 to 10, the increase in the number of digits in the major version number uncovered many issues in User-Agent string parsing libraries. With this feature flag, we can uncover and address these issues before Chrome 100 rolls out. We encourage admins to submit any issues encountered here.
- DNS-based HTTP to HTTPS redirect
As early as Chrome 96, Chrome will query DNS for HTTPS records (alongside traditional A and AAAA queries). When a website has deployed an HTTPS DNS record and Chrome receives it, Chrome will always connect to the website via HTTPS (Chrome Status).
- Chrome will begin deprecating the U2F security key API
The U2F API is Chrome's legacy API for interacting with USB security keys. It has been superseded by the W3C Web Authentication API (WebAuthn). Beginning with Chrome 96, when sites make U2F API requests, users may see a prompt that includes a notice about the U2F API’s deprecation. In Chrome 98, Chrome will disable the U2F API by default. With Chrome 104, the U2F API will be removed from Chrome.
Sites can continue to use the U2F API beyond Chrome 98 if they enroll in an Origin Trial. Using the Origin Trial also suppresses the deprecation prompt on the enrolled pages. The Origin Trial will end on July 26, 2022, shortly before the release of Chrome 104.
Enterprises can suppress deprecation related changes, and keep the U2F enabled, by using the U2fSecurityKeyApiEnabled enterprise policy. This enterprise policy will be removed from Chrome, together with the U2F API, in Chrome 104.
If you run a website that still uses this API, please refer to the deprecation announcement for more details.
- CORS Authorization mishandling
When scripts make a cross-origin network request viafetch()andXMLHttpRequestwith an Authorization header, the header should be explicitly allowed by the Access-Control-Allow-Headers header in the CORS preflight response (Chrome Status). The wildcard symbol (*) in the Access-Control-Allow-Headers should not work. This has not been implemented correctly, and the wildcard symbol has taken effect. This will be fixed in Chrome 97.
Note that Authorization headers attached by Chrome during the authentication process are out of scope for this change.
- Chrome will maintain its own default root store
To improve user security, and provide a consistent experience across different platforms, Chrome, as early as Chrome 97, intends to maintain its own default root store. If you are an enterprise admin managing your own Certificate Authority (CA), you should not have to manage multiple root stores. We do not anticipate any changes will be required for how enterprises currently manage their fleet and trusted enterprise CAs, such as through group policy, macOS Keychain Access, or system management tools like Puppet.
- Chrome will remove legacy policies with non-inclusive names
Chrome 86 through Chrome 90 introduced new policies to replace policies with less inclusive names. To minimize disruption for existing managed users, both the old and the new policies currently work. This transition time is to ensure it's easy for you to move to and test the new policies in Chrome.
Note: If both the legacy policy and the new policy are set for any row in the table below, the new policy will override the legacy policy. Deprecated policies will be available in the Deprecated policies folder and deleted policies will be in the Removed policies folder in the GPO editor.
This transition period will end in Chrome 97, and the following policies in the left column will no longer function. This change was originally announced for Chrome 95, but has been extended to Chrome 97. Please ensure you're using the corresponding policy from the right column instead:
Legacy Policy Name
New Policy Name
NativeMessagingBlacklist
NativeMessagingBlocklist
NativeMessagingWhitelist
NativeMessagingAllowlist
AuthNegotiateDelegateWhitelist
AuthNegotiateDelegateAllowlist
AuthServerWhitelist
AuthServerAllowlist
SpellcheckLanguageBlacklist
SpellcheckLanguageBlocklist
AutoplayWhitelist
AutoplayAllowlist
SafeBrowsingWhitelistDomains
SafeBrowsingAllowlistDomains
ExternalPrintServersWhitelist
ExternalPrintServersAllowlist
NoteTakingAppsLockScreenWhitelist
NoteTakingAppsLockScreenAllowlist
PerAppTimeLimitsWhitelist
PerAppTimeLimitsAllowlist
URLWhitelist
URLAllowlist
URLBlacklist
URLBlocklist
ExtensionInstallWhitelist
ExtensionInstallAllowlist
ExtensionInstallBlacklist
ExtensionInstallBlocklist
UserNativePrintersAllowed
UserPrintersAllowed
DeviceNativePrintersBlacklist
DevicePrintersBlocklist
DeviceNativePrintersWhitelist
DevicePrintersAllowlist
DeviceNativePrintersAccessMode
DevicePrintersAccessMode
DeviceNativePrinters
DevicePrinters
NativePrinters
Printers
NativePrintersBulkConfiguration
PrintersBulkConfiguration
NativePrintersBulkAccessMode
PrintersBulkAccessMode
NativePrintersBulkBlacklist
PrintersBulkBlocklist
NativePrintersBulkWhitelist
PrintersBulkAllowlist
UsbDetachableWhitelist
UsbDetachableAllowlist
QuickUnlockModeWhitelist
QuickUnlockModeAllowlist
AttestationExtensionWhitelist
AttestationExtensionAllowlist
PrintingAPIExtensionsWhitelist
PrintingAPIExtensionsAllowlist
AllowNativeNotifications
AllowSystemNotifications
DeviceUserWhitelist
DeviceUserAllowlist
NativeWindowOcclusionEnabled
WindowOcclusionEnabled
If you're managing Chrome via the Admin console (for example, Chrome Browser Cloud Management), no action is required; the Admin console will manage the transition automatically.
- Chrome will no longer allow TLS 1.0 or TLS 1.1
The SSLVersionMin policy no longer allows setting a minimum version of TLS 1.0 or 1.1. This means the policy can no longer be used to suppress Chrome's interstitial warnings for TLS 1.0 and 1.1. Administrators must upgrade any remaining TLS 1.0 and 1.1 servers to TLS 1.2.
In Chrome 91 we announced that the policy no longer works, but users could still bypass the interstitial. As early as Chrome 98, it will no longer be possible to bypass the interstitial.
- Different-origin iframes will no longer trigger JavaScript dialogs
Chrome will prevent iframes from triggering prompts (window.alert,window.confirm,window.prompt) if the iframe is a different origin from the top-level page. This change will prevent embedded content from spoofing the user into believing a message is coming from the website they're visiting, or from Chrome itself. Please note that this change was originally planned for Chrome 92, but has been postponed until at least Chrome 98 due to the feedback we received on this change. Once this deprecation launches, you can control the behavior with the enterprise policy SuppressDifferentOriginSubframeDialogs.
You can test if this future change will affect applications now by setting the enable_features=SuppressDifferentOriginSubframeJSDialogs flag.
Upcoming Admin console changes
- Browser list data downloadable in CSV format
As early as Chrome 97, a CSV format will be introduced as an option to download the browser list data from the Admin console.
Chrome OS updates
- Enhanced voices in select-to-speak
Select-to-speak supports people who have challenges reading text content due to vision impairments and conditions like dyslexia, by allowing them to select pieces of text and hear them out loud. This enhancement gives select-to-speak the ability to produce realistic, natural-sounding voices as it speaks the text content.
- Include desk labels when moving tabs
If you use desks on Chrome OS, it's now easier to organize your browser tabs. Windows in the same desk appear together when you select Move tab to another window.
- Document scanning in the camera app
The camera app now supports document scanning. With document scanning, the camera can identify, capture, and crop your documents. You can also save your documents as a PDF or image.
Admin console updates
- Extensions version pinning
Chrome browser and Chrome OS admins can now pin extensions (and apps) to specific versions, either by self-hosting them or from the Chrome Webstore (based on an automatic hosting in Google Cloud Storage). Learn more
- Read-only delegated admin
A new read-only delegated admin permission allows IT admins to grant read-only access to Chrome OS device info in their Google Admin console and in the Directory API. Read-only access is useful for help desk admins, 3P partners, for reporting tools, and more!
- Search by on-device policy name
IT admins can now search by on-device policy name to the Admin console. For example, if an admin searches for ProxyPacUrl, they’ll see the corresponding setting, Proxy mode, in the Admin console. Admins can also use new info bubbles that appear next to a setting name to see the corresponding on-device policy name.
- New policies in the Admin console
Policy Name
Pages
Supported on
Category/Field
Managed Guest Session Settings
Chrome OS
Session settings / Display the logout confirmation dialog
Device Settings
Chrome OS
Device update settings / Auto-update settings / Enforce updates
Device Settings
Chrome OS
Device update settings / Auto-update settings / Enforce updates Auto Update Expiration (AUE) message
User & Browser Settings;
Managed Guest Session Settings
Chrome
Chrome OS
Android
Content / JavaScript JIT / Allow Javascript to use JIT on these sites
User & Browser Settings;
Managed Guest Session Settings
Chrome
Chrome OS
Android
Content / JavaScript JIT
User & Browser Settings;
Managed Guest Session Settings
Chrome
Chrome OS
Android
Content / JavaScript JIT / Block JavaScript from using JIT on these sites
User & Browser Settings
Chrome
Chrome OS
Android
Security / 3DES cipher suites in TLS
User & Browser Settings;
Managed Guest Session Settings
Chrome
Chrome OS
Security / Allow remote debugging
User & Browser Settings
Chrome
Content / Desktop sharing in the omnibox and 3-dot menu
Chrome browser updates
- Chrome moves to a 4-week stable channel and introduces an 8-week extended stable channel
Chrome on mobile, Windows, Mac, and Linux moves from its 6-week release cycle to a 4-week release cycle, allowing security features, new functionality and bug fixes to reach users more quickly.
No action is required for most enterprises, but if you manually update or test new releases of Chrome and prefer a slower release cadence, you can use the existing TargetChannel policy to switch Chrome on Mac and Windows to an extended stable channel, with a new major release every 8 weeks instead. You can find more details in our help center article. Note: If you decide to move to the extended stable channel, we recommend testing it out on a small set of machines or organizational units before deploying it on your entire fleet. Extended Stable is identical to Stable for the first 4 weeks of each cycle, so this sort of testing is most valuable in the last 4 weeks of the Extended Stable cycle.
To ensure continuous improvements to the Chrome OS platform, Chrome OS will move to a 4-week stable channel starting with Chrome 96. To bridge the gap between Chrome 94 and Chrome 96, Chrome OS will skip Chrome 95 (see the updated Chrome schedule page for milestone-specific details).
- Chrome on iOS can apply .mobileconfig files
A .mobileconfig file can be used to configure an iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad to work with certain enterprise systems. Since iOS 12.2, MOBILECONFIG files can be downloaded and installed from Safari and Mail apps. Chrome on iOS now allows users to download these files. Users then have to manually install the profile from the Settings app.
- Chrome deprecates WebSQL in third-party contexts
Chrome 94 no longer uses WebSQL in third-party contexts, such as cross-origin iframes. A console message is printed each time a WebSQL database opens in a third-party context to alert developers of the upcoming removal. This change does not affect WebSQL in first-party contexts, but the eventual goal is to deprecate and remove all WebSQL.
WebSQL in third-party contexts will be disabled in Chrome 97, but an enterprise policy will be made available to re-enable it. As of Chrome 101, WebSQL in third-party contexts will be removed entirely.
- Chrome launches HTTPS-First mode (Android and desktop)
HTTPS-First mode attempts to upgrade all page loads to HTTPS and displays a full-page warning before loading sites that don’t support it. Users who enable this mode gain confidence that Chrome is connecting them to sites over HTTPS whenever possible. Users see a warning before connecting to sites over HTTP.
An enterprise policy, HttpsOnlyMode, is available to control the use of this mode.
- Chrome blocks the MK external protocol
Chrome now blocks the legacy external MK protocol for use with Internet Explorer. This protocol enables legacy web apps to extract information from compressed files. This is a legacy asynchronous pluggable protocol that is disabled by default in Internet Explorer. Chrome now blocks this protocol to mitigate potential malicious use.
- Chrome / Citrix Workspace (self-service plugin) stability
Recent versions of Citrix Workspace install a DLL on Windows that can interfere with the Chrome browser process. Only Windows 10 or 11 systems with Control-flow Enforcement Technology (CET) or Hardware-enforced Stack Protection (Intel 11th Gen and AMD Zen 3 CPUs) with Citrix Workspace installed and Client Protection enabled are affected. While we are working with Citrix to resolve this, please consider using Citrix Workspace with Client Protection Disabled as a temporary workaround.
- Chrome no longer allows insecure public pages to make requests to private or local URLs
Non-secure contexts served from public IP addresses can no longer make subresource requests to IP addresses belonging to private and local IP addresses (as defined in Private Network Access). For example, http://public.example served on IP 1.2.3.4 cannot make requests targeting IP 192.168.0.1 or IP 127.0.0.1. You can control this behavior using the InsecurePrivateNetworkRequestsAllowed or InsecurePrivateNetworkRequestsAllowedForUrls enterprise policies, which became available for testing in Chrome 92. See this blog post for more details.
- PWAs can register as (platform level) URL handlers
Chrome 94 runs an Origin Trial to allow Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) to register as URL handlers. This means that PWAs can be launched in response to URL link activations, including activations from native apps. PWAs can register to handle any HTTPS URL, not just URLs from their own app scope. If you’re interested in learning more about PWAs as URL handlers, please refer to this article.
- Chrome sync ends support for Chrome 48 and earlier
Chrome sync no longer supports Chrome 48 and earlier. You need to upgrade to a more recent version of Chrome if you want to continue using Chrome sync.
- Chrome launches a sharing hub
In Chrome 94, users can more easily share their current page, including Send to your devices, get a QR code for the current URL, and share to third-party websites. The option to Send to your devices is only available to signed-in users. If the user is not signed in, the option does not appear. You can control this feature using an enterprise policy called DesktopSharingHubEnabled.
- Admins can enforce profile separation through enterprise policy
Chrome 94 updates the dialog when users sign into a managed profile if the ManagedAccountsSigninRestriction policy is set. The new notice clarifies that a separate profile is required by the admin, and the choices for the user are simplified. Some users see a link to open Chrome in guest mode when they sign in to a new profile that's different from the profile signed in to Chrome.
- New enterprise policies for the Web Serial API
The Web Serial API allows websites to request access to serial devices (USB, Bluetooth, etc.) through a device selection prompt. In previous Chrome versions, policies could only control how the feature was blocked. In Chrome 94, SerialAllowAllPortsForUrls and SerialAllowUsbDevicesForUrls allow admins to grant a website access to specific (or all) connected serial devices, streamlining workflows by removing the need for users to select the correct device.
- Chrome settings restructure
To aid in navigability, Chrome will replace the single long page in Chrome settings with individual sections. The updated experience is available starting with Chrome 94.
- Chrome updates Certificate Transparency log list via Component Updater
Chrome 94 uses Component Updater to dynamically update the Certificate Transparency log list, separating these updates from full browser updates. This allows out-of-date clients to keep enforcing Certificate Transparency. Note that full browser updates still contain the transparency log list.
- Chrome introduces tab grid bulk actions
Chrome for iOS adds an edit mode to the tab grid to allow easier management of open tabs. Users can select multiple tabs and then add them to the reading list, bookmarked, shared, or closed.
- New onboarding experience for Chrome on iOS
Chrome 94 revamps the existing onboarding screens, separating the sign-up and sync features.
- Chrome removes the UserAgentClientHintsEnabled policy
The use of Structured Headers in the User Agent Client Hints, and in particular, the Sec-CH-UA and Sec-CH-UA-Mobile headers, caused some unintended consequences where not all servers were able to accept all characters. An enterprise policy UserAgentClientHintsEnabled was created to disable this feature. Chrome 94 removes this policy.
- Chrome launches an API that allows sites to know when the user is active
Chrome 94 launches the Idle Detection API, allowing websites to request to know if users are idle, allowing messaging apps to direct notifications to the best device. This was previously in Origin Trial and is now rolled out to Stable.
- Chrome launches display-capture
The display-capture permissions-policy allows sites to more safely embed documents in an iframe. It does so by controlling such documents’ access to screen-capture APIs. This permissions-policy’s default setting prevents screen-capture by cross-origin iframes. For websites that are non-compliant with the spec and need more time to implement the display-capture feature, an enterprise policy, named DisplayCapturePermissionsPolicyEnabled, allows selective bypassing of the display-capture permissions-policy. This enterprise policy will be removed after Chrome 100.
- BeyondCorp Enterprise: custom warnings and bypass justifications
Today BeyondCorp Enterprise shows generic, predefined warn and block messages when files are flagged due to DLP Rule violations or other Chrome Security events. Chrome 94 introduces the ability to provide more meaningful, customized warning messages to end users. Administrators can now customize these warning messages to make it meaningful, and also add a learn more link to such warnings.
- Chrome launches What's New in Chrome
What’s New in Chrome is a way for users to discover new features. Starting in Chrome 94, some users see a page that highlights a few features. What’s New in Chrome automatically displays as the focused tab. You can disable this feature by using the existing PromotionalTabsEnabled enterprise policy.
New and updated policies in Chrome browser
| Policy | Description |
|
Specifies whether WebAssembly modules can be sent to another window or worker cross-origin. Cross-origin WebAssembly module sharing will be deprecated as part of the efforts to deprecate document.domain, see https://github.com/mikewest/deprecating-document-domain. This policy allows admins to re-enable cross-origin WebAssembly module sharing to offer a longer transition period in the deprecation process. |
|
|
The display-capture permissions-policy gates access to getDisplayMedia(), as per this spec: https://www.w3.org/TR/screen-capture/#feature-policy-integration. However, if this policy is Disabled, this requirement is not enforced, and getDisplayMedia() is allowed from contexts that would otherwise be forbidden. This Enterprise policy is temporary; it's intended to be removed after Google Chrome version 100. It is intended to unblock Enterprise users whose application is non-spec compliant, but needs time to be fixed. |
|
|
Controls whether users can enable HTTPS-Only Mode in Settings. HTTPS-Only Mode upgrades all navigations to HTTPS. |
|
|
Leaving this policy unset or setting it to Enabled allows users to view and use the Google Lens region search menu item in the context menu. |
|
|
Controls whether a managed account must be a primary account. |
|
|
Controls how Google Chrome makes the Print as image option available on Microsoft Windows and macOS when printing PDFs. |
|
|
Controls print image resolution when Google Chrome prints PDFs with rasterization. |
|
|
Lets you set a list of URL patterns that can capture tabs with their same Origin. |
|
|
Lets you set a list of URL patterns that can use Desktop, Window, and Tab Capture. |
|
|
Allows you to list sites which are automatically granted permission to access all available serial ports. |
|
|
Allows you to list sites which are automatically granted permission to access USB serial devices with vendor and product IDs matching the vendor_id and product_id fields. Omitting the product_id field allows the given sites permission to access devices with a vendor ID matching the vendor_id field and any product ID. |
|
|
Lets you set a list of URL patterns that can use Tab Capture. |
|
|
Lets you set a list of URL patterns that can use Window and Tab Capture. |
Admin console updates
- Search by on-device policy name in the Admin console
Chrome 94 adds the ability to search by on-device policy name to the Admin console. Now when admins enter an on-device policy name, for example, ProxyPacUrl, into the search bar, they’ll see the corresponding setting, for example, Proxy mode, in the Admin console. Admins can also use new info bubbles that appear next to a setting name to see the corresponding on-device policy name.
- New channel option Extended Stable for Chrome Browser Cloud Management
Chrome adds Extended Stable as a drop-down option for channel selection in the Chrome update section.
New policies in the Admin console
| Policy Name | Pages | Supported on | Category/Field |
|
DesktopSharingHubEnabled |
User & Browser Settings |
Chrome Win/Mac/Linux |
Content/Desktop sharing in the omnibox and 3-dot menu |
Coming soon
Note: The items listed below are experimental or planned updates. They might change, be delayed, or canceled before launching to the Stable channel.
Upcoming Chrome browser changes
- Chrome 95 will introduce stricter parsing rules for Legacy Browser Support
Organizations that rely on Legacy Browser Support (LBS) to redirect their users to Microsoft Edge or Internet Explorer can use the BrowserSwitcherParsingMode policy to choose how their site list is interpreted by Chrome. If set to strict mode, Chrome will interpret those rules in the same way as Edge and Internet Explorer.
- As early as Chrome 95, the network Service on Windows will be sandboxed
To improve the security and reliability of the service, the network service, already running in its own process, will be sandboxed on Windows to improve the security and reliability of the service. As part of this, third-party code that is currently able to tamper with the network service will be prevented from doing so. This might cause interoperability issues with software that injects code into Chrome's process space, such as Data Loss Prevention software. You'll be able to disable the change with an enterprise policy when it becomes available.
- Chrome 95 will conduct an Origin Trial for User-Agent Reduction
Chrome 95 will be conducting an Origin Trial for the fully reduced User-Agent string. We would like sites to begin participating in the trial so we may collect feedback and allow sites to have ample time to address breakage. The reduced User-Agent string will appear in both the User-Agent HTTP request header as well as the JavaScript APIs that access the User-Agent string (navigator.userAgent,navigator.appVersion,navigator.platform). The Origin Trial will last six milestones until the reduced User-Agent string becomes the default in Chrome, with a deprecation Origin Trial to continue receiving the full User-Agent string for those sites that still need more time to migrate. Enterprises can opt in to the Origin Trial here when it is available.
- Chrome 95 will deprecate WebAssembly cross-origin module sharing
Chrome 95 will prevent WebAssembly module sharing between cross-origin but same-site environments. This will allow agent clusters to be tied to origins in the long-term. This change conforms to recent changes in the WebAssembly spec.
If your enterprise needs any additional time to adjust to this change, a temporary enterprise policy will be made available to allow module sharing for cross-origin same-site environments.
- As early as Chrome 95, Apps shortcut in the bookmarks bar will default to off
Chrome will make the Apps shortcut in the bookmark bar default to off and update the current state for all users who have never changed their setting to the new default (off).
- Chrome 96 will add new security events to BeyondCorp Enterprise Threat and Data Protection (Password leak and login)
Chrome 96 will add two new security events to BeyondCorp Enterprise Threat and Data Protection: Password leak and login. This functionality will allow administrators to understand enterprise credential usage and Shadow IT within their organization, and to stay ahead of potential security incidents regarding passwords exposed in data breaches.
- Migrate to Open Screen Library Cast channel
Chrome 96 will use a new implementation, Open Screen Library, to connect to devices that support Cast like Chromecast, Nest Hub and Android TV. Chrome users will not observe any differences in how Cast works.
- NewTabPageLocation enterprise policy on Incognito
Chrome 96 will fix a bug that prevents users from starting new Incognito sessions when the enterprise policy NewTabPageLocation is set to a chrome://… URL. In future, this policy will be ignored in Incognito mode. Users on Incognito will see the default new tab page. There’s no change in how the policy is applied on regular mode (non-Incognito windows).
- As early as Chrome 97, Chrome will no longer allow TLS 1.0 or TLS 1.1
The SSLVersionMin policy no longer allows setting a minimum version of TLS 1.0 or 1.1. This means the policy can no longer be used to suppress Chrome's interstitial warnings for TLS 1.0 and 1.1. Administrators must upgrade any remaining TLS 1.0 and 1.1 servers to TLS 1.2.
In Chrome 91 we announced that the policy no longer works, but users could still bypass the interstitial. As early as Chrome 97, it will no longer be possible to bypass the interstitial.
- CORS Authorization mishandling
When scripts make a cross-origin network request viafetch()andXMLHttpRequestwith an Authorization header, the header should be explicitly allowed by the Access-Control-Allow-Headers header in the CORS preflight response. The wildcard symbol (*) in the Access-Control-Allow-Headers should not work. This has not been implemented correctly, and the wildcard symbol has taken effect. This will be fixed in Chrome 97.
Please note that Authorization headers attached by Chrome during the authentication process are out of scope for this change.
- As early as Chrome 97, Chrome will maintain its own default root store
To improve user security, and provide a consistent experience across different platforms, Chrome intends to maintain its own default root store. If you are an enterprise admin managing your own Certificate Authority (CA), you should not have to manage multiple root stores. We do not anticipate any changes will be required for how enterprises currently manage their fleet and trusted enterprise CAs, such as through group policy, macOS Keychain Access, or system management tools like Puppet.
- Chrome 97 will remove legacy policies with non-inclusive names
Chrome 86 through Chrome 90 introduced new policies to replace policies with less inclusive names. To minimize disruption for existing managed users, both the old and the new policies currently work. This transition time is to ensure it's easy for you to move to and test the new policies in Chrome.
Note: If both the legacy policy and the new policy are set for any row in the table below, the new policy will override the legacy policy.
This transition period will end in Chrome 97, and the following policies in the left column will no longer function. This change was originally announced for Chrome 95, but has been extended to Chrome 97. Please ensure you're using the corresponding policy from the right column instead:
Legacy Policy Name New Policy Name NativeMessagingBlacklist
NativeMessagingBlocklist
NativeMessagingWhitelist
NativeMessagingAllowlist
AuthNegotiateDelegateWhitelist
AuthNegotiateDelegateAllowlist
AuthServerWhitelist
AuthServerAllowlist
SpellcheckLanguageBlacklist
SpellcheckLanguageBlocklist
AutoplayWhitelist
AutoplayAllowlist
SafeBrowsingWhitelistDomains
SafeBrowsingAllowlistDomains
ExternalPrintServersWhitelist
ExternalPrintServersAllowlist
NoteTakingAppsLockScreenWhitelist
NoteTakingAppsLockScreenAllowlist
PerAppTimeLimitsWhitelist
PerAppTimeLimitsAllowlist
URLWhitelist
URLAllowlist
URLBlacklist
URLBlocklist
ExtensionInstallWhitelist
ExtensionInstallAllowlist
ExtensionInstallBlacklist
ExtensionInstallBlocklist
UserNativePrintersAllowed
UserPrintersAllowed
DeviceNativePrintersBlacklist
DevicePrintersBlocklist
DeviceNativePrintersWhitelist
DevicePrintersAllowlist
DeviceNativePrintersAccessMode
DevicePrintersAccessMode
DeviceNativePrinters
DevicePrinters
NativePrinters
Printers
NativePrintersBulkConfiguration
PrintersBulkConfiguration
NativePrintersBulkAccessMode
PrintersBulkAccessMode
NativePrintersBulkBlacklist
PrintersBulkBlocklist
NativePrintersBulkWhitelist
PrintersBulkAllowlist
UsbDetachableWhitelist
UsbDetachableAllowlist
QuickUnlockModeWhitelist
QuickUnlockModeAllowlist
AttestationExtensionWhitelist
AttestationExtensionAllowlist
PrintingAPIExtensionsWhitelist
PrintingAPIExtensionsAllowlist
AllowNativeNotifications
AllowSystemNotifications
DeviceUserWhitelist
DeviceUserAllowlist
NativeWindowOcclusionEnabled
WindowOcclusionEnabled
If you're managing Chrome via the Admin console (for example, Chrome Browser Cloud Management), no action is required; the Admin console will manage the transition automatically.
- In Chrome 98, Chrome apps will be deprecated on Mac, Windows, and Linux
As part of the previously-communicated plan to replace Chrome apps with the open web, Chrome apps will no longer function on Mac, Windows, and Linux in Chrome 98. For enterprises that need extra time to adjust to the removal of Chrome apps, a policy called ChromeAppEnabled will be available to extend support for them until June 2022.
- As early as Chrome 98, different-origin iframes will no longer trigger JavaScript dialogs
Chrome will prevent iframes from triggering prompts (window.alert,window.confirm,window.prompt) if the iframe is a different origin from the top-level page. This change will prevent embedded content from spoofing the user into believing a message is coming from the website they're visiting, or from Chrome itself. Please note that this change was originally planned for Chrome 92, but has been postponed until at least Chrome 98 due to the feedback we received on this change. Once this deprecation launches, you can control the behavior with the enterprise policy SuppressDifferentOriginSubframeDialogs.
You can test if this future change will affect applications now by setting the enable_features=SuppressDifferentOriginSubframeJSDialogs flag.
Upcoming Admin console changes
- Browser list data will be available for download in CSV format in the Admin console
As early as Chrome 95, a CSV format will be introduced as an option to download the browser list data from the Admin console.
- Chrome will delete inactive browsers from Chrome Browser Cloud Management
Many enterprise customers have to adhere to regulation around data retention. To aid in this effort, as early as chrome 95, we will launch a new policy that will automatically delete inactive browser information from Google servers.
By default, browsers that do not connect to the Google servers for 365 days will be considered inactive and automatically deleted. Admins will be able to modify the default value (Allowable range: 28 - 730 days).
Chrome browser updates
- SyncXHR policy is no longer available
Chrome 93 removes the AllowSyncXHRInPageDismissal enterprise policy. Before updating to Chrome 93, web application owners must update all apps that previously relied on legacy platform behavior. This change was previously planned for Chrome 88, but delayed to provide more time for enterprises to update legacy applications.
- New RelaunchWindow policy
The RelaunchWindow enterprise policy allows admins to specify a window of time when Chrome relaunches to force an update to apply. You can use this policy, in conjunction with RelaunchNotification, RelaunchNotificationPeriod, and RelaunchHeadsUpPeriod to control when Chrome relaunches to apply an update. RelaunchWindow helps you to minimize disruption and to force a relaunch outside of business hours. In Chrome 93, these policies are available in Group Policy. These policies will become available in the Admin console at a later date.
- New JavaScript JIT setting policies
Chrome 93 introduces three new policies:
These policies allow Chrome's JavaScript engine to default to using the Ignition interpreter in a JIT-less mode for a set of enterprise-defined sites.
Disabling the JavaScript JIT in this way may allow Chrome to render web content in a more secure configuration, as no executable permissions are needed for memory regions. However, disabling JIT has performance costs and currently disables some parts of JavaScript, including WebAssembly.
- Full launch of Drive priority launchpad on New tab page
To help users get work done faster, Chrome 93 shows the Drive files the user is more likely to need on the New tab page. This feature uses Drive’s existing priority API, which powers the Priority section of drive.google.com. Some users see this change in Chrome 93.
- Publishing updates to extensions requires 2-Step Verification
As part of the rollout of a set of updates and clarifications to the Chrome Web Store extension policies, the Chrome Web Store now requires 2-Step Verification on developer accounts before adding a new extension or updating an existing extension. This does not impact extensions that are self-hosted, sideloaded, or that are no longer being updated.
Developer accounts belonging to organizations where the admin has disabled 2-Step Verification for their organization are exempt from this requirement.
- Updates to the lock icon in the address bar
Some users might see a new icon replacing the lock in the address bar, which is shown on sites that support HTTPS. The new icon aims to improve the discoverability of the Page Info surface, which includes site-level security and privacy information and controls. A Not Secure indicator continues to appear on sites without HTTPS support. An enterprise policy, LockIconInAddressBarEnabled, is available to revert to the original lock icon. See our blog post Increasing HTTPS Adoption for more information.
- New feature changes to the User-Agent Client Hints API updates
Chrome 93 adds four feature changes to the User-Agent client hints API:- Adding a Sec-CH-UA-Bitness User Agent Client Hint to return the bitness of the platform, which might be useful, for example, for sending optimized binaries during a download.
- Making Sec-CH-UA-Platform a low-entropy hint that is sent by default. Prior to this change, this hint would need to be requested.
-
Including low-entropy hints by default in UADataValues (returned by
getHighEntropyValues()): if a hint moves from high to low-entropy, this prevents site compatibility issues. - Adding a
toJSONmethod to NavigatorUAData. Instead of returning {},JSON.stringify(navigator.userAgentData)is now useful.
An enterprise policy UserAgentClientHintsEnabled is available to control this feature. This policy will be removed in Chrome 94. Developers can leave feedback at crbug.com/1241062 on any issues related to this feature.
- Chrome on iOS adds a new way to sign in
On iOS, when a user signs in to their Google Account on the web, they can sign in to Chrome with a Google Account that’s already saved on their device. This does not enable Chrome sync by default; the user can opt into that separately if they want sync enabled. You can control the behavior of sign-in on Chrome on iOS and other platforms using the BrowserSignIn policy.
- Chrome performs sentiment measurement
Chrome 93 performs sentiment measurement of users of Trusted Surface, Privacy Settings and Transactions. These surveys are delivered on the New tab page after the user has engaged with the feature. The delivery of these surveys can be disabled by disabling metrics via the MetricsReportingEnabled policy.
- Chrome redesigns desktop page info surface
Chrome 93 continues to redesign the desktop page info surface. The purpose of this redesign is to improve scalability by introducing modular subpages, toggles for permissions and restructuring the main view to surface the important information first.
- Tab Groups in desktop Recently closed menu
Chrome 93 allows users to see their tab groups in the Recently closed menu and helps alleviate worry about permanent loss of groups. This launch enables the whole group and individual tabs inside a group to restore from the Chrome desktop recently closed menu.
- Save payment information to a Google Account
In Chrome 93, users who are signed in to their managed Google Account see an option to save their payment information to their Google Account. As an administrator, you can turn off this feature (Sync Service setting) in the Google Admin console or by using the AutofillCreditCardEnabled policy. This was previously available on Android and desktop and is now also available on iOS.
- URL protocol handlers in web manifests
Chrome 93 is running an Origin Trial for URL protocol handlers in web manifests. This Origin Trial started in Chrome 92 and will end in Chrome 94. The handlers follow the PWA's lifecycle -- they are set up on PWA install, and removed on PWA uninstall. You can find out more in this article.
Note: The Origin Trial started in Chrome 92 but was initially not part of the Chrome 92 blog post.
- New Incognito Exit Point on Clear browsing data
Chrome 93 introduces a new Close windows confirmation dialog which is displayed when a user selects Clear browsing data from the overflow menu or Chrome Actions on Omnibox while on Incognito mode. This dialog contains text explaining that Clear browsing data ends the Incognito session, and two call-to-action buttons: Close windows and Cancel.
- Pausing quantum computer resistant security
Some devices behaved unexpectedly when Chrome offered quantum-resistant cryptography for TLS connections. We’re working with those companies to provide fixed firmware for their devices and have temporarily disabled this technology.
For more details, see the Chromium Open Source Project.
- LegacySameSiteCookieBehaviorEnabled is no longer available
When same-site cookie behavior was introduced, Chrome included policies to give admins extra time to adjust the implementation of any enterprise apps that relied on the legacy cookie behavior.
The first phase of the transition plan ends in Chrome 93, and LegacySameSiteCookieBehaviorEnabled is no longer taking effect. You will still be able to opt specific sites into the legacy cookie behavior using LegacySameSiteCookieBehaviorEnabledForDomainList until December 31st, 2022.
- 3DES TLS cipher suites are no longer supported
Chrome 93 removes support for 3DES TLS cipher suites. The TripleDESEnabled enterprise policy was made available in Chrome 92 to test this change, and will be available temporarily until Chrome 95, to give enterprises additional time to adjust.
- Ubuntu 16.04 is no longer supported
Ubuntu 16.04 is past the end of standard support, and is no longer supported. The updated system requirements for Chrome are available here.
- New and updated policies in Chrome browser
Policy
Description
Allows you to set whether Google Chrome runs the v8 JavaScript engine with JIT (Just In Time) compiler enabled or not.
Enable the sharing icon from the omnibox and the entry from the 3-dot menu.
Allows you to set a list of site URL patterns that specify sites which are allowed to run JavaScript with JIT (Just In Time) compiler enabled.
Allows you to set a list of site URL patterns that specify sites which are not allowed to run JavaScript JIT (Just In Time) compiler enabled.
Controls the treatment for lock icon in the omnibox. From Chrome 93, there is a new omnibox icon for secure connections. If the policy is Enabled, Chrome uses the existing lock icon for secure connections. If the policy is Disabled or not set, Chrome uses the default icon for secure connections.
Specify a target time window for the end of the relaunch notification period.
Controls whether users may use remote debugging.
Chrome OS updates
- Enable Android applications to access Chrome OS certificates
Previously Android applications could only access certificates provisioned within Android, but not those in Chrome OS. Admins can now enable Android apps to access Chrome OS user and device certificates.
For more information, see the Help Center.
- Regular online re-authentication for identity providers on the login and lock screen
Regular online authentication provides additional security for organizations that require 2FA or MFA authentication and organizations that use third-party identity providers like Okta.
As an admin, you can require regular online re-authentication on the login screen for users of third-party identity providers. Chrome OS 93 expands this capability to re-authenticate using the lock screen and also extends re-authentication support to users of Google identity, including those using 2FA like Yubikeys or SMS.
There are now three new controls to help manage online re-authentication:
- SAML single sign-on unlock frequency
- Google online login frequency
- Google online unlock frequency
Admin console updates
- Sending Extension Requests for Chrome browser Desktop and Chrome OS
As an admin, you can block users from installing extensions and the Chrome Web Store will now have a Request button so that you can see their requests from within the Admin console and take an action to allow or to block the extensions. To enable the feature, please follow the steps in the Help Center.
- Chrome Browser Cloud Management is available for Chrome-on-iOS
Chrome Browser Cloud Management now supports Chrome-on-iOS. The policies for Chrome-on-iOS can be seen at https://chromeenterprise.google/policies (then filter for iOS platform). To get started, please visit the Help Center.
- Chrome Browser Cloud Management Release Channel selector
Admin console now has a release channel selector (Stable, Beta, Dev) for Chrome Browser Cloud Management on Windows, Mac, or Linux. For more details, see the Help Center.
- New policies in the Admin console
Policy Name
Pages
Supported on
Category/Field
User & Browser Settings
Chrome OS
Security/SAML single sign-on unlock frequency
User & Browser Settings
Chrome OS
Security/Google online unlock frequency
User & Browser Settings
Chrome Win/Mac/Linux
User experience/Preferred languages
Coming soon
Note: The items listed below are experimental or planned updates. They might change, be delayed, or canceled before launching to the Stable channel.
- Chrome 94 is moving to a 4-week stable channel and introducing an 8-week extended stable channel
Chrome on mobile, Windows, Mac, and Linux will move from its current 6-week release cycle to a 4-week release cycle, allowing security features, new functionality and bug fixes to reach users more quickly. Note that Chrome 94’s shorter development cycle means Chrome 93 will be live in the stable channel for less time as well; specific release dates for both milestones can be found on our schedule.
No action is required for most enterprises, but if you manually update or test new releases of Chrome and prefer a slower release cadence, you'll be able to use the TargetChannel policy to switch Chrome on Mac and Windows to an extended stable channel, with a new release every 8 weeks instead. The option of Extended Stable will be added to the Target Channel Control in the Admin console in Chrome 94. You can find more details in our blog post at blog.chromium.org.
To ensure continuous improvements to the Chrome OS platform, Chrome OS will move to a 4-week stable channel starting with Chrome 96. To bridge the gap between Chrome 94 and Chrome 96, Chrome OS will skip Chrome 95 (see the updated Chrome schedule page for milestone-specific details).
To provide commercial users with another dependably secure stable platform, Chrome OS will also introduce a new channel with a 6-month update cadence by Chrome 96. More details to be announced soon.
Upcoming Chrome browser changes
- As early as Chrome 94, the browser list data will be available for download in CSV format in the Admin console
Chrome will introduce the CSV format as an option to download the browser list data from the Admin console.
- Chrome 94 on iOS will be able to apply .mobileconfig files
A.mobileconfigfile can be used to configure an iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad to work with certain enterprise systems. Since iOS 12.2, mobileconfig files can be downloaded and installed from Safari and Mail apps. Chrome will be able to download these files and continue to settings so the user can apply them.
- Chrome 94 will support usage of Android phones as security keys
When Chrome on a desktop or laptop is signed into the same account as Chrome on an Android phone, that phone can be used as a security key.
This feature requires that the desktop has a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) adaptor. Communication between the devices is end-to-end encrypted with keys exchanged over BLE to prove proximity with the phone.
- Chrome 94 will launch What's New in Chrome
What’s New will be an effortless way for users to discover new features. Starting in Chrome 94 some users will see a page that highlights a few features. What’s New will automatically show as the focused tab. You can disable this feature by using the existing PromotionalTabsEnabled enterprise policy.
- Chrome 94 will no longer allow insecure public pages to make requests to private or local URLs
Non-secure contexts served from public IP addresses will no longer be able to make subresource requests to IP addresses belonging to a more private address space (as defined in Private Network Access). For example, http://public.example served on IP 1.2.3.4 will not be able to make requests targeting IP 192.168.0.1 or IP 127.0.0.1. You can control this behavior using the InsecurePrivateNetworkRequestsAllowed and InsecurePrivateNetworkRequestsAllowedForUrls enterprise policies, which became available for testing in Chrome 92.
- Ability for PWAs to be registered as (platform level) URL handlers
Chrome 94 will run an Origin Trial to allow Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) to register as URL handlers. This means that PWAs can be launched in response to URL link activations, including activations from native apps. PWAs will be allowed to register to handle any https URL, not just URLs from their own app scope. If you’re interested in learning more about PWAs as URL handlers, please refer to this article.
- Launching a sharing hub
In Chrome 94, users will be able to more easily share their current page, including the ability to send the current page to their devices, get a QR code for the current URL, and share to third-party apps. You will be able to control this feature using an enterprise policy called DesktopSharingHubEnabled.
- Chrome 94 will use updated language in managed profile sign-in notice
Chrome 94 will update the notice when users sign into a managed profile. The new notice will have language clarifying that a separate profile is required and the available buttons will be simplified. Some users will see a link to open Chrome in guest mode when they sign in to a new profile that's different from the profile signed in to Chrome.
- Chrome 94 will add a new enterprise policy for the Web Serial API
The Web Serial API allows sites to request access to serial devices (USB, Bluetooth, etc.) through a device selection prompt. In previous Chrome versions, policy controls could only control how the feature was blocked. In Chrome 94, admins will be able to grant a site access to specific (or all) connected serial devices, streamlining workflows by removing the need for users to select the correct device.
- Chrome settings restructure
To aid in navigability, Chrome will replace the single long page in Chrome settings with individual sections. The updated experience will be available starting with Chrome 94.
- Chrome 94 will launch HTTPS-First mode (Android and Desktop)
HTTPS-First mode will attempt to upgrade all page loads to HTTPS and display a full-page warning before loading sites that don’t support it. Users who enable this mode gain confidence that Chrome is connecting them to sites over HTTPS whenever possible, and that they will see a warning before connecting to sites over HTTP. An enterprise policy will exist to disable the use of this mode.
- Chrome 94 will update certificate transparency log list via component updater
Chrome 94 will start using Component Updater to dynamically update the certificate transparency log list, separating these updates from full browser updates, and allowing out-of-date clients to keep enforcing Certificate Transparency.
- Chrome 94 will introduce tab grid bulk actions
Chrome for iOS will add an edit mode to the tab grid to allow easier management of open tabs. Multiple tabs can be selected and then added to the reading list, bookmarked, shared, or closed.
- As early as Chrome 94, Chrome will delete inactive browsers from Chrome Browser Cloud Management
Many enterprise customers have to adhere to regulation around data retention. To aid in this effort, we will launch a new policy that will automatically delete inactive browser information from Google servers.
By default, browsers that do not connect to the Google servers for 365 days will be considered inactive and automatically deleted. Admins will be able to modify the default value.
- Chrome 94 will test Chrome Accuracy Check
Chrome plans to remind users to evaluate the accuracy of information. Chrome Accuracy Check will show users tips for evaluating information quality for news sites when they might be helpful.
- Chrome 94 will remove UserAgentClientHintsEnabled policy
The use of Structured Headers in the User Agent Client Hints, and in particular, the Sec-CH-UA and Sec-CH-UA-Mobile headers, caused some unintended consequences where not all servers were able to accept all characters. An enterprise policy UserAgentClientHintsEnabled was created to disable this feature. This policy will be removed in Chrome 94.
- Chrome 94 will add new Security Events to BeyondCorp Enterprise Threat and Data Protection (Password Leak and Login)
Chrome 94 will add two new Security Events to BeyondCorp Enterprise Threat and Data Protection: Password leak and login. This functionality will allow administrators to understand enterprise credential usage and Shadow IT within their organization, and to stay ahead of potential security incidents regarding passwords exposed in data breaches.
- Chrome 94 will launch an API that allows sites to know when the user is active
Chrome 94 will launch the Idle Detection API, allowing websites to request the ability to query if users are idle, allowing messaging apps to direct notifications to the best device. This was previously in Origin Trial and is now rolled out to Stable.
- Chrome 94 will launch display-capture
The display-capture permissions-policy allows sites to more safely embed documents in an iframe. The display-capture permissions-policy can be used to remove the capability of a document in an iframe initiating a screen-capture. An enterprise policy will be created to control this feature - DisplayCapturePermissionsPolicyEnabled. This policy will be removed in Chrome 100.
- Migrate to Open Screen Library Cast channel
Chrome 95 will use a new implementation to connect to devices that support Cast like Chromecast, Nest Hub and Android TV. Chrome users will not observe any differences in how Cast works.
- Chrome 95 will introduce stricter parsing rules for Legacy Browser Support
Organizations that rely on Legacy Browser Support (LBS) to redirect their users to Microsoft® Edge® or Internet Explorer® can use the BrowserSwitcherParsingMode policy to choose how their site list is interpreted by Chrome. If set to strict mode, Chrome will interpret those rules in the same way as Edge® and Internet Explorer®.
- In Chrome 95, Chrome apps will be deprecated on Mac, Windows, and Linux
As part of the previously-communicated plan to replace Chrome apps with the open web, Chrome apps will no longer function on Mac, Windows, and Linux. For enterprises that need extra time to adjust to the removal of Chrome apps, a policy will be available to extend support for them until June 2022.
- As early as Chrome 95, Chrome will no longer allow TLS 1.0 or TLS 1.1
The SSLVersionMin policy no longer allows setting a minimum version of TLS 1.0 or 1.1. This means the policy can no longer be used to suppress Chrome's interstitial warnings for TLS 1.0 and 1.1. Administrators must upgrade any remaining TLS 1.0 and 1.1 servers to TLS 1.2.
In Chrome 91 we announced that the policy no longer works, but users could still bypass the interstitial. As early as Chrome 95, it will no longer be possible to bypass the interstitial.
- As early as Chrome 95, the network Service on Windows will be sandboxed
To improve the security and reliability of the service, the network service, already running in its own process, will be sandboxed on Windows. As part of this, third-party code that is currently able to tamper with the network service will be prevented from doing so. This might cause interoperability issues with software that injects code into Chrome's process space, such as Data Loss Prevention software. You'll be able to disable the change with an enterprise policy when it becomes available.
- Chrome 95 will conduct an Origin Trial for User-Agent Reduction
Chrome 95 will be conducting an Origin Trial for the fully reduced User-Agent string. We would like sites to begin participating in the trial so we may collect feedback and allow sites to have ample time to address breakage. The reduced User-Agent string will appear in both the User-Agent HTTP request header as well as the JavaScript APIs that access the User-Agent string (navigator.userAgent,navigator.appVersion,navigator.platform). The Origin Trial will last six milestones until the reduced User-Agent string becomes the default in Chrome, with a deprecation Origin Trial to continue receiving the full User-Agent string for those sites that still need more time to migrate. Enterprises can opt in to the Origin Trial here when it is available.
- Chrome 95 will deprecate WebAssembly cross-origin module sharing
Chrome 95 will prevent WebAssembly module sharing between cross-origin but same-site environments.This will allow agent clusters to be tied to origins in the long-term. This change conforms to recent changes in the WebAssembly spec.
If your enterprise needs any additional time to adjust to this change, a temporary enterprise policy will be made available to allow module sharing for cross-origin same-site environments.
- As early as Chrome 95, Apps shortcut in the Bookmarks Bar will default to off
Chrome will make the Apps shortcut in the bookmark bar default to off and update the current state for all users to the new default (off).
- As early as Chrome 97, Chrome may leverage MiraclePtr to improve security
Chrome will leverage MiraclePtr to reduce the risk of security vulnerabilities relating to memory safety. The Chrome team gathered data on the performance cost of MiraclePtr in Chrome 91, but domain-joined enterprises on the stable channel were excluded from MiraclePtr builds during that phase. A full release of MiraclePtr in Chrome is planned as early as Chrome 97.
- As early as Chrome 97, Chrome will maintain its own default root store
To improve user security, and provide a consistent experience across different platforms, Chrome intends to maintain its own default root store. If you are an enterprise admin managing your own Certificate Authority (CA), you should not have to manage multiple root stores. We do not anticipate any changes will be required for how enterprises currently manage their fleet and trusted enterprise CAs, such as through group policy, macOS Keychain Access, or system management tools like Puppet.
- Chrome 97 will remove legacy policies with non-inclusive names
Chrome 86 through Chrome 90 introduced new policies to replace policies with less inclusive names. To minimize disruption for existing managed users, both the old and the new policies currently work. This transition time is to ensure it's easy for you to move to and test the new policies in Chrome.
Note: If both the legacy policy and the new policy are set for any row in the table below, the new policy will override the legacy policy.
This transition period will end in Chrome 97, and the following policies in the left column will no longer function. This change was originally announced for Chrome 95, but has been extended to Chrome 97.
Please ensure you're using the corresponding policy from the right column instead:
Legacy Policy Name
New Policy Name
NativeMessagingBlacklist
NativeMessagingBlocklist
NativeMessagingWhitelist
NativeMessagingAllowlist
AuthNegotiateDelegateWhitelist
AuthNegotiateDelegateAllowlist
AuthServerWhitelist
AuthServerAllowlist
SpellcheckLanguageBlacklist
SpellcheckLanguageBlocklist
AutoplayWhitelist
AutoplayAllowlist
SafeBrowsingWhitelistDomains
SafeBrowsingAllowlistDomains
ExternalPrintServersWhitelist
ExternalPrintServersAllowlist
NoteTakingAppsLockScreenWhitelist
NoteTakingAppsLockScreenAllowlist
PerAppTimeLimitsWhitelist
PerAppTimeLimitsAllowlist
URLWhitelist
URLAllowlist
URLBlacklist
URLBlocklist
ExtensionInstallWhitelist
ExtensionInstallAllowlist
ExtensionInstallBlacklist
ExtensionInstallBlocklist
UserNativePrintersAllowed
UserPrintersAllowed
DeviceNativePrintersBlacklist
DevicePrintersBlocklist
DeviceNativePrintersWhitelist
DevicePrintersAllowlist
DeviceNativePrintersAccessMode
DevicePrintersAccessMode
DeviceNativePrinters
DevicePrinters
NativePrinters
Printers
NativePrintersBulkConfiguration
PrintersBulkConfiguration
NativePrintersBulkAccessMode
PrintersBulkAccessMode
NativePrintersBulkBlacklist
PrintersBulkBlocklist
NativePrintersBulkWhitelist
PrintersBulkAllowlist
UsbDetachableWhitelist
UsbDetachableAllowlist
QuickUnlockModeWhitelist
QuickUnlockModeAllowlist
AttestationExtensionWhitelist
AttestationExtensionAllowlist
PrintingAPIExtensionsWhitelist
PrintingAPIExtensionsAllowlist
AllowNativeNotifications
AllowSystemNotifications
DeviceUserWhitelist
DeviceUserAllowlist
NativeWindowOcclusionEnabled
WindowOcclusionEnabled
If you're managing Chrome via the Admin console (for example, Chrome Browser Cloud Management), no action is required; the Admin console will manage the transition automatically.
- As early as Chrome 98, different-origin iframes will no longer trigger JavaScript dialogs
Chrome will prevent iframes from triggering prompts (window.alert,window.confirm,window.prompt) if the iframe is a different origin from the top-level page. This change will prevent embedded content from spoofing the user into believing a message is coming from the website they're visiting, or from Chrome itself. Please note that this change was originally planned for Chrome 92, but has been postponed until at least Chrome 98 due to the feedback we received on this change. You can test if this future change will affect applications now by setting the enable_features=SuppressDifferentOriginSubframeJSDialogs flag.
Chrome browser updates
- Chrome blocks ports 989 and 990
Chrome 92 adds ports 989 (ftps-data) and 990 (ftps) to the restricted ports list and blocks traffic through them. This does not affect customers using standard ports, but custom configurations using non-standard ports may be affected.
If you're affected by this change, you can use the ExplicitlyAllowedNetworkPorts enterprise policy to allow these specific ports in your environment. You can specifically allow ports 989 and 990 until February 2022.
- Chrome adds FLoC controls to Privacy Sandbox settings
Last year, we announced a new initiative, known as Privacy Sandbox, to develop a set of open standards to fundamentally enhance privacy on the web. Chrome 92 adds controls to the Privacy Sandbox settings page to provide improved transparency and control for Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC). You can disable the complete Privacy Sandbox, including FLoC, by policy in general by blocking 3P cookies, or all cookies. Alternatively for specific sites, you can disable the sandbox by blocking cookies for a URL.
- Chrome on Android includes a new on-device model for phishing detection
Chrome on Android uses an on-device Machine Language (ML) model to better detect phishing attempts, and better protect users. As in earlier versions, Chrome displays a full-page interstitial warning if Chrome detects a possible phishing attempt.
With this change, Chrome sends the following to the Safe Browsing service:- the version of the model that was executed
- the scores the model gave for each category
- a boolean describing whether the new model was used to generate the scores
You can control Safe Browsing using the SafeBrowsingProtectionLevel policy. This feature applies to users with the SafeBrowsingProtectionLevel policy set at protection level of 1 or greater.
- Back/forward cache desktop full launch for all websites
As a follow-up to a previous launch on Chrome for Android, Chrome 92 launches back/forward cache on desktop platforms. Back/forward cache is a browser optimization that enables instant back and forward navigations. You can temporarily disable this feature via the BackForwardCacheEnabled policy with Group Policy or in the Google Admin console. If you do so, please share details about the issue that led you to disable back/forward cache.
- Magic Toolbar is now available on Chrome on Android
The Chrome toolbar on Android now includes a new customizable button that shows different shortcuts depending on what the user is most likely to need.
- Publishing updates to extensions requires 2-Step Verification
As part of the rollout of a set of updates and clarifications to the Chrome Web Store extension policies, the Chrome Web Store now requires 2-Step Verification on developer accounts prior to adding a new extension or updating an existing extension. This does not impact extensions that are self-hosted, sideloaded, or that are no longer being updated.
- Chrome expands DNS HTTPS record queries for users using classic DNS
In previous versions, Chrome only queried and parsed DNS HTTPS records alongside the traditional A and AAAA records for users using Secure DNS. Chrome 92 expands this behavior to users using classic DNS. Chrome uses these records to improve privacy and performance of HTTPS web connections. You can temporarily disable these extra queries for users using classic DNS with the AdditionalDnsQueryTypesEnabled policy with Group Policy or in the Google Admin console. If you do so, please share details about issues that led you to use the policy as a workaround. Note that this policy has no effect for users using Secure DNS.
- Different-origin iframes cannot trigger JavaScript dialogs
Chrome 92 prevents iframes from triggering prompts (window.alert,window.confirm,window.prompt) if the iframe is a different origin from the top-level page. This change is intended to prevent embedded content from spoofing the user into believing a message is coming from the website they're visiting, or from Chrome itself.
If you have any web apps affected by this change, you can use the temporary enterprise policy SuppressDifferentOriginSubframeDialogs to revert to the previous behavior. This policy will be removed in Chrome 95.
- SharedArrayBuffers need Cross-Origin-Opener-Policy and Cross-Origin-Embedder-Policy
If your organization uses apps that leverage SharedArrayBuffers, those apps need to set Cross-Origin-Opener-Policy and Cross-Origin-Embedder-Policy in the HTTP header. Web apps not setting the appropriate policies can no longer access SharedArrayBuffers.
- Android removes setting for “Show suggestions for similar pages”
Chrome 92 on Android removes the end user setting for "Show suggestions for similar pages when a page can't be found" from the Sync and Google services settings. This setting was previously removed on Desktop.
You can control the DNS probes associated with this feature with the AlternateErrorPagesEnabled enterprise policy.
- Drive priority launchpad on New Tab page
To help users get work done faster, Chrome 92 shows the Drive docs the user is more likely to need on the New Tab page. This feature uses Drive’s existing priority API, which powers the Priority section drive.google.com. Some users see this change in Chrome 92 and a full launch is expected in Chrome 93.
- Developers can change the name and icon of PWAs
Developers can now update the name and icon for default Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) and PWAs installed using the ExtensionInstallForcelist enterprise policy.
- Chrome trials the suppression of autofill suggestions
In Chrome 92, we are conducting a short trial on a small randomly selected number of forms where the browser doesn't show autofill suggestions. The trial is limited to address and credit card forms. Passwords are not affected. You can opt out by using the ChromeVariations policy. Setting the policy to CriticalFixesOnly (value 1) allows only variations considered critical security or stability fixed to be applied to Google Chrome.
- Google Lens replaces Search by Image on Chrome Desktop
In Chrome 92, for Chrome users whose default search engine is set to Google, the Search with Google Lens context menu item replaces the Search Google for Image desktop context menu item. The new menu item sends users to a standalone Lens Web app. If desired, however, users can navigate to Google Image Search from Lens.
- Chrome separates sign-in and sync on iOS
On iOS, Chrome 92 separates the Sync and Google services settings into two items: Sync and Google services. There is a new control in Google services, Allow Chrome sign-in, to disable Chrome sign-in (and therefore also sync).
- Chrome displays a new warning text if a download might lead to account compromise
If a user initiates a download that Safe Browsing determined is associated with stealing cookies, some users on desktop platforms see a new warning, filename.exe could let attackers steal your personal information.
- Incognito removes UI links to history
Chrome does not save history in Incognito mode, but some platforms still show a link to history on the Incognito UI. On Android, to make it clear that Chrome is not saving history, the History menu item in Incognito windows temporarily links to an explainer page instead of linking to a user's history.
- Chrome disables extensions removed from the Chrome Web Store
Chrome disables extensions that were removed from the Chrome Web Store due to non-compliance with our Chrome Web Store policies. However, if an admin has force-installed an extension, Chrome does not disable it.
Remember, if you need help with an extension that you manage, you can visit Chrome Web Store One Stop Support.
Chrome OS updates
- Chrome improves Android and Linux app support for Desks
http://crbug/1203496
You can now assign Android and Linux apps to desks. Right-click on the app window to assign it to a specific desk or to all desks.
- Chrome supports continuous dictation
http://crbug/1200667
Dictation now allows you to continuously dictate your text and only times out if you stop talking.
- Point Scanning for Switch Access
http://crbug/1167368
Point Scanning is a new navigation mode for Switch Access. It allows users to select any spot on the screen and trigger an action. The user first presses their switch when the correct horizontal position is selected, and presses their switch again when the correct vertical position is selected.
- Chrome adds further integrations to Tote
http://crbug/1201265
You can now quickly find downloads from your Android Apps and from your Chrome print to pdf functionality in Tote.
- MultiPaste now available for Virtual Keyboard
http://crbug/1175122
Chrome OS makes its clipboard history, which launched in Chrome OS 89, accessible from the Virtual Keyboard in Chrome OS 91 and later.
- Chrome 92 improves shortcuts for international keyboards
http://crbug/1159454
Chrome OS improves keyboard shortcuts for both international and US users; you can see these updates in the Shortcuts app.
- Chrome OS Camera now supports PTZ Controls
http://crbug/1186787
You can now pan, tilt, or zoom your camera from the Chrome Camera app. This feature requires a camera with PTZ support.
- Emoji picker for physical keyboards
http://crbug/1152237
Chrome OS includes a new emoji picker, with search functionality and multi-skintone support.
- Chrome OS device help in launcher search
http://crbug/1126816
Quickly find help for your Chrome OS device by searching for it in launcher search.
- Some protected content may no longer play on M89 and earlier
Chrome known issues
From August 3rd, some protected video and audio content may no longer play on M89 and earlier.
Admin console updates
- Additional policies in the Admin console
|
Policy Name |
Pages |
Supported on |
Category/Field |
|
Managed Guest Session Settings |
Chrome OS |
User experience / Disabled system features visibility |
|
|
User & Browser Settings; Managed Guest Session Settings |
Chrome Chrome OS Android |
Content / Cross-origin JavaScript dialogs |
|
|
User & Browser Settings; Managed Guest Session Settings |
Chrome Chrome OS Android |
Hardware / Enterprise Hardware Platform API |
|
|
User & Browser Settings |
Android |
User experience / Google Lens camera assisted search |
|
|
User & Browser Settings |
Chrome OS |
Connected devices / Nearby share |
|
|
User & Browser Settings; Managed Guest Session Settings |
Chrome Chrome OS |
Network / SharedArrayBuffer |
|
|
User & Browser Settings; Managed Guest Session Settings |
Chrome Chrome OS |
Network / WebRTC IP handling |
|
|
User & Browser Settings |
Chrome |
Power and shutdown / Keepalive duration / Fetch keepalive duration on Shutdown (in seconds) |
|
|
User & Browser Settings; Managed Guest Session Settings |
Chrome Chrome OS Android |
Network / CECPQ2 post-quantum key-agreement for TLS |
|
|
User & Browser Settings |
Chrome |
Hardware / Audio process priority / Adjust the priority for the Chrome audio process |
|
|
User & Browser Settings; Managed Guest Session Settings |
Chrome Chrome OS Android |
Network / Allowed network ports |
|
|
User & Browser Settings |
Chrome |
Security / System notifications |
|
|
User & Browser Settings; Managed Guest Session Settings |
Chrome Chrome OS |
Content / File Handling API |
|
|
User & Browser Settings; Managed Guest Session Settings |
Chrome Chrome OS |
Content / File Handling API / Block the File Handling API for these URLs |
|
|
User & Browser Settings; Managed Guest Session Settings |
Chrome Chrome OS |
Content / File Handling API / Allow the File Handling API for these URLs |
|
|
User & Browser Settings |
Chrome |
General / Custom theme color / Hex color |
|
|
User & Browser Settings |
Chrome OS |
Content / PDF Annotations |
|
|
Device Settings |
Chrome OS |
User and device reporting / System-wide performance trace collection |
|
|
User Settings |
Chrome OS |
Security/Google online login frequency |
- New and updated policies (Chrome and Chrome OS)
|
Policy |
Description |
|
InsecurePrivateNetworkRequestsAllowed |
Controls whether insecure websites are allowed to make requests to any network endpoint, subject to other cross-origin checks. |
|
CloudUserPolicyMerge |
Allows policies associated with a Google Workspace account to be merged into machine-level policies. |
|
GaiaLockScreenOfflineSigninTimeLimitDays |
Limit the time for which a user authenticated via GAIA without SAML can log in offline at the lock screen. |
|
SamlLockScreenOfflineSigninTimeLimitDays |
Limit the time for which a user authenticated via SAML can log in offline at the lock screen. |
|
AdditionalDnsQueryTypesEnabled |
Allow DNS queries for additional DNS record types. |
|
PromptForDownloadLocation |
Ask where to save each file before downloading. |
|
DataLeakPreventionReportingEnabled |
Enable data leak prevention reporting. |
|
DataLeakPreventionRulesList |
Sets a list of data leak prevention rules. |
|
DeviceDebugPacketCaptureAllowed |
Allow debug network packet captures. |
|
SuggestLogoutAfterClosingLastWindow |
Display the logout confirmation dialog. |
|
TripleDESEnabled |
Enable 3DES cipher suites in TLS. |
Coming soon
Note: The items listed below are experimental or planned updates. They might change, be delayed, or canceled before launching to the Stable channel.
- Chrome is moving to a 4-week stable channel and introducing an 8-week extended stable channel as early as Chrome 94
Chrome on mobile, Windows, Mac, and Linux will move from its current 6-week release cycle to a 4-week release cycle, allowing security features, new functionality and bug fixes to reach users more quickly. Note that Chrome 94’s shorter development cycle means Chrome 93 will be live in the stable channel for less time as well; specific release dates for both milestones can be found on our schedule.
No action is required for most enterprises, but if you manually update or test new releases of Chrome and prefer a slower release cadence, you'll be able to use the TargetChannel policy to switch Chrome on Mac and Windows to an extended stable channel, with a new release every 8 weeks instead. You can find more details on our blog post at blog.chromium.org.
To ensure continuous improvements to the Chrome OS platform, Chrome OS will move to a 4-week stable channel starting with Chrome 96. To bridge the gap between Chrome 94 and Chrome 96, Chrome OS will skip Chrome 95 (see the updated Chrome schedule page for milestone-specific details).
To provide commercial users with another dependably secure stable platform, Chrome OS will also introduce a new channel with a 6-month update cadence by Chrome 96. More details to be announced soon.
Upcoming Chrome browser changes
- Chrome 93 will no longer allow insecure public pages to make requests to private or local URLs
Non-secure contexts served from public IP addresses will no longer be able to make subresource requests to IP addresses belonging to a more private address space (as defined in Private Network Access).
For example, http://public.example served on IP 1.2.3.4 will not be able to make requests targeting IP 192.168.0.1 or IP 127.0.0.1. Similarly, http://intranet.example served on IP 192.168.0.1 will not be able to make requests targeting localhost. You can control this behavior using the InsecurePrivateNetworkRequestsAllowed and InsecurePrivateNetworkRequestsAllowedForUrls enterprise policies, which are available for testing in Chrome 92.
- Chrome 93 will add a new enterprise policy for the Web Serial API
The Web Serial API allows sites to request access to serial devices (USB, Bluetooth, etc.) through a device selection prompt. In previous Chrome versions, policy controls could only control how the feature was blocked. In Chrome 93, admins will be able to grant a site access to specific (or all) connected serial devices, streamlining workflows by removing the need for users to select the correct device.
- New feature changes to the User-Agent Client Hints API updates
Chrome 93 will add four feature changes to the User-Agent client hints API:- Adding a Sec-CH-UA-Bitness User Agent Client Hint to return the bitness of the platform, which might be useful, for example, for sending optimized binaries during a download.
- Making Sec-CH-UA-Platform a low-entropy hint that is sent by default. Before this change, this hint would need to be requested.
- Including low-entropy hints by default in UADataValues (returned by
getHighEntropyValues()): if a hint moves from high to low-entropy, this prevents site compatibility issues. - Adding a toJSON method to NavigatorUAData. Instead of returning
{},JSON.stringify(navigator.userAgentData)will now be useful.
- Chrome 93 will support using Android phones as security keys
When Chrome on a desktop or laptop is signed into the same account as Chrome on an Android phone, that phone can be used as a security key.
This feature requires that the desktop has a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) adaptor. Communication between the devices is end-to-end encrypted with keys exchanged over BLE to prove proximity with the phone.
- Chrome 93 will use updated language in managed profile sign-in notice
Chrome will update the notice when users sign into a managed profile. The new notice will have language clarifying that a separate profile is required and the available buttons will be simplified. Some users will see a link to open Chrome in guest mode when they sign in to a new profile that's different from the profile signed in to Chrome.
- Chrome 93 will test replacing the lock icon with a new icon
Some users will see a new icon replacing the lock in the address bar, improving the discoverability of the Page Info surface, which includes site-level security and privacy information and controls. An enterprise policy, LockIconInAddressBarEnabled, will become available to revert to the original lock icon.
- Chrome 93 will launch a sharing hub
Users will be able to more easily share their current page, including the ability to send the current page to their devices, get a QR code for the current URL, and share to third party apps. You will be able to control this feature using an enterprise policy called DesktopSharingHubEnabled.
- Chrome 93 will make Chrome Browser Cloud Management available on iOS
The Chrome Enterprise team is working to support Chrome-on-iOS for Chrome Browser Cloud Management. If you are interested in testing this functionality out earlier in Chrome 92, please sign up for our Trusted Tester program.
- Chrome 93 on iOS will be able to apply .mobileconfig files
A.mobileconfigfile can be used to configure an iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad to work with certain enterprise systems. Since iOS 12.2, mobileconfig files can be downloaded and installed from Safari and Mail apps. Chrome will be able to download these files and continue to settings so the user can apply them.
- As early as Chrome 94, the network service on Windows will be sandboxed
To improve the security and reliability of the service, the network service, already running in its own process, will be sandboxed on Windows. As part of this, third party code that is currently able to tamper with the network service will be prevented from doing so. This might cause interoperability issues with software that injects code into Chrome's process space, such as Data Loss Prevention software. You'll be able to disable the change with an enterprise policy when it becomes available.
- Chrome settings restructure
To aid in navigability, Chrome will replace the single long page in Chrome settings with individual sections. The updated experience will be available starting with Chrome 94.
- Chrome 93 on iOS will prefer https to http when not specified in the address bar
When a user types an address into the address bar without specifying the protocol, Chrome will attempt to navigate using https first, then fallback to http if https is not available. For example, if the user navigates to example.com, Chrome will first attempt to navigate to https://example.com, then fallback to http://example.com if required. For more information, see Chrome’s blog post, A safer default for navigation: HTTPS.
Desktop and Android users already have this change, and iOS will be rolled out in Chrome 93.
- Chrome 93 on iOS will add a new way to sign in
On iOS, when a user signs in to their Google Account on the web, they can sign in to Chrome with a Google Account that’s already saved on their device. This does not enable Chrome sync by default; the user can opt into that separately if they want sync enabled.
You can control the behavior of sign-in on Chrome on iOS and other platforms using the BrowserSignIn policy.
- Chrome 93 will delete inactive browsers from Chrome Browser Cloud Management
Many enterprise customers have to adhere to regulation around data retention. To aid in this effort we will launch a new policy that will automatically delete inactive browser information from Google servers.
By default, browsers that do not connect to the Google servers for 365 days will be considered inactive and automatically deleted. Admins will be able to modify the default value.
- Chrome 93 will introduce JavaScript JIT setting policies
Chrome 93 will introduce three new policies;- DefaultJavaScriptJitSetting
- JavaScriptJitAllowedForSites
- JavaScriptJitBlockedForSites
Disabling JIT in this way may allow Chrome to render web content in a more secure configuration, as no executable permissions are needed for memory regions. However, disabling JIT has performance costs and disables some parts of JavaScript, including WebAssembly.
- Chrome 93 will no longer support SyncXHR policy
Chrome 93 will remove the AllowSyncXHRInPageDismissal enterprise policy. Admins must update any apps that rely on the legacy web platform behavior before Chrome 93. This change was previously planned for Chrome 88, but delayed to provide more time for enterprises to update legacy applications.
- Chrome 93 will remove LegacySameSiteCookieBehaviorEnabled
When same-site cookie behavior was introduced, Chrome included policies to give admins extra time to adjust the implementation of any enterprise apps that relied on the legacy cookie behavior.
The first phase of the transition plan will end in Chrome 93, and LegacySameSiteCookieBehaviorEnabled will no longer take effect. You will still be able to opt specific sites into the legacy cookie behavior using LegacySameSiteCookieBehaviorEnabledForDomainList until December 31st, 2022.
- Chrome 93 will no longer support Ubuntu 16.04
Ubuntu 16.04 is past the end of standard support, and will not be supported as of Chrome 93. The updated system requirements for Chrome are available here.
- Chrome 93 will remove 3DES TLS cipher suites
Chrome will remove support for 3DES TLS cipher suites. The TripleDESEnabled enterprise policy will be made available in Chrome 92 to test this change, and will be available temporarily until Chrome 95, to give enterprises additional time to adjust.
- Chrome 94 will introduce stricter parsing rules for Legacy Browser Support
Organizations that rely on Legacy Browser Support (LBS) to redirect their users to Microsoft® Edge® or Internet Explorer® can use the BrowserSwitcherParsingMode policy to choose how their site list is interpreted by Chrome. If set to strict mode, Chrome will interpret those rules in the same way as Edge® and Internet Explorer®.
- As early as Chrome 94, Chrome may leverage MiraclePtr to improve security
Chrome will leverage MiraclePtr to reduce the risk of security vulnerabilities relating to memory safety. The Chrome team gathered data on the performance cost of MiraclePtr in Chrome 91, but domain-joined enterprises on the stable channel were excluded from MiraclePtr builds during that phase. A full release of MiraclePtr in Chrome is planned as early as Chrome 94.
- In Chrome 94, Chrome apps will be deprecated on Mac, Windows, and Linux
As part of the previously-communicated plan to replace Chrome apps with the open web, Chrome apps will no longer function on Mac, Windows, and Linux in Chrome 94. For enterprises that need extra time to adjust to the removal of Chrome apps, a policy will be available to extend support for them until June 2022.
- Chrome 94 will remove UserAgentClientHintsEnabled policy
The use of Structured Headers in the User Agent Client Hints, and in particular, the Sec-CH-UA and Sec-CH-UA-Mobile headers, caused some unintended consequences where not all servers were able to accept all characters. An enterprise policy UserAgentClientHintsEnabled was created to disable this feature. This policy will be removed in Chrome 94.
- As early as Chrome 95, Chrome will maintain its own default root store
To improve user security, and to provide a consistent experience across different platforms, Chrome intends to maintain its own default root store. If you are an enterprise admin managing your own Certificate Authority (CA), you should not have to manage multiple root stores. We do not anticipate any changes will be required for how enterprises currently manage their fleet and trusted enterprise CAs, such as through group policy, macOS Keychain Access, or system management tools like Puppet.
- Chrome 95 will deprecate WebAssembly cross-origin module sharing
Chrome 95 will prevent WebAssembly module sharing between cross-origin but same-site environments. This will allow agent clusters to be tied to origins in the long-term. This change conforms to recent changes in the WebAssembly spec.
If your enterprise needs any additional time to adjust to this change, a temporary enterprise policy will be made available to allow module sharing for cross-origin same-site environments.
- Chrome 95 will remove legacy policies with non-inclusive names
Chrome 86 through Chrome 90 introduced new policies to replace policies with less inclusive names (for example, whitelist blacklist). To minimize disruption for existing managed users, both the old and the new policies currently work. This transition time is to ensure it's easy for you to move to and test the new policies in Chrome.
Note: If both the legacy policy and the new policy are set for any row in the table below, the new policy will override the legacy policy.
This transition period will end in Chrome 95, and the following policies in the left column will no longer function. Please ensure you're using the corresponding policy from the right column instead:
|
Legacy Policy Name |
New Policy Name |
|
NativeMessagingBlacklist |
NativeMessagingBlocklist |
|
NativeMessagingWhitelist |
NativeMessagingAllowlist |
|
AuthNegotiateDelegateWhitelist |
AuthNegotiateDelegateAllowlist |
|
AuthServerWhitelist |
AuthServerAllowlist |
|
SpellcheckLanguageBlacklist |
SpellcheckLanguageBlocklist |
|
AutoplayWhitelist |
AutoplayAllowlist |
|
SafeBrowsingWhitelistDomains |
SafeBrowsingAllowlistDomains |
|
ExternalPrintServersWhitelist |
ExternalPrintServersAllowlist |
|
NoteTakingAppsLockScreenWhitelist |
NoteTakingAppsLockScreenAllowlist |
|
PerAppTimeLimitsWhitelist |
PerAppTimeLimitsAllowlist |
|
URLWhitelist |
URLAllowlist |
|
URLBlacklist |
URLBlocklist |
|
ExtensionInstallWhitelist |
ExtensionInstallAllowlist |
|
ExtensionInstallBlacklist |
ExtensionInstallBlocklist |
|
UserNativePrintersAllowed |
UserPrintersAllowed |
|
DeviceNativePrintersBlacklist |
DevicePrintersBlocklist |
|
DeviceNativePrintersWhitelist |
DevicePrintersAllowlist |
|
DeviceNativePrintersAccessMode |
DevicePrintersAccessMode |
|
DeviceNativePrinters |
DevicePrinters |
|
NativePrinters |
Printers |
|
NativePrintersBulkConfiguration |
PrintersBulkConfiguration |
|
NativePrintersBulkAccessMode |
PrintersBulkAccessMode |
|
NativePrintersBulkBlacklist |
PrintersBulkBlocklist |
|
NativePrintersBulkWhitelist |
PrintersBulkAllowlist |
|
UsbDetachableWhitelist |
UsbDetachableAllowlist |
|
QuickUnlockModeWhitelist |
QuickUnlockModeAllowlist |
|
AttestationExtensionWhitelist |
AttestationExtensionAllowlist |
|
PrintingAPIExtensionsWhitelist |
PrintingAPIExtensionsAllowlist |
|
AllowNativeNotifications |
AllowSystemNotifications |
|
DeviceUserWhitelist |
DeviceUserAllowlist |
|
NativeWindowOcclusionEnabled |
WindowOcclusionEnabled |
If you're managing Chrome via the Google Admin console (for example, Chrome Browser Cloud Management), no action is required; the Google Admin console will manage the transition automatically.
Chrome browser updates
- Chrome pauses collapsed tab groups
Chrome allows users to organize tabs into collapsible groups, helping them stay productive. For some users, Chrome 91 pauses those tabs when the user collapses them, to reduce CPU and power consumption. Chrome does not pause tabs if they are playing audio, holding a web lock, holding an IndexedDB lock, connected to a USB device, capturing video or audio, being mirrored, or capturing a window or display.
- Chrome blocks port 10080 and adds a policy for allowing specific ports
Chrome 91 adds port 10080 to the restricted ports list and blocks traffic through it. This does not affect customers using standard ports, but custom configurations using non-standard ports may be affected.
If you're affected by this change, or if you were affected by the previous change that blocked port 554, Chrome introduces the ExplicitlyAllowedNetworkPorts enterprise policy, where you can allow these specific ports in your environment.
- Chrome enables quantum computer resistant security
Chrome 91 supports a post-quantum key-agreement mechanism in TLS when communicating with some domains. This increases the size of TLS handshake messages which, in rare cases, may cause issues with network middleboxes that incorrectly assume that TLS messages fit in a single network frame.
You can set the CECPQ2Enabled policy to disable this mechanism. You can also disable it by setting the ChromeVariations policy to a non-default value. For more details, see https://www.chromium.org/cecpq2.
- Chrome no longer allows TLS 1.0 or TLS 1.1
The SSLVersionMin policy no longer allows setting a minimum version of TLS 1.0 or 1.1. This means the policy can no longer be used to suppress Chrome's interstitial warnings for TLS 1.0 and 1.1. Administrators must upgrade any remaining TLS 1.0 and 1.1 servers to TLS 1.2.
We previously communicated that this would happen as early as January 2021, but we extended the deadline until Chrome 91.
- PWAs can launch when the user logs into the OS
Users expect some apps, like chat apps, to launch as soon as they log into a Windows or Mac device. Chrome 91 allows users to set Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) to launch as soon as the user logs into the OS.
As an admin, you can configure a PWA at install time with the option to launch automatically when a user logs in to its OS session.
You control this behavior using the WebAppSettings enterprise policy.
- Chrome on iOS warns users if they reuse their saved passwords on known phishing sites
To better protect users from phishing schemes, Chrome warns users if it appears that they've entered a saved password on a known phishing site. This feature is now being expanded to Chrome on iOS.
You control your organization's use of this feature using the PasswordManagerEnabled enterprise policy.
- Chrome introduces initial_preferences
As part of Chrome's move to using more inclusive naming, admins can control the browser's initial preferences using a file named initial_preferences. This file behaves the same way as, and will eventually replace, the master_preferences file that exists today. To minimize any disruption, Chrome continues to support the master_preferences file and more notice will be given before we remove support for master_preferences.
- Chrome uses DNS-over-HTTPS on Linux
DNS-over HTTPS protects user privacy by encrypting DNS queries, and was already enabled for Windows, Mac, ChromeOS, and Android in prior releases. Chrome 91 supports this feature on Linux. The DNS requests of all users will be auto-upgraded to their DNS provider’s DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) service if available (based on a list of known DoH-capable servers).
You can disable DNS-over-HTTPS for your users with the DnsOverHttpsMode policy with Group Policy or in the Google Admin Console. Setting it to off ensures that your users are not affected by Secure DNS.
- Chrome adds Referrer Chain to Client Side Detection pings
To better protect users, Chrome conducts client-side checks of suspicious websites. In Chrome 91, if Enhanced Protection is enabled, the referrers of the website are also sent to Chrome.
You control this behavior using the SafeBrowsingProtectionLevel enterprise policy.
- Download deep scanning available for Enhanced Safe Browsing users
Users who consented to Enhanced Safe Browsing can send downloads to Google for deep scanning when the existing safety checks are inconclusive.
You can disable this by controlling the user's Safe Browsing setting via the SafeBrowsingProtectionLevelpolicy.
- Chrome adds Google Account-tied tokens to Enhanced Safe Browsing pings
For users who consented to Enhanced Safe Browsing, who have signed in to their Google accounts, Google Account-tied tokens are added to various phishing detection pings. This provides better protection and reduces false positives.
You control this feature on your environment using the SafeBrowsingProtectionLevel enterprise policy.
- Chrome rollout status is available with the Chrome VersionHistory API
The Chrome VersionHistory API is a web service API for retrieving information about Chrome versions and releases. It may be useful for administrators who want to see which versions of Chrome are currently rolled out, including to which fraction of users, to also see the history of Chrome rollouts.
For more details, see https://developer.chrome.com/docs/versionhistory/.
- Chrome can survey users about their experience managing Privacy Sandbox settings
Users who visit the Privacy Sandbox settings page may be asked for their opinion about their experience.
You control if such surveys appear for your users with the MetricsReportingEnabled policy.
- Chrome on Android tablets requests the desktop site
Chrome 90 on Android tablets requested the desktop version of websites for some users. This is rolling out to all users in Chrome 91.
- BrowserSignIn enterprise policy is available on iOS
Admins can use the BrowserSignIn policy to allow, disable, or force users to sign into Chrome. Chrome 91 extends this policy to iOS. On iOS, you can use this policy to allow or disable user sign-in, but not force users to sign in.
- Chrome uses updated table rendering
Chrome 91 updates the way it renders tables on web pages. This change fixes known issues and brings Chrome closer to the behavior of other browsers, so we expect the impact to be minimal. However, you should test important workflows in your environment for unexpected issues. A full explainer is available here.
- Chrome no longer accepts server certificates issued by the Camerfirma
Websites that use server certificates issued by the Camerfirma Certification Authority are distrusted in Chrome 91. Affected sites should have already been contacted by Camerfirma and have migration plans in place. Note that this does not affect client certificates, only those used for authentication of TLS servers.
- Network state partitioned in Chrome 91
Today, some network objects are shared globally for performance reasons, but this makes it possible to fingerprint users and track them across sites. To protect user privacy, Chrome 91 partitions many network objects by topmost frame domain and iframe domain. A comprehensive description is available here.
No impact is expected other than minor performance changes, but you can test the change in advance by using the command line flag:
--enable-features=PartitionConnectionsByNetworkIsolationKey,PartitionExpectCTStateByNetworkIsolationKey,PartitionHttpServerPropertiesByNetworkIsolationKey,PartitionNelAndReportingByNetworkIsolationKey,PartitionSSLSessionsByNetworkIsolationKey,SplitHostCacheByNetworkIsolationKey
- Legacy Browser Support (LBS) parsing fix reverted in Chrome 91
A fix in LBS was made in M90 that resulted in our rules parsing engine to be more strict and similar to the IE-sitelist rules parsing engine. We have learned, however, that many customers relied on less-strict parsing behavior. Due to the unintended impact, we are reverting the fix for Chromium bug 1176742.
Please verify that your LBS rules work in M91 before deployment. In a future release, we will offer a new policy to enable stricter rules parsing.
Chrome OS updates
- Nearby Share on Chrome OS
Nearby Share is a platform that provides easy, reliable, and secure file, text, and URL sharing across Chrome OS and Android devices.
- VPN before login
Admins can configure built-in VPNs on Chrome OS so that users can connect to a VPN from the login screen. This allows users to authenticate securely via a VPN connection, which is especially helpful for enterprise-hosted single sign-on situations. Built-in VPN support includes L2TP/IPsec and OpenVPN.
Admin Console updates
- Pin extensions to the browser toolbar
Admins can now pin Chrome extensions to the browser toolbar from the Apps & Extension Page. We recommend admins test out the feature on a small set of devices and browsers before deploying to their fleet. For more details, see here.
- Chrome insights report: AUE Report
The Auto Update Expiration (AUE) Chrome insights report allows admins to easily see how many Chrome OS devices in their fleet have reached their AUE dates or are expiring soon. Admins can navigate directly to the Device List from the report to view all devices expiring in the time frame selected.
- Sending Remote Commands for Chrome Desktop
As an admin, you can use your Google Admin console to remotely send actions to managed Chrome Desktop Browsers (Win/Mac). For example, you can delete browser cache or cookies remotely. For more details on sending commands, see here.
- Additional policies in the Admin console
| Policy Name | Pages | Supported on | Category/Field |
| KerberosRememberPasswordEnabled | User & Browser Settings | Chrome OS | Kerberos / Remember Kerberos passwords |
| KerberosAddAccountsAllowed | User & Browser Settings | Chrome OS | Kerberos / Kerberos accounts |
| SecurityTokenSessionBehavior | User & Browser Settings; Managed Guest Session Settings | Chrome OS | Security / Security token removal / Action on security token removal (for example, smart card) |
| SecurityTokenSessionNotificationSeconds | User & Browser Settings; Managed Guest Session Settings | Chrome OS | Security / Security token removal / Removal notification duration (seconds) |
| WebXRImmersiveArEnabled | User & Browser Settings | Android | Other settings / WebXR "immersive-ar" sessions |
| SSLErrorOverrideAllowedForOrigins | User & Browser Settings; Managed Guest Session Settings | Chrome Chrome OS Android |
Network / SSL error override allowed domains / Domains that allow clicking through SSL warnings |
| SystemProxySettings | Device Settings | Chrome OS | Other settings / Authenticated Proxy Traffic |
| DeviceAllowMGSToStoreDisplayProperties | Managed Guest Session Settings | Chrome OS | User experience / Persist display settings |
| DeviceAllowedBluetoothServices | Device Settings | Chrome OS | Other settings / Bluetooth services allowed / Only allow connection to Bluetooth services in the list |
| DevicePciPeripheralDataAccessEnabled | Device Settings | Chrome OS | Other settings / Data access protection for peripherals |
|
Device Settings |
Chrome OS |
Kiosk accessibility |
- New and updated policies (Chrome and Chrome OS)
| Policy | Description |
| BrowserThemeColor Browser Only |
Configure the color of the browser's theme |
| CECPQ2Enabled | CECPQ2 post-quantum key-agreement enabled for TLS |
| DefaultFileHandlingGuardSetting | Lets web apps ask for access to file types via the File Handling API. |
| DeviceAllowedBluetoothServices Chrome OS Only |
Only allow connection to the Bluetooth services in the list |
| ExplicitlyAllowedNetworkPorts | Permits bypassing the list of restricted ports |
| FileHandlingAllowedForUrls | Specifies web apps allowed to access file types via the File Handling API. |
| FileHandlingBlockedForUrls | Specifies web apps blocked from accessing file types via the File Handling API. |
| ForcedLanguages Browser Only |
Configure the content and order of preferred languages |
| HeadlessMode | Control use of the Headless Mode |
| SharedArrayBufferUnrestrictedAccessAllowed | Specifies whether SharedArrayBuffers can be used in a non cross-origin-isolated context. |
| SuppressDifferentOriginSubframeDialogs | Specifies if JavaScript dialogs triggered from a different origin subframe will be blocked |
| URLBlocklist New on iOS |
Specifies disallowed URLs |
| URLAllowlist New on iOS |
Specificies allowed URLs |
| WebAppSettings Browser only |
Specifies settings for web apps installed through WebAppInstallForceList Note: This is an experimental policy that may be replaced in a future version of Chrome. |
| WebRtcIPHandling | WebRTC will use TCP on the public-facing interface, and will only use UDP if supported by a configured proxy |
Coming soon
Note: The items listed below are experimental or planned updates. They might change, be delayed, or canceled before launching to the Stable channel.
- Chrome is moving to a 4-week stable channel and introducing an 8-week extended stable channel as early as Chrome 94
Chrome on mobile, Windows, Mac, and Linux will move from its current 6-week release cycle to a 4-week release cycle, allowing security features, new functionality and bug fixes to reach users more quickly.
No action is required for most enterprises, but if you manually update or test new releases of Chrome and prefer a slower release cadence, you'll be able to use the TargetChannel policy to switch Chrome on Mac and Windows to an extended stable channel, with a new release every 8 weeks instead. More details can be found on our blog post at blog.chromium.org.
Chrome OS is working on the changes to the release cadence and will send a separate announcement. As always, Chrome OS will prioritize the latest security updates, and maintain a high quality and stable experience for users, customers, partners, and developers.
Upcoming Chrome browser changes
- Managed profile sign-in popup will be more clear in Chrome 92
Chrome will update the notice when users sign into a managed profile. The new notice will use clear language and the available actions will be simplified. Some users will see a link to open Chrome in guest mode when they sign in to a new profile that's different from the profile signed in to Chrome.
- SharedArrayBuffers will need Cross-Origin-Opener-Policy and Cross-Origin-Embedder-Policy in Chrome 92
If your organization uses apps that leverage SharedArrayBuffers, those apps will need to set Cross-Origin-Opener-Policy and Cross-Origin-Embedder-Policy in the HTTP header. Web apps not setting the appropriate policies will no longer be able to access SharedArrayBuffers.
If your organization needs additional time to make the transition, the SharedArrayBufferUnrestrictedAccessAllowed policy will be available in Chrome 91. This is a temporary policy that will eventually be removed. The removal timeline will be communicated in future release notes.
- Insecure public pages no longer allowed to make requests to private or local URLs in Chrome 92
Insecure pages will no longer be able to make subresource requests to IPs belonging to a more private address space (as defined in Private Network Access). For example, http://public.page.example.com will not be able to make requests targeting IP 192.168.0.1 or IP 127.0.0.1. You will be able to control this behavior using the InsecurePrivateNetworkRequestsAllowed and InsecurePrivateNetworkRequestsAllowedForUrls enterprise policies.
- Different-origin iframes will not be able to trigger javascript dialogs in Chrome 92
Chrome will prevent iframes from triggering prompts (window.alert,window.confirm,window.prompt) if the iframe is a different origin from the top-level page. This change is intended to prevent embedded content from spoofing the user into believing a message is coming from the website they're visiting, or from Chrome itself.
If you have any web apps affected by this change, you'll be able to use the temporary enterprise policy SuppressDifferentOriginSubframeDialogs to revert to the previous behavior. This policy will be removed in Chrome 95.
- Chrome will launch a sharing hub in Chrome 92
Users will be able to more easily share their current page in Chrome 92, including the ability to send the current page to their devices, get a QR code for the current URL, screenshot and markup the current page, and share to third party apps.
You'll be able to control this feature using an enterprise policy.
- Chrome 92 on iOS will prefer https to http when not specified in the address bar
When a user types an address into the address bar without specifying the protocol, Chrome will attempt to navigate using https first, then fallback to http if https is not available. For example, if the user navigates to example.com, Chrome will first attempt to navigate to https://example.com, then fallback to http://example.com if required. For more information, see Chrome’s blog post, A safer default for navigation: HTTPS.
Desktop and Android users already had this change, and iOS will be rolled out in Chrome 92.
- Chrome 92 on Android will introduce the Magic Toolbar
The Chrome toolbar on Android will add a new adaptable button, which will show different shortcuts depending on what the user is most likely to need and will also be customizable.
- Chrome 92 will expand DNS HTTPS records queries for users using classic DNS
Chrome is currently querying and parsing DNS HTTPS records alongside the traditional A and AAAA records for users using Secure DNS. From Chrome 92, we will expand this behavior to users using classic DNS. The information from these records will be used to improve privacy and performance of HTTPS web connections. You can temporarily disable these extra queries for users using classic DNS, via the AdditionalDnsQueryTypesEnabled policy with Group Policy or in the Google Admin Console. Please share details about issues that led you to use the policy as a workaround. Note that this policy has no effect for users using Secure DNS.
- Lock in address bar will be replaced in Chrome 93
The lock in the address bar will be replaced with a new icon. Chrome is moving to security messaging that highlights known security issues, and shows neutral messaging otherwise. Showing an icon that implies safety based solely on the connection's encryption may lead to a false sense of security.
- Network Service on Windows will be sandboxed as early as Chrome 93
The network service, already running in its own process, will be sandboxed on Windows to improve the security and reliability of the service. As part of this, third party code that is currently able to tamper with the Network Service will be prevented from doing so. This might cause interoperability issues with software that injects code into Chrome's process space, such as Data loss Prevention software.You'll be able to disable the change with an enterprise policy when it becomes available.
- Chrome may leverage MiraclePtr to improve security, as early as Chrome 93
Chrome will leverage MiraclePtr to reduce the risk of security vulnerabilities relating to memory safety. The Chrome team is gathering data on the performance cost of MiraclePtr in Chrome 91, but domain-joined enterprises on the stable channel are excluded from MiraclePtr builds during this phase. A full release of MiraclePtr in Chrome may be as early as Chrome 93.
- UserAgentClientHintsEnabled will be removed in Chrome 93
When Chrome introduced User-Agent Client Hints, some servers were not able to accept all characters in the User-Agent Client Hints headers as part of the broader Structured Headers emerging standard.
To give enterprises extra time updating these servers, the UserAgentClientHintsEnabled policy was introduced. This transition period will end with Chrome 93, and the policy will be removed.
- SyncXHR policy will no longer be supported on Chrome 93
The AllowSyncXHRInPageDismissal enterprise policy will be removed in Chrome 93. For any apps that rely on the legacy web platform behavior, be sure to update them before Chrome 93. This change was previously planned for Chrome 88, but delayed to provide more time for enterprises to update legacy applications.
- LegacySameSiteCookieBehaviorEnabled will be removed in Chrome 93
When same-site cookie behavior was introduced, Chrome included policies to give admins extra time to adjust the implementation of any enterprise apps that relied on the legacy cookie behavior.
The first phase of the transition plan will end in Chrome 93, and LegacySameSiteCookieBehaviorEnabled will no longer take effect. You will still be able to opt specific sites into the legacy cookie behavior using LegacySameSiteCookieBehaviorEnabledForDomainList until Chrome 109.
- Chrome 93 will not support Ubuntu 16.04
Ubuntu 16.04 is past the end of standard support, and will not be supported as of Chrome 93. The updated system requirements for Chrome are available here.
- Chrome 93 will remove 3DES TLS cipher suites
Chrome will remove support for 3DES TLS cipher suites. The TripleDESEnabled enterprise policy will be made available in Chrome 92 to test this change, and will be available temporarily until Chrome 95, to give enterprises additional time to adjust.
- Chrome apps will be deprecated in Chrome 94 on Mac, Windows, and Linux
Chrome apps will no longer function on Mac, Windows, and Linux in Chrome 94, as part of the previously-communicated plan to replace Chrome apps with the open web. For enterprises that need extra time to adjust to the removal of Chrome apps, a policy will be available to extend support for them until June 2022.
- Chrome will maintain its own default root store as early as Chrome 95
To improve user security, and provide a consistent experience across different platforms, Chrome intends to maintain its own default root store. If you are an enterprise admin managing your own certificate authority, you should not have to manage multiple root stores. We do not anticipate any changes to be required for how enterprises currently manage their fleet and trusted enterprise CAs, such as through group policy, macOS Keychain Access, or system management tools like Puppet.
- Legacy policies with non-inclusive names will be removed in Chrome 95
Chrome 86 through Chrome 90 introduced new policies to replace policies with less inclusive names (for example, whitelist blacklist). To minimize disruption for existing managed users, both the old and the new policies currently work. This transition time is to ensure it's easy for you to move to and test the new policies in Chrome.
Note: If both the legacy policy and the new policy are set for any row in the table below, the new policy will override the legacy policy.
This transition period will end in Chrome 95, and the following policies in the left column will no longer function. Please ensure you're using the corresponding policy from the right column instead:Legacy Policy Name New Policy Name NativeMessagingBlacklist NativeMessagingBlocklist NativeMessagingWhitelist NativeMessagingAllowlist AuthNegotiateDelegateWhitelist AuthNegotiateDelegateAllowlist AuthServerWhitelist AuthServerAllowlist SpellcheckLanguageBlacklist SpellcheckLanguageBlocklist AutoplayWhitelist AutoplayAllowlist SafeBrowsingWhitelistDomains SafeBrowsingAllowlistDomains ExternalPrintServersWhitelist ExternalPrintServersAllowlist NoteTakingAppsLockScreenWhitelist NoteTakingAppsLockScreenAllowlist PerAppTimeLimitsWhitelist PerAppTimeLimitsAllowlist URLWhitelist URLAllowlist URLBlacklist URLBlocklist ExtensionInstallWhitelist ExtensionInstallAllowlist ExtensionInstallBlacklist ExtensionInstallBlocklist UserNativePrintersAllowed UserPrintersAllowed DeviceNativePrintersBlacklist DevicePrintersBlocklist DeviceNativePrintersWhitelist DevicePrintersAllowlist DeviceNativePrintersAccessMode DevicePrintersAccessMode DeviceNativePrinters DevicePrinters NativePrinters Printers NativePrintersBulkConfiguration PrintersBulkConfiguration NativePrintersBulkAccessMode PrintersBulkAccessMode NativePrintersBulkBlacklist PrintersBulkBlocklist NativePrintersBulkWhitelist PrintersBulkAllowlist UsbDetachableWhitelist UsbDetachableAllowlist QuickUnlockModeWhitelist QuickUnlockModeAllowlist AttestationExtensionWhitelist AttestationExtensionAllowlist PrintingAPIExtensionsWhitelist PrintingAPIExtensionsAllowlist AllowNativeNotifications AllowSystemNotifications DeviceUserWhitelist DeviceUserAllowlist NativeWindowOcclusionEnabled WindowOcclusionEnabled
If you're managing Chrome via the Google Admin Console (for example, Chrome Browser Cloud Management), no action is required; the Google Admin Console will manage the transition automatically.
Upcoming Admin Console changes
- Sending Extension Requests for Chrome Browser Desktop and Chrome OS
As an admin, you can block users from installing extensions and the Chrome Web Store will now have a “Request” button so that you can see their requests from within the Admin Console and take an action to allow or to block the extensions. You can sign up to get early access to this feature by filling out our Trusted Tester form.
Chrome Browser updates
- Single words are not treated as intranet locations by default
By default, Chrome improves user privacy and reduces load on DNS servers by avoiding DNS lookups for single keywords entered into the address bar. This change may interfere with enterprises that use single-word domains in their intranet. That is, a user typing "helpdesk" is no longer directed to "https://helpdesk/".
You can control the behavior of Chrome using the IntranetRedirectBehavior enterprise policy, including preserving the existing behavior (value 3: Allow DNS interception checks and did-you-mean "http://intranetsite/" infobars.).
Some users saw this change in Chrome 88 and 89; a full rollout is happening in Chrome 90.
- Chrome prefers https to http when not specified in the address bar
When a user types an address into the address bar without specifying the protocol, Chrome attempts to navigate using https first, then falls back to http if https is not available. For example, if the user navigates to example.com, Chrome first attempts to navigate to https://example.com, then falls back to http://example.com if required. See Chrome’s blog post, A safer default for navigation: HTTPS, for more information.
Desktop and Android users see this in Chrome 90, with a release on iOS following soon after.
- Chrome blocks port 554 in Chrome 90
Port 554 is added to the restricted ports list, so Chrome blocks traffic through port 554. This should have no effect on customers using standard ports, but custom configurations (for example, delivering PAC scripts) using non-standard ports may be affected. You should instead use standard ports for your use case (for example, delivering PAC scripts via HTTPS through port 443).
- The TargetChannel policy allows you to set Chrome's channel
Chrome 90 allows you to choose between stable, beta, and dev channels via the enterprise policy TargetChannel. You can read more about setting the policies for Mac and Windows.
- Chrome compresses public HTTPS images
When Chrome Lite mode is enabled, Chrome compresses public HTTPS images to reduce users’ data costs, by routing the requests through a Google service. You can control this using the DataCompressionProxyEnabled enterprise policy.
- Chrome saves data with Lite videos
To reduce the data-cost and improve the experience of videos on metered and limited data connections, Chrome on Android reduces the effective bitrate of videos for Lite mode users on cellular connection. You can control this feature using the DataCompressionProxyEnabled policy.
- AllowNativeNotifications updated to AllowSystemNotifications
As part of Chrome's move to using more inclusive policy names, AllowNativeNotifications is renamed to AllowSystemNotifications. The existing AllowNativeNotifications policy will be available until Chrome 95.
- Chrome supports Intel CET
Chrome supports Intel’s Control Flow Enforcement Technology (CET), known as Hardware-enforced Shadow Stacks on Windows. This only affects Chrome running on hardware that supports CET (Intel 11th Gen or AMD Zen 3). While no issues are expected, you can manage CET by manipulating Image File Execution Options (IFEO) through group policy.
- Some permission requests are less intrusive
Permission requests that the user is unlikely to allow are automatically blocked, when Safe Browsing is set to Enhanced. A less intrusive UI allows the user to manage permissions for each site.
You can control this feature on your environment using the SafeBrowsingProtectionLevel enterprise policy. Set it to 1 (standard), 2 (enhanced), or leave the policy unset to enable the quieter requests. Set it to 0 (disabled) to always use the standard requests instead of the quieter requests.
You can also explicitly allow or disable notifications for certain sites using the NotificationsAllowedForUrls and NotificationsBlockedForUrls. This may be better suited for your use case and doesn't require the user to be prompted at all.
- Extension settings load from the same place for all channels on Mac
All Chrome channels read the extension policies from the same.plistfile. For example, the extension Password Alert always loads its policies fromcom.google.Chrome.extensions.noondiphcddnnabmjcihcjfbhfklnnep.plistinstead ofcom.google.Chrome.canary.extensions.noondiphcddnnabmjcihcjfbhfklnnep.plistin Chrome Canary.
- Security key enterprise attestation
Chrome supports device-unique attestation of security keys without needing a policy configured. This is useful in situations where security keys are distributed by an enterprise to personnel who may use them on non-policy-managed computers. This requires specially-manufactured security keys—talk to your security key vendor if this sounds useful.
- WebXR depth sensing API will be supported
The WebXR Depth Sensing API allows Chrome to measure distance from the user’s device to real world geometry in the user’s environment. With this, Chrome will be able to power immersive experiences in WebXR-powered apps (for example, for physics, and lifelike occlusion for augmented reality).
You will be able to control access to WebXR and other augmented reality APIs using the WebXRImmersiveArEnabled enterprise policy.
- Admin controls on shutdown delay for fetch keepalive
When Chrome is closed, any outstanding fetch keepalive requests are cancelled by default. In Chrome 90, you can use the FetchKeepaliveDurationSecondsOnShutdown enterprise policy to block browser shutdown for a specified period of time to serve any outstanding fetch keepalive requests.
This may be suitable for enterprise web applications that require the fetch keepalive requests to signal the end of a user session.
- Legacy browser support works between Chrome and Microsoft Edge
You can configure Legacy Browser Support to automatically switch between multiple browsers, assigning certain sites to always open in Chrome, while other sites always open in another browser, for example, Internet Explorer. With Chrome 90, we now support configuring your environment to switch between Chrome and Microsoft Edge in IE mode. See this help center article for more details.
- Chrome on Android tablets requests the desktop site
Chrome 90 on Android tablets requests the desktop version of websites for some users. This is expected to be rolled out to all users in Chrome 91.
Chrome OS updates
- Deprecation of AMR and GSM audio codecs
AMR-NB, AMR-WB, and GSM audio codecs are deprecated as part of this release. Affected users should file bugs here and may temporarily rollback this change via the use of chrome://flags/#deprecate-low-usage-codecs. Users with long-term need for these codecs may use stand-alone applications found in the Google Play Store.
- New Diagnostics app
The new Diagnostics app helps users understand how their Chrome OS device [battery, CPU, and memory] is performing. Within the app, users can also run troubleshooting tests – results are saved in a session log file for easy sharing with customer support.
- Device Dock Update
Device updates provide users the ability to have reliable and safe peripherals, by providing an avenue to update their software if needed. In Chrome OS 90, we are releasing a path for updates to docks with minimal user experience disruption, making it simple and safe for all our users that use Works With Chromebook certified accessories.
- Updated UI for recent screenshots and downloads
Quickly access your recent screenshots and downloads. Pin your important Files to launch, copy, or drag with one click. Visit here for more information.
- Better account manager and add account flow
Chrome OS’s account manager is getting a brand new design to help users better understand the Chrome OS identity model, such as the difference between device account and secondary Google Accounts, and the implications of adding multiple Google Accounts to a user session. Instead of being nested under the "People'' section, the redesigned account manager is part of a new "Accounts" section for clarity and ease of access. Finally, the add account flow is also redesigned to help nudge users away from adding their Google Accounts to user sessions that are not their own.
- Add Live captions settings to Chrome OS settings
Chrome Live Caption now supports Chrome OS. Live Captions enables you to caption any audio or video in your browser.
- YouTube and Maps open in standalone windows for new users
New users can now experience YouTube and Maps in standalone app windows by default, rather than opening as browser tabs. Existing users can right-click on the YouTube or Maps app icon, then select Open link in new tab or Open link in new window.
- Files app: Enable offline for Docs, Sheets, and Slides files on Drive
Users now have the ability to make Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides available for offline access directly from their Drive folder in the Chrome OS file manager.
Admin console updates
- Chrome Policy API
The Chrome Policy API is a brand new API for configuring Admin console Chrome policies. Admins can use the API to script changes across multiple OUs, compare policies or copy policies across multiple OUs, and more. The Chrome Policy API is now available with support for user & browser settings, as well as printer settings. Future versions of the API will also support managing apps & extensions, device settings, kiosk, and managed guest session settings.
- Update Controls for macOS
Admin Console now supports configuring update controls for macOS. Please see the Help Center article on how to configure these settings.
- Version History API
The Chrome Update team released a web service API for retrieving information about Chrome versions and releases.
- Additional policies in the Admin console
Many new policies are available in the Admin console, including:
| Policy Name | Pages | Supported on | Category/Field |
| BasicAuthOverHttpEnabled | User & Browser Settings | Chrome OS, Windows, Mac, Linux | Network / Allow Basic authentication for HTTP |
| BrowserLabsEnabled | User & Browser Settings | Windows, Mac, Linux | User experience / Browser experiments icon in toolbar |
| DefaultSensorsSetting | User & Browser Settings; Managed Guest Session Settings | Chrome OS, Windows, Mac, Linux, Android | Hardware / Sensors / Default access |
| EnableDeprecatedPrivetPrinting | User & Browser Settings; Managed Guest Session Settings | Chrome OS, Windows, Mac, Linux | Printing / Deprecated privet printing |
| FullscreenAlertEnabled | User & Browser Settings | Chrome OS | User experience / Fullscreen alert |
| IntegratedWebAuthenticationAllowed | User & Browser Settings | Chrome OS | Network / Login credentials for network authentication |
| NTPCardsVisible | User & Browser Settings | Chrome OS, Windows, Mac, Linux | User experience / Show cards on the New Tab Page |
| PhoneHubAllowed | User & Browser Settings | Chrome OS | Connected devices / Phone Hub |
| PhoneHubNotificationsAllowed | User & Browser Settings | Chrome OS | Connected devices / Phone Hub |
| PhoneHubTaskContinuationAllowed | User & Browser Settings | Chrome OS | Connected devices / Phone Hub |
| ProfilePickerOnStartupAvailability | User & Browser Settings | Windows, Mac, Linux | Startup / Profile picker availability on browser startup |
| RemoteAccessHostDomainList | User & Browser Settings; Managed Guest Session Settings | Chrome OS, Windows, Mac, Linux | Remote access / Remote access hosts / Remote access host domain |
| SensorsAllowedForUrls | User & Browser Settings; Managed Guest Session Settings | Chrome OS, Windows, Mac, Linux, Android | Hardware / Sensors / Allow access to sensors on these sites |
| SensorsBlockedForUrls | User & Browser Settings; Managed Guest Session Settings | Chrome OS, Windows, Mac, Linux, Android | Hardware / Sensors / Block access to sensors on these sites |
| SigninInterceptionEnabled | User & Browser Settings | Windows, Mac, Linux | Sign-in settings / Signin interception |
| TargetBlankImpliesNoOpener | User & Browser Settings; Managed Guest Session Settings | Chrome OS, Windows, Mac, Linux, Android | Security / Popup interactions |
| WifiSyncAndroidAllowed | User & Browser Settings | Chrome OS | Other settings / Wi-Fi network configurations sync |
- New and updated policies (Chrome Browser and Chrome OS)
| Policy | Description |
| AllowSystemNotifications Linux Only |
Allow system notifications |
| AudioProcessHighPriorityEnabled Windows Only |
Allow the audio process to run with priority above normal on Windows |
| FetchKeepaliveDurationSecondsOnShutdown | Fetch keepalive duration on Shutdown |
| SSLErrorOverrideAllowedForOrigins | Allow proceeding from the SSL warning page on specific origins |
| WebXRImmersiveArEnabled | Allow creating WebXR's "immersive-ar" sessions |
| WindowOcclusionEnabled Browser only |
Enable Window Occlusion |
Coming soon
Note: The items listed below are experimental or planned updates. They might change, be delayed, or canceled before launching to the Stable channel.
- Chrome is moving to a 4-week stable channel and introducing an 8-week extended stable channel as early as Chrome 94
Chrome on mobile, Windows, Mac, and Linux will move from its current 6-week release cycle to a 4-week release cycle, allowing security features, new functionality and bug fixes to reach users more quickly.
No action is required for most enterprises, but if you manually update or test new releases of Chrome and prefer a slower release cadence, you'll be able to switch Chrome to an extended stable channel, with a new release every 8 weeks instead. More details can be found on our blog post at blog.chromium.org.
Chrome OS is also planning changes to the release cycle during the same release. As always, Chrome OS will prioritize the latest security updates, and maintain a high quality and stable experience for users, customers, partners, and developers.
Upcoming Chrome Browser changes
- Chrome 91 will block port 10080 and add a policy for allowing specific ports
Port 10080 will be added to the restricted ports list and traffic will be blocked through it. This should have no effect on customers using standard ports, but custom configurations using non-standard ports may be affected.
If you're affected by this change, or other changes blocking ports for security reasons, Chrome will introduce an enterprise policy where you can allow specific ports in your environment.
- Collapsed tab groups will be frozen in Chrome 91
Chrome allows users to group tabs into collapsible groups, helping them stay organized and productive. In Chrome 91, those tabs will be frozen when the user collapses them, freeing up resources on the system. Chrome will not freeze tabs if they are playing audio, holding a web lock, holding an IndexedDB lock, connected to a USB device, capturing video or audio, being mirrored, or capturing a window or display.
- Web apps will be able to run when the user logs into the OS in Chrome 91
Users will be able to configure Progressive Web Apps to start automatically when they log into the OS. This allows some apps that the user expects to be always-on to behave as expected.
You will be able to control which apps can start on OS login using the WebAppSettings enterprise policy.
- Chrome will introduce initial_preferences in Chrome 91
As part of Chrome's move to using more inclusive naming, Chrome will support an admin using a file to control the browser's initial preferences, named initial_preferences. This file behaves the same way as, and will eventually replace the master_preferences file that exists today. To minimize any disruption, master_preferences will continue to be supported in Chrome 90 and more notice will be given before support for master_preferences is removed.
- Different-origin iframes will not be able to trigger javascript dialogs in Chrome 91
Chrome will prevent iframes from triggering prompts (window.alert,window.confirm,window.prompt) if the iframe is a different origin from the top-level page. This change is intended to prevent embedded content from spoofing the user into believing a message is coming from the website they're visiting, or from Chrome itself.
If you have any web apps affected by this change, you'll be able to use the temporary enterprise policy SuppressDifferentOriginSubframeDialogs to revert to the previous behavior. This policy will be removed in Chrome 94.
You can test apps in your environment for compatibility using Chrome 91 Canary, and Chrome 91 Beta on April 22.
- Network state will be partitioned in Chrome 91
At present, some network objects are shared globally for performance reasons, but this makes it possible to fingerprint users and track them across sites. To protect user privacy, Chrome will partition many network objects by topmost frame domain and iframe domain. A comprehensive description is available here.
No impact is expected other than minor performance changes, but you can test the change in advance by using the command line flag:
--enable-features=PartitionConnectionsByNetworkIsolationKey,PartitionExpectCTStateByNetworkIsolationKey,PartitionHttpServerPropertiesByNetworkIsolationKey,PartitionNelAndReportingByNetworkIsolationKey,PartitionSSLSessionsByNetworkIsolationKey,SplitHostCacheByNetworkIsolationKey
- The BrowserSignIn enterprise policy will be available for Chrome 91 on iOS
The BrowserSignIn policy allows you to either disable or force users to sign into Chrome browser. The IncognitoModeAvailability policy allows you to disable Incognito mode. Both of these policies will be available for Chrome 90 on iOS.
- Quantum computer resistant security will be enabled in Chrome 91
Chrome will start supporting a post-quantum key-agreement mechanism in TLS when communicating with some domains. This increases the size of TLS handshake messages which, in rare cases, may cause issues with network middleboxes that incorrectly assume that TLS messages will fit in a single network frame.
The CECPQ2Enabled policy can be set to disable this. It will also be disabled if the ChromeVariations policy is set to a non-default value. For more details on this rollout, see https://www.chromium.org/cecpq2
- The SSLVersionMin policy will not allow TLS 1.0 or TLS 1.1 in Chrome 91
The SSLVersionMin enterprise policy allows you to bypass Chrome's interstitial warnings for legacy versions of TLS. This will be possible until Chrome 91 (May 2021), then the policy will no longer allow TLS 1.0 or TLS 1.1 to be set as the minimum.
We previously communicated that this would happen as early as January 2021, but the deadline has since been extended.
- Server certificates issued by the Camerfirma will no longer be accepted, no later than Chrome 91
Websites that use server certificates issued by the Camerfirma Certification Authority will be distrusted in a future release of Chrome. Affected sites should have already been contacted by Camerfirma and have migration underway. Note that this does not affect client certificates, only those used for authentication of TLS servers.
- Chrome 91 on iOS will warn users if they reuse their saved passwords on known phishing sites
To better protect users from phishing schemes, Chrome warns users if it appears that they've entered a saved password on a known phishing site. In Chrome 91, this feature will be expanded to Chrome on iOS.
You can control your organization's use of this feature using the PasswordManagerEnabled enterprise policy.
- Chrome 91 will use updated table rendering
Chrome is updating the way it renders tables on web pages. This change fixes known issues and brings Chrome closer to the behavior of other browsers, so impact is expected to be minimal. However, you should test important workflows in your environment for unexpected issues. A full explainer is available here.
You can enable the new rendering behavior using chrome://flags/#enable-table-ng in Chrome 90 and above. If you experience any unexpected issues when testing with the flag enabled, please file a chromium bug.
- Managed profile sign-in popup will be more clear, with changes as early as Chrome 91
Chrome will update the notice when users sign into a managed profile. The new notice has more clear language and the available actions have been simplified. Some users will see a link to open Chrome in guest mode when they sign into a new profile that's different from the profile signed into Chrome.
- Insecure public pages no longer allowed to make requests to private or local URLs in Chrome 92
Insecure pages will no longer be able to make requests to IPs belonging to a more private address space (as defined in CORS-RFC1918). For example, http://public.page.example.com will not be able to make requests targeting IP 192.168.0.1 or IP 127.0.0.1. You will be able to control this behavior using the InsecurePrivateNetworkRequestsAllowed and InsecurePrivateNetworkRequestsAllowedForUrls enterprise policies.
- Lock in address bar will be replaced in Chrome 92
The lock in the address bar will be replaced with a new icon. Chrome is moving to security messaging that highlights known security issues, and shows neutral messaging otherwise. Showing an icon that implies safety based solely on the connection's encryption may lead to a false sense of security.
- The Network Service on Windows will be sandboxed as early as Chrome 92
The network service, already running in its own process, will be sandboxed on Windows to improve the security and reliability of the service. As part of this, third party code that is currently able to tamper with the Network Service will be prevented from doing so. This might cause interoperability issues with software that injects code into Chrome's process space, such as Data loss Prevention software.You'll be able to disable the change with an enterprise policy when it becomes available.
- Chrome will leverage MiraclePtr to improve security, as early as Chrome 93
Chrome will leverage MiraclePtr to reduce the risk of security vulnerabilities related to memory safety. The Chrome team is gathering data on the performance cost of MiraclePtr in Chrome 91, but enterprises on the stable channel are excluded from MiraclePtr builds during this phase. A full release of MiraclePtr in Chrome may be as early as Chrome 93.
- Chrome will maintain its own default root store as early as Chrome 92
In order to improve user security, and provide a consistent experience across different platforms, Chrome intends to maintain its own default root store. If you are an enterprise admin managing your own certificate authority, you should not have to manage multiple root stores.We do not anticipate any changes to be required for how enterprises currently manage their fleet and trusted enterprise CAs, such as through group policy, macOS Keychain Access, or system management tools like Puppet.
- Chrome will launch a sharing hub in Chrome 92
Users will be able to more easily share their current page in Chrome 92, including the ability to send the current page to their devices, get a QR code for the current URL, screenshot and markup the current page, and share to third party apps.
You'll be able to control this feature using an enterprise policy.
- UserAgentClientHintsEnabled will be removed in Chrome 93
When Chrome introduced User-Agent Client Hints, some servers were not able to accept all characters in the User-Agent Client Hints headers as part of the broader Structured Headers emerging standard.
To give enterprises extra time updating these servers, the UserAgentClientHintsEnabled policy was introduced. This transition period will be ending with Chrome 93, and the policy will be removed.
- SyncXHR policy will no longer be supported on Chrome 93
The AllowSyncXHRInPageDismissal enterprise policy will be removed in Chrome 93. For any apps that rely on the legacy web platform behavior, be sure to update them before Chrome 93. This change was previously planned for Chrome 88, but delayed to provide more time for enterprises to update legacy applications.
- LegacySameSiteCookieBehaviorEnabled will be removed in Chrome 93
When same-site cookie behavior was introduced, Chrome included policies to give admins extra time to adjust the implementation of any enterprise apps that relied on the legacy cookie behavior. The first phase of the transition plan will end in Chrome 93, and LegacySameSiteCookieBehaviorEnabled will no longer take effect. You will still be able to opt specific sites into the legacy cookie behavior using LegacySameSiteCookieBehaviorEnabledForDomainList until Chrome 97.
- Legacy policies with non-inclusive names will be removed in Chrome 95
Chrome 86 through Chrome 90 introduced new policies to replace policies with less inclusive names (for example, whitelist, blacklist). In order to minimize disruption for existing managed users, both the old and the new policies currently work. This transition time is to ensure it's easy for you to move to and test the new policies in Chrome.
Note: If both the legacy policy and the new policy are set for any row in the table below, the new policy will override the legacy policy.
This transition period will end in Chrome 95, and the following policies in the left column will no longer function. Please ensure you're using the corresponding policy from the right column instead:
| Legacy Policy Name | New Policy Name |
| NativeMessagingBlacklist | NativeMessagingBlocklist |
| NativeMessagingWhitelist | NativeMessagingAllowlist |
| AuthNegotiateDelegateWhitelist | AuthNegotiateDelegateAllowlist |
| AuthServerWhitelist | AuthServerAllowlist |
| SpellcheckLanguageBlacklist | SpellcheckLanguageBlocklist |
| AutoplayWhitelist | AutoplayAllowlist |
| SafeBrowsingWhitelistDomains | SafeBrowsingAllowlistDomains |
| ExternalPrintServersWhitelist | ExternalPrintServersAllowlist |
| NoteTakingAppsLockScreenWhitelist | NoteTakingAppsLockScreenAllowlist< |
| PerAppTimeLimitsWhitelist | PerAppTimeLimitsAllowlist |
| URLWhitelist | URLAllowlist |
| URLBlacklist | URLBlocklist |
| ExtensionInstallWhitelist | ExtensionInstallAllowlist |
| ExtensionInstallBlacklist | ExtensionInstallBlocklist |
| UserNativePrintersAllowed | UserPrintersAllowed |
| DeviceNativePrintersBlacklist | DevicePrintersBlocklist |
| DeviceNativePrintersWhitelist | DevicePrintersAllowlist |
| DeviceNativePrintersAccessMode | DevicePrintersAccessMode |
| DeviceNativePrinters | DevicePrinters |
| NativePrinters | Printers |
| NativePrintersBulkConfiguration | PrintersBulkConfiguration |
| NativePrintersBulkAccessMode | PrintersBulkAccessMode |
| NativePrintersBulkBlacklist | PrintersBulkBlocklist |
| NativePrintersBulkWhitelist | PrintersBulkAllowlist |
| UsbDetachableWhitelist | UsbDetachableAllowlist |
| QuickUnlockModeWhitelist | QuickUnlockModeAllowlist |
| AttestationExtensionWhitelist | AttestationExtensionAllowlist |
| PrintingAPIExtensionsWhitelist | PrintingAPIExtensionsAllowlist |
| AllowNativeNotifications | AllowSystemNotifications |
| DeviceUserWhitelist | DeviceUserAllowlist |
| NativeWindowOcclusionEnabled | WindowOcclusionEnabled |
If you're managing Chrome via the Google Admin Console (for example, Chrome Browser Cloud Management), no action is required; the Google Admin Console will manage the transition automatically.
Upcoming Admin Console changes
- Sending Extension Requests for Chrome Browser and Chrome OS
As an admin, you can block users from installing extensions and the Chrome Web Store will now have a “Request” button so that you can see their requests from within the Admin Console and take an action to allow or to block the extensions.
- Sending Remote Commands for Chrome Desktop
As an admin, you can use your Google Admin console to remotely send actions to managed Chrome Desktop Browsers (Win/Mac/Linux). For example, you will be able to delete browser cache or cookies remotely.
Chrome Browser updates
- Single words will not be treated as intranet locations by default
By default, Chrome will improve user privacy and will reduce load on DNS servers by avoiding DNS lookups for single keywords entered into the address bar. This change may interfere with enterprises that use single-word domains in their intranet. That is, a user typing helpdesk will no longer be directed to https://helpdesk/.
You will be able to control the behavior of Chrome using the IntranetRedirectBehavior enterprise policy, including preserving the existing behavior (value 3: Allow DNS interception checks and did-you-mean http://intranetsite/ infobars.).
Some users saw this change in Chrome 88; a full rollout is planned in Chrome 89. - Chrome will prefer https to http when not specified in the address bar
When a user types an address into the address bar without specifying the protocol, Chrome will attempt to navigate using https first, then fallback to http if https is not available. For example, if the user navigates to example.com, Chrome will first attempt to navigate to https://example.com, then will fallback to http://example.com if required.
Some users on Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android will see this change in Chrome 89, and all users should see this change in Chrome 90. - Users can search open tabs
Users can search for open tabs across windows, as shown in this screenshot:
- Enterprise realtime URL checking enabled by BeyondCorp Enterprise
Chrome 89 will introduce new security capabilities enabled by BeyondCorp Enterprise allowing checking URLs for phishing attacks in realtime for BeyondCorp Enterprise customers. - Chrome profiles for separating users or accounts
Chrome will add new features to help different users keep their browsing data like bookmarks, history, and settings separate.
Users will be given the option to create a new Chrome profile and move their account over, when they sign in to a profile where another account is already signed in.
If a user signs in with an account that is already signed in to another profile, they will be offered the option to switch. Users who have multiple profiles set up will see a profile picker on startup.
You can control whether Chrome offers to create or switch profiles with the SigninInterceptionEnabled enterprise policy and ProfilePickerOnStartupAvailability enterprise policies.
- Certain features will be available to users who have signed in without having to enable Chrome Sync
Some users who have signed into Chrome may be able to access and save payment methods and passwords stored in their Google Account without Chrome Sync being enabled.
You can control users' access to payment methods on Chrome on Android using the AutofillCreditCardEnabled enterprise policy. You can control access to passwords on Chrome on desktop by either setting the SyncDisabled enterprise policy to disabled, or by including passwords in SyncTypesListDisabled.
- Chrome on Android will require the device to be certified
Chrome on Android will only be able to run on devices that are Play Protect certified. This will affect all instances of Chrome including PWAs, but does not include WebView.
Chrome on VMs and emulators will continue to work if an emulator is emulating an approved device or the emulator is Google-developed.
See the Android Help Center article for details on how to verify a device’s certification status.
- Version pinning for self-hosted extensions & apps
To increase the stability in high-reliability environments, Chrome 89 will facilitate the pinning of extensions and apps to a specific version. Administrators can self-host the extension or app of their choice, and instruct Chrome to use the update URL from the extension forcelist instead of the extension manifest. This will be via a new boolean parameter in ExtensionSettings policy. As a result, extensions & apps will not be updated via the updateURL that was originally configured in their manifest, and will stay on one specific version.
- Chrome introduces privacy-preserving APIs to replace some of the functionality of third-party cookies
Several changes are coming in Chrome 89 to build a more private web. We originally announced these changes in the Chromium Blog.
FLoC, an interest-based targeting API will be introduced as an origin trial. This API will allow working with cohorts—groups of users with similar interests. Users cannot be individually identified.
An event-level conversion API will continue in the origin-trial stage for Chrome 89. This API will enable the correlation of an ad click on a website with a subsequent conversion on an advertiser site (a sale, a sign-up, etc). Users cannot be individually identified.
Platform-provided trust tokens will be introduced to the ongoing Trust Token API Origin Trial. This experiment will be used to ascertain the value of tokens incorporating on-device state as a mechanism for anti-spam and anti-abuse systems, and to evaluate the feature’s performance relative to standard web-issued trust tokens.
First party sets will be introduced as an origin trial. This will allow a collection of related, commonly-owned domains to declare themselves as a first party set, so that browsers can consider this relationship when applying cross-site communication policies.
Schemeful Same-Site, which evolves the definition of same-site to include the URL scheme, will be fully rolled out and available to all audiences.
User Agent Client Hints will also be fully rolled out and available to all audiences.
See the chromium privacy sandbox page for details on these APIs and the privacy sandbox.
- Chrome will require SSE3 for Chrome on x86
Chrome 89 and above will require x86 processors with SSE3 support. This change does not impact devices with non-x86 (ARM) processors. Chrome will not install and run on x86 processors that do not support SSE3. SSE3 was introduced on Intel CPUs in 2003, and on AMD CPUs in 2005. - Chrome introduces BrowsingDataLifetime and ClearBrowsingDataOnExitList policies
Chrome will give you more control over data in your environment by introducing two policies that clear browsing data after a specified amount of time, or once Chrome has been closed: BrowsingDataLifetime and ClearBrowsingDataOnExitList. These policies will be useful for customers that have strict regulatory requirements around data being stored on client devices. - Metrics reporting can be disabled by the user even if admin has it turned on
To improve user privacy, end users will be able to turn off metrics reporting for themselves, even if you have set MetricsReportingEnabled to true. If you set MetricsReportingEnabled to false, users will not be able to enable metrics. - Chrome introduces the Serial API
The Serial API will provide a way for websites to read and write from a serial device through script. You can read an explainer on the Serial API here.
You will be able to control access to the Serial API using the DefaultSerialGuardSetting policy. You can also use the SerialAskForUrls and SerialBlockedForUrls policies to control serial device access on a site-by-site basis. - Chrome on iOS introduces biometric authentication for Incognito tabs
Users will have a setting to enable access control for their Incognito tabs. When this setting is turned on, users will be prompted to re-authenticate themselves with biometric authentication when they return to Incognito tabs after closing Chrome on iOS.
Chrome OS updates
- Extended auto-update blockout windows
Already as of today, the Chrome OS auto update blockout window device policy allows admins to block updates for their kiosk devices during certain business hours. This helps to save bandwidth in cases where Chromebooks are located at sites with limited network connectivity. From Chrome 89 on (official launch March 9th, 2021), the auto update blockout window policy will be extended. (1) Instead of only applying to kiosk sessions, it will also apply to user sessions & managed guest sessions (MGS). (2) Instead of only influencing the start of an update download, it will also pause previously started updates during blockout windows.
Due to the extended impact of the auto-update blockout window policy, an adjustment of your policy settings might be required to guarantee continuous updates of your devices. - Scaled Print Server Support
Admins will be able to assign any number of IPP based print servers to be remotely configured from the admin console. Users will select a specific print server to connect to if the user has more than 16 print servers assigned. If there are less than 16 configured, Chrome OS will automatically query all assigned print servers simultaneously. - Scanning support
Chrome OS will support the scanning functionality of compatible multifunction printers. Access to the Scan app on Chrome OS can be controlled by Admins.
- QR code scanning support
You can now scan QR codes with the Chrome OS Camera app. Just point your camera at a QR code and the results will automatically be scanned. - Switch Access settings Improvements
Switch Access settings will allow you to use any key or external switch and will make setting up your switches easier by replacing the drop down menu with just pressing the switch you want to use.
- Enhanced Screen Capture
Chrome OS screen capture just got better. Screen capture functionality is now always accessible via quick settings. A new capture mode provides users with an intuitive UI to switch between functionality. After taking a partial screenshot, you can adjust the selection to perfect your capture. New screen recording functionality lets you capture and share motion.
- Desk improvements
Improvements for frictionless smart creation and management of multiple workspaces (restore desks for browser, send to desk, and virtual desk improvements).
- Wi-Fi Sync improvements
Wi-Fi Sync is now even more powerful, with added support for Wi-Fi network sharing between Chrome OS and Android.
- Clipboard: visual clipboard history
Chrome OS introduces an extended clipboard to quickly transfer multiple pieces of content. Transfer everything you need with speed and ease.
- Tote: quick access to recent and important Files
Quickly access your recent screenshots and downloads. Pin your important Files to launch, copy, or drag with one click.
- Improved Media Controls
Brings unified media controls to quick settings. Access all your media sources in one place quickly.
- App icon refresh
The icons for the built-in apps on your Chromebook have a fresh new look, making it easier for you to distinguish between the core essential apps (for example, Canvas, Explore) that are made for Chrome OS and third-party apps that you’ve downloaded.
- Enhanced Select-to-speak to better support users with Dyslexia
Improve the Select-to-speak accessibility service with navigation controls (play/pause, navigate sentences and paragraphs, adjust speed in context).
Admin console updates
- Apps & Extension Usage Report
The Apps & Extension Usage Report report will allow admins to get a comprehensive view of the apps and extensions installed across their fleet of ChromeOS and Chrome Desktop devices. Refer to the View app and extension usage details article on how to enable it.
- Reports API
The Reports API will allow you to generate reports that give you aggregate information on your managed Chrome OS device / Chrome Browser deployment. Please see the documentation here on how to use it.
- Additional policies in the Admin console
Many new policies will be available in the Admin console, including:
| Policy Name | Pages | Supported on | Category/Field |
| NTPContentSuggestionsEnabled | User & Browser Settings | Android | Startup / New Tab page content suggestions |
| RestrictAccountsToPatterns | User & Browser Settings | Android | User experience / Visible Accounts / Restrict accounts that are visible in Chrome to those matching one of the patterns specified |
| MediaRecommendationsEnabled | User & Browser Settings | Chrome OS, Windows, Mac, Linux | User experience / Media Recommendations |
| AllowFileSelectionDialogs | User & Browser Settings | Windows, Mac, Linux | User experience / File selection dialogs |
| AllowWakeLocks | User & Browser Settings; Managed Guest Session Settings | Chrome OS | Power and shutdown / Wake locks |
| IntranetRedirectBehavior | User & Browser Settings; Managed Guest Session Settings | Chrome OS, Windows, Mac, Linux | Network / Intranet Redirection Behavior |
- New and updated policies (Chrome Browser and Chrome OS)
| Policy | Description |
|
Browsing Data Lifetime Settings |
|
|
Clear Browsing Data on Exit |
|
|
Enable deprecated privet printing |
|
|
Sets managed configuration values to websites to specific origins |
|
|
PhoneHubTaskContinuationAllowed Chrome OS only |
Allow Phone Hub task continuation to be enabled |
|
Chrome OS only |
Allow Phone Hub to be enabled |
|
Chrome OS only |
Allow Phone Hub notifications to be enabled |
|
ProfilePickerOnStartupAvailability Browser only |
Profile picker availability on startup |
|
RemoteAccessHostAllowRemoteAccessConnections Browser only |
Allow remote access connections to this machine |
|
RemoteAccessHostMaximumSessionDurationMinutes Browser only |
Maximum session duration allowed for remote access connections |
|
Browser only |
Enable signin interception |
Coming soon
Note: The items listed below are experimental or planned updates. They might change, be delayed, or canceled before launching to the Stable channel.
- Chrome will move to a 4-week stable channel and will introduce an 8-week extended stable channel as early as Chrome 94
Chrome on mobile, Windows, Mac, and Linux will move from its current 6-week release cycle to a 4-week release cycle, allowing security features, new functionality and bug fixes to reach users more quickly.
No action will be required for most enterprises, but if you manually update or test new releases of Chrome and prefer a slower release cadence, you'll be able to switch Chrome to an extended stable channel, with a new release every 8 weeks instead. More details can be found on our blog post at blog.chromium.org.
Chrome OS is also planning changes to the release cycle during the same release. As always, Chrome OS will prioritize the latest security updates, and maintain a high quality and stable experience for users, customers, partners, and developers.
Upcoming Chrome Browser changes
- Chrome 90 will block port 554
Port 554 will be added to the restricted ports list and traffic through it will be blocked. This should have no effect on customers using standard ports, but custom configurations (for example, delivering PAC scripts) using non-standard ports may be affected. You should instead use standard ports for your use case (for example, delivering PAC scripts via HTTPS through port 443).
- Launch of PDF XFA forms in Chrome 90
PDF XFA forms will be partially supported in Chrome 90, expanding the range of PDF documents that can open directly in Chrome.
- Managed profile sign-in popup will be more clear in Chrome 90
Chrome 90 will update the notice when users sign into a managed profile. The new notice will have more clear language and the available actions will be simplified.
- Some permission requests will be less intrusive in Chrome 90
Permission requests that the user is unlikely to allow will be automatically blocked. A less intrusive UI will allow the user to manage permissions for each site.
- Chrome 90 will support Intel CET
Chrome 90 will support Intel’s Control Flow Enforcement Technology (CET), known as Hardware-enforced Shadow Stacks on Windows. This will only affect Chrome running on hardware that supports CET. While no issues are expected, you can manage CET by manipulating Image File Execution Options (IFEO) through group policy.
- Chrome 90 will introduce initial_preferences
As part of Chrome's move to using more inclusive naming, Chrome will support an admin using a file to control the browser's initial preferences, namedinitial_preferences. This file will behave the same way as, and will eventually replace themaster_preferencesfile that exists today. To minimize any disruption,master_preferenceswill continue to be supported in Chrome 90 and more notice will be given before support formaster_preferencesis removed.
- AllowNativeNotifications updated to AllowSystemNotifications in Chrome 90
As part of Chrome's move to using more inclusive policy names, AllowNativeNotifications will be renamed to AllowSystemNotifications. The existing AllowNativeNotifications policy will be available until Chrome 95.
- Extension settings will load from the same place for all channels on Mac in Chrome 90
All Chrome channels will read the extension policies from the same.plistfile. For example, the extension Password Alert will always load its policies fromcom.google.Chrome.extensions.noondiphcddnnabmjcihcjfbhfklnnep.plistinstead ofcom.google.Chrome.canary.extensions.noondiphcddnnabmjcihcjfbhfklnnep.plistin Chrome Canary.
- Chrome will save data with Lite videos in Chrome 90
To reduce the data-cost and improve the experience of videos on metered and limited data connections, Chrome on Android will reduce the effective bitrate of videos for Lite mode users on cellular connection. You will be able to control this feature using the DataCompressionProxyEnabled policy.
- Data Saver: Chrome will compress public HTTPS images in Chrome 90
Public HTTPS images will be compressed when Chrome lite mode is enabled, to further provide a rich web experience to users with unreliable internet connections.
- Security key enterprise attestation in Chrome 90
Chrome will support device-unique attestation of security keys without needing policy configured. This will be useful in situations where security keys are distributed by an enterprise to personnel who may use them on non-policy-managed computers. This will require specially-manufactured security keys—talk to your security key vendor if this sounds useful.
- Launch WebXR capability - Depth Sensing API in Chrome 90
The WebXR Depth Sensing API will allow Chrome to measure distance from the user’s device to real world geometry in the user’s environment. With this, Chrome will be able to power immersive experiences in WebXR-powered apps (e.g. for physics, and lifelike occlusion for augmented reality). You will be able to control access to WebXR and other augmented reality APIs using the WebXRImmersiveArEnabled enterprise policy.
- Partition Network State in Chrome 90
Today, some network objects are shared globally for performance reasons, but this makes it possible to fingerprint users and track them across sites. To protect user privacy, Chrome will partition many network objects by topmost frame domain and iframe domain. A comprehensive description is available here.
No impact is expected other than minor performance changes, but you can test the change in advance by using the command line flag:
--enable-features=PartitionConnectionsByNetworkIsolationKey,PartitionExpectCTStateByNetworkIsolationKey,PartitionHttpServerPropertiesByNetworkIsolationKey,PartitionNelAndReportingByNetworkIsolationKey,PartitionSSLSessionsByNetworkIsolationKey,SplitHostCacheByNetworkIsolationKey
- Legacy Browser Support for Edge in IE Mode will be available in Chrome 90
For organizations accessing legacy web content in Microsoft Edge's IE mode, Chrome 90 will allow admins to configure Legacy Browser Support (LBS) to switch between Microsoft Edge in IE mode and Chrome. You can already use LBS to switch directly between Microsoft Internet Explorer and Chrome.
- The Network Service on Windows will be sandboxed in Chrome 91
The network service, already running in its own process, will be sandboxed on Windows in Chrome 90 to improve the security and reliability of the service. As part of this, third party code that is currently able to tamper with the Network Service will be prevented from doing so. This may cause problems when connecting to software such as:- Custom Authentication Packages.
- Custom SSO (Single Sign-on) providers.
- Custom Winsock Namespace/transport providers.
- Data Loss Prevention software.
- NTLM with Windows integrated authentication.
Enterprises are encouraged to try the sandboxed network stack on Dev and Canary channel and report any issues via crbug.com. You'll be able to disable the change with an enterprise policy when it becomes available.
- Lock in address bar will be replaced in Chrome 91
The lock in the address bar will be replaced with a new icon. Chrome is moving to security messaging that highlights known security issues, and shows neutral messaging otherwise. Showing an icon that implies safety based solely on the connection's encryption may lead to a false sense of security.
- Quantum computer resistant security will be enabled in Chrome 91
Chrome will start supporting a post-quantum key-agreement mechanism in TLS when communicating with some domains. This increases the size of TLS handshake messages which, in rare cases, may cause issues with network middleboxes that incorrectly assume that TLS messages will fit in a single network frame.
The CECPQ2Enabled policy can be set to disable this. It will also be disabled if the ChromeVariations policy is set to a non-default value.
For more details on this rollout, see CECPQ2
- Insecure public pages will no longer be allowed to make requests to private or local URLs in Chrome 91
Insecure pages will no longer be able to make requests to IPs belonging to a more private address space (as defined in CORS-RFC1918). For example, http://public.page.example.com will not be able to make requests targeting IP 192.168.0.1 or IP 127.0.0.1. You will be able to control this behavior using the InsecurePrivateNetworkRequestsAllowed and InsecurePrivateNetworkRequestsAllowedForUrls enterprise policies.
- The address bar may show the domain rather than the full URL as early as Chrome 90
To protect your users from some common phishing strategies, Chrome will test showing only the domain in the address bar for some users. This change will make it more difficult for malicious actors to trick users with misleading URLs. For example, https://example.com/secure-google-sign-in/ will appear only as example.com to the user.
Although this change is designed to keep your users’ credentials safe, you can revert to the old behavior through the ShowFullUrlsInAddressBar policy.
This change has been enabled for some users, with a potential full rollout in a later release.
- The SSLVersionMin policy will not allow TLS 1.0 or TLS 1.1 in Chrome 91
The SSLVersionMin enterprise policy will allow you to bypass Chrome's interstitial warnings for legacy versions of TLS. This will be possible until Chrome 91 (May 2021), then the policy will no longer allow TLS 1.0 or TLS 1.1 to be set as the minimum.
We previously communicated that this would happen as early as January 2021, but the deadline has since been extended.
- Chrome will maintain its own default root store as early as Chrome 92
In order to improve user security, and provide a consistent experience across different platforms, Chrome intends to maintain its own default root store. If you are an enterprise admin managing your own certificate authority, you should not have to manage multiple root stores.We do not anticipate any changes to be required for how enterprises currently manage their fleet and trusted enterprise CAs, such as through group policy, macOS Keychain Access, or system management tools like Puppet.
- SyncXHR policy will no longer be supported on Chrome 93
The AllowSyncXHRInPageDismissal enterprise policy will be removed in Chrome 93. For any apps that rely on the legacy web platform behavior, be sure to update them before Chrome 93. This change was previously planned for Chrome 88, but delayed to provide more time for enterprises to update legacy applications.
- Old policies with non-inclusive names will be removed in Chrome 95
Chrome 86 through Chrome 90 introduced new policies to replace policies with less inclusive names (e.g. whitelist, blacklist). In order to minimize disruption for existing managed users, both the old and the new policies currently work. This transition time is to ensure it's easy for you to move to and test the new policies in Chrome.
This transition period will end in Chrome 95. A full list of the policies to be removed will be provided closer to the removal date. If you're managing Chrome via the Google Admin Console (for example, Chrome Browser Cloud Management), no action is required; the Google Admin Console will manage the transition automatically.
Upcoming Chrome OS changes
- Deprecation of AMR and GSM audio codecs in Chrome OS 90
AMR-NB, AMR-WB, and GSM audio codecs will be deprecated as part of this release. Affected users should file bugs here and may temporarily rollback this change via the use of chrome://flags/#deprecate-low-usage-codecs. Users with long-term need for these codecs may use stand-alone applications found in the Google Play Store.
Upcoming Admin Console changes
- Sending Extension Requests for Chrome Browser and Chrome OS
As an admin, you can block users from installing extensions and the Chrome Web Store will now have a Request button so that you can see their requests from within the Admin Console and take an action to allow or to block the extensions.
- Sending Remote Commands for Chrome Desktop
As an admin, you can use your Google Admin console to remotely send actions to managed Chrome Desktop Browsers (Win/Mac/Linux). For example, you will be able to delete browser cache or cookies remotely.
Chrome Browser updates
- Chrome will warn about mixed content forms
Web forms that load using HTTPS but submit their content using HTTP (unsecured) pose potential risk to user privacy. Chrome 85 and above shows a warning on such forms, letting the user know that the form is insecure. Chrome 88 will show an interstitial warning when the form is submitted, which stops any data transmission, so the user will be able to choose whether to proceed or cancel the submission. This was previously rolled out in Chrome 87 but was rolled back due to the way it interacted with redirects. It is being rolled out again in Chrome 88, but will only show warnings for forms that either submit directly to an http:// URL, or when a redirect to an http:// happens and the form data is exposed across the redirect. For example, 307 or 308 code redirects for POST method forms.
You will be able to control this behavior using the InsecureFormsWarningsEnabled enterprise policy. To test this behavior before the rollout, use the Mixed Forms Interstitial Chrome flag.
- Improved resource consumption for background tabs
To save on CPU load and prolong battery life, Chrome will limit the power consumption of background tabs. Specifically, Chrome will allow the timers in the background tabs to only run once per minute. Network event handlers are not affected, which allows sites like Gmail or Slack® to continue delivering timely notifications in the background. Some users saw this feature in Chrome 87. It's now available to all users in Chrome 88.
You will be able to control this behavior using the IntensiveWakeUpThrottlingEnabled policy.
- Insecure downloads are blocked from secure pages, with changes through Chrome 88
In Chrome 88 on Windows®, Mac®, and Linux®, downloads from insecure sources will no longer be allowed when started from secure pages. This change has been rolled out gradually, with different file types affected in different releases:
- Executables—Users were warned in Chrome 84, and files were blocked in Chrome 85.
- Archives—Users were warned in the Chrome developer console in Chrome 85, and files were blocked in Chrome 86.
- Other non-safe types, for example, PDFs—Users were warned in the Chrome developer console in Chrome 86, and files were blocked in Chrome 87.
- Other files—Users were warned in the Chrome developer console in Chrome 87, and files will be blocked in Chrome 88.
Warnings on Android will lag behind desktop warnings by one release. For example, executables showed a warning starting in Chrome 85.
The existing InsecureContentAllowedForUrls policy can be used to allow specific URLs to download insecure files. You can read more details in our blog post.
- The new tab page allows users to complete previously started workflows
The Chrome new tab page will show cards to help users return to searches and workflows that were already in progress, like searching for recipes or price comparisons. Users are able to control and remove these cards.
These cards appeared for some users in Chrome 87, and are now included in Chrome 88. You can control these cards using the NTPCardsVisible policy.
- Chrome introduces profiles for separating users or accounts
Some users will be given the option to create a new Chrome profile and move their account over when they sign in to a profile where another account is already signed in. This allows different users to keep bookmarks, history, and settings separate. If a user signs in with an account that is already signed in to another profile, they’re offered to switch. Some users who have multiple profiles set up will see a profile picker on startup.
You can control whether Chrome offers to create or switch profiles with the SigninInterceptionEnabled enterprise policy. In Chrome 89, you'll also be able to control the startup behavior for the profile picker with the ProfilePickerOnStartupAvailability enterprise policy.
A wider release to more users is planned for a later release - Certain features are available to users who have signed in without having to enable Chrome Sync
Some users who have signed into Chrome might be able to access and save payment methods and passwords stored in their Google Account without Chrome Sync being enabled.
On Chrome on Android, you can control a user's access to payment methods using the AutofillCreditCardEnabled enterprise policy. You can control access to passwords on Chrome on desktop by either setting the SyncDisabled enterprise policy to disabled, or by including "passwords" in SyncTypesListDisabled.
- DTLS 1.0 has been removed
DTLS 1.0, a protocol used in WebRTC for interactive audio and video, has been removed by default. Any applications that depend on DTLS 1.0 (most likely gateways to other teleconferencing systems) should update to a more recent protocol. You can test if any of your applications will be impacted by using the following command line flag when launching Chrome:
--force-fieldtrials=WebRTC-LegacyTlsProtocols/Disabled/
If your enterprise needs additional time to adjust, the WebRtcAllowLegacyTLSProtocols enterprise policy will be made available to temporarily extend the removal.
- Chrome supports manifest v3
Chrome 88 supports extensions written in the new Manifest V3 format. Manifest V3 is a new platform that makes extensions more secure, performant, and privacy-respecting by default. There is no breaking change at this time; extensions using Manifest v2 will continue to function normally in Chrome 88.
- Chrome is launching an origin trial for detecting idle state
An early origin trial allows websites to request the ability to query if users are idle, allowing messaging apps to direct notifications to the best device.
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Single words are no longer being treated as intranet locations by default
By default, Chrome improves user privacy and reduces load on DNS servers by avoiding DNS lookups for single keywords entered into the address bar. This change may interfere with enterprises that use single-word domains in their intranet. For example, a user typing "helpdesk" will no longer be directed to "https://helpdesk/".
You can control the behavior of Chrome using the IntranetRedirectBehavior enterprise policy, including preserving the existing behavior (value 3: Allow DNS interception checks and did-you-mean "http://intranetsite/" infobars.).
- Chrome introduces a new permission chip UI
Permission requests can feel disruptive and intrusive when they lack context – which often happens when prompts appear as soon as a page loads or without prior priming. This leads to a common reaction where end users dismiss the prompt in order to avoid making a decision.
Chrome now shows a less intrusive permissions chip in the address bar. Since the prompt doesn't intrude in the content area, users who don't want to grant the permission no longer need to actively dismiss the prompt. Users who wish to grant permission can click on the chip to bring up the permission prompt.
This change will be rolled out gradually throughout Chrome 88.
- The Legacy Browser Support extension has been removed from the Chrome Web Store
Legacy Browser Support (LBS) is built into Chrome, and the old extension is no longer needed. The Chrome team unpublished LBS from the Chrome Web Store in Chrome 85, and it is disabled in Chrome 88. Legacy Browser Support will still be supported, please migrate away from the extension and towards using Chrome's built-in policies, documented here. The old policies set through the extension will no longer function, and you won't be able to force install the extension once it's been disabled.
- Factor in scheme when determining if a request is cross-site (Schemeful Same-Site)
Chrome 88 modifies the definition of same-site for cookies such that requests on the same registrable domain but across schemes will be considered cross-site instead of same-site. For example, http://site.example and https://site.example will be considered cross-site to each other which will restrict cookies using SameSite. For additional information please see the Schemeful Same-Site explainer. We recommend testing critical sites using the testing instructions.
You may revert to the previous, legacy behavior, by using the LegacySameSiteCookieBehaviorEnabledForDomainList and LegacySameSiteCookieBehaviorEnabled policies. These policies will be available at least until Chrome 93, with the domain list planned to be available longer. For more details, including availability, please see Cookie Legacy SameSite Policies.
- Chrome 88 on Mac does not support OS X 10.10 (Yosemite)
Chrome 88 does not support OS X 10.10 (OS X Yosemite). Chrome on Mac requires OS X 10.11 or later.
- Popup on page unload policy is no longer supported on Chrome 88
The AllowPopupsDuringPageUnload enterprise policies have been removed in Chrome 88, as previously communicated. For any apps that rely on the legacy web platform behavior, be sure to update them immediately.
- Chrome treats an empty string as an unset policy on Android for some policies in Chrome 88
To integrate better with mobile management UEMs, Chrome on Android will not set list or dictionary policies from empty strings.
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The BasicAuthOverHttpEnabled policy allows you to disable authentication over HTTP
You can set the new BasicAuthOverHttpEnabled policy to disabled to disallow non-secure HTTP requests from using the Basic authentication scheme. If you do, only secure HTTPS will be allowed.
- The Chrome Cleanup Tool can reset Chrome shortcuts
When users run the Chrome Cleanup Tool, it will modify command line flags within Chrome shortcuts. This helps users restore Chrome to a safe state if malware has inserted malicious command line flags into the shortcut.
You can control the Chrome Cleanup Tool using the ChromeCleanupEnabled policy, which will prevent this behavior.
- Notifications will be suspended while presenting
While Chrome is sharing a screen, web-notifications from Chrome will not show their content by default. They will be presented to the user after the screen sharing session ends or by manually revealing them via a notification action. Note that sharing a single window or tab does not affect the delivery of notifications from Chrome.
- The microphone is visible beside the address bar for some users on Android
The microphone button is visible in the top UI bar of Chrome for some users on Android. Users can to ask the Google Assistant to read the current page, or translate it to another language.
When users interact with the microphone button, the URL of the current page is shared with Google. You can control this feature using the AudioCaptureAllowed policy.
- Cloud Print is no longer supported
The Google Cloud Print service is no longer supported on any Operating Systems.
Chrome OS admins can select a print solution provider or migrate to the Chrome OS local and network printer solution. Admins of Windows®, Mac®, and Linux® operating systems can use the respective OS print workflow or engage with a print solution provider. Learn more about Cloud Print migration.
- Save to Drive is no longer supported
Saving to Google Drive is no longer available from the Chrome print dialog on Mac®, Windows®, Linux® devices. Users can instead install the Save to Drive Chrome extension which has been updated to include this feature or print locally to PDF then upload the file to Google Drive through drive.google.com and select New > File upload. You can also set up automatic syncing between local files and Google Drive with Backup and Sync or Drive File Stream. More details on printing from Chrome are available here.
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FTP support has been removed
Chrome 88 has removed support for FTP URLs. The legacy FTP implementation in Chrome no longer supports encrypted connections (FTPS), or proxies. Usage of FTP is very low, and more capable FTP clients are available on all affected platforms.
More information is available here.
Chrome OS updates
- WebAuthn using Fingerprint & PIN
Tired of typing long passwords? Chrome OS now lets you sign in to supported websites without having to type your passwords for that website, if you have set up a PIN or fingerprint on your Chromebook. This feature, called Web Authentication, makes use of established protocols to make authentication into website simpler and more secure. Your Chromebook PIN/fingerprint are never shared with the websites requesting verification from your Chromebook and you don't have to worry about malicious attackers phishing for your passwords to websites. If your organization has U2F enabled, the Webauthn feature will not work; U2F will be supported in a future release.
- Autocorrect UI improvements
For users with autocorrect enabled, we have improved the user interface with visual indications that autocorrects have happened, as well as new ways to undo them.
- Magnifier Focus Following and Keyboard Support
Chrome OS Magnifier can now be panned using the keyboard. Use Ctrl + Alt and the arrow key to pan the viewport.
- Text app Screen Reader mode
Text app now has a screen reader mode to support Chromevox users.
- Improved switching between virtual desks
Switching between virtual desks with the keyboard and touchpad is now faster and more responsive. You can double or triple tap the <Search> + [ or <Search> + ] shortcut to move between multiple desks.
- Reverse Scrolling + Touchpad gesture consistency
Touchpad gestures are now more consistent with your preference for Reverse Scrolling.
- Chrome OS Camera now saves to a new location
Photos and videos captured with the Chrome OS Camera app will now get saved to a new Camera folder under My files. Any previously captured photos/videos will remain in your Downloads folder.
Admin console updates
- API for remote commands
The Admin SDK Directory API now supports issuing remote commands to devices, including wipe users, remote powerwash, remote reboot (kiosk only), screenshot (kiosk only), and set volume (kiosk only). See the developer documentation for details.
- Filter Chrome devices by version
The Chrome device list now supports filtering by Chrome version. Now you can quickly check which devices are up to date or out of date.
- Bookmark Management improvements
Admin Console has a new and improved bookmarks manager. Enterprise admins can more easily create, delete, and move around hundreds or even thousands of bookmarks. Details on the feature are described in the help center article.
- New summary report for Chrome versions
Admin Console has a new version report that shows the number of managed browsers and devices on each Chrome version. Details on the feature are described in the help center article.
- Group-based policy for printer management
Group-based management is now available for printers. From the printers page, select a group, and then configure which printers are available to users in that group.
- Kerberos credential manager
As an admin, you can now enable Kerberos tickets on Chrome devices to enable single sign-on (SSO) for internal resources that support Kerberos authentication. Internal resources might include websites, file shares, certificates, and so on. Details on the feature are described in the help center article.
Additional policies in the Admin console
Many new policies are available in the Admin console, including:
| Policy name | Pages | Category/Field |
| AbusiveExperienceInterventionEnforce |
User & Browser Settings |
Chrome Safe Browsing / Abusive Experience Intervention |
| AccessibilityImageLabelsEnabled | User & Browser Settings Managed Guest Session Settings |
Accessibility / Image descriptions |
| AdsSettingForIntrusiveAdsSites | User & Browser Settings Managed Guest Session Settings |
Chrome Safe Browsing / Sites with intrusive ads |
| AdvancedProtectionAllowed | User & Browser Settings | Security / Advanced Protection program |
| AuthAndroidNegotiateAccountType | User & Browser Settings | Network / Account type for HTTP Negotiate authentication / Account type |
| AutoOpenAllowedForURLs | User & Browser Settings Managed Guest Session Settings |
Content / Auto open downloaded files / Auto open URLs |
| AutoOpenFileTypes | User & Browser Settings Managed Guest Session Settings |
Content / Auto open downloaded files / Auto open files types |
| BackForwardCacheEnabled | User & Browser Settings | Content / Back-forward cache |
| BrowserNetworkTimeQueriesEnabled | User & Browser Settings | Other settings / Google time service |
| CACertificateManagementAllowed | User & Browser Settings | Security / User management of installed CA certificates |
| ClientCertificateManagementAllowed | User & Browser Settings | Security / User management of installed client certificates. |
| CommandLineFlagSecurity WarningsEnabled |
User & Browser Settings | Security / Command-line flags |
| ContextualSearchEnabled | User & Browser Settings | User experience / Touch to search |
| DefaultFileSystemReadGuardSetting | User & Browser Settings Managed Guest Session Settings |
Hardware / File system read access |
| DefaultFileSystemWriteGuardSetting | User & Browser Settings Managed Guest Session Settings |
Hardware / File system write access |
| DefaultSerialGuardSetting | User & Browser Settings Managed Guest Session Settings |
Hardware / Serial Port API / Control use of the Serial Port API |
| DefaultWebUsbGuardSetting | User & Browser Settings Managed Guest Session Settings |
Hardware / WebUSB API / Can web sites ask for access to connected USB devices |
| DeviceAllowRedeemChromeOs RegistrationOffers |
Device Settings | Other settings / Redeem offers through Chrome OS registration |
| DeviceQuirksDownloadEnabled | Device Settings | Other settings / Hardware profiles |
| DeviceShowLowDiskSpaceNotification | Device Settings | Other settings / Low disk space notification |
| DeviceWebBasedAttestation AllowedUrls |
Device Settings | Sign-in settings / Single sign-on verified access / Allowed IdP redirect URLs |
| DNSInterceptionChecksEnabled | User & Browser Settings Managed Guest Session Settings |
Network / DNS interception checks enabled |
| ExtensionCacheSize | Device Settings | Other settings / Apps and extensions cache size / Cache size in bytes |
| ExternalProtocolDialogShow AlwaysOpenCheckbox |
User & Browser Settings | Content / Show "Always open" checkbox in external protocol dialog |
| FileSystemReadAskForUrls | User & Browser Settings Managed Guest Session Settings |
Hardware / File system read access / Allow file system read access on these sites |
| FileSystemReadBlockedForUrls | User & Browser Settings Managed Guest Session Settings |
Hardware / File system read access / Block read access on these sites |
| FileSystemWriteAskForUrls | User & Browser Settings Managed Guest Session Settings |
Hardware / File system write access / Allow write access to files and directories on these sites |
| FileSystemWriteBlockedForUrls | User & Browser Settings Managed Guest Session Settings |
Hardware / File system write access / Block write access to files and directories on these sites |
| GloballyScopeHTTPAuthCacheEnabled | User & Browser Settings Managed Guest Session Settings |
Network / Globally scoped HTTP authentication cache |
| GSSAPILibraryName | User & Browser Settings | Network / GSSAPI library name / Library name or full path |
| HSTSPolicyBypassList | User & Browser Settings Managed Guest Session Settings |
Network / HSTS policy bypass list / List of hostnames that will bypass the HSTS policy check |
| InsecureFormsWarningsEnabled | User & Browser Settings Managed Guest Session Settings |
Content / Insecure forms |
| KerberosAccounts | User & Browser Settings | Kerberos / Kerberos tickets |
| KerberosEnabled | User & Browser Settings | Kerberos / Kerberos tickets |
| LookalikeWarningAllowlistDomains | User & Browser Settings Managed Guest Session Settings |
Chrome Safe Browsing / Suppress lookalike domain warnings on domains / Allowlisted Domains |
| MaxConnectionsPerProxy | User & Browser Settings | Network / Max connections per proxy / Maximum number of concurrent connections to the proxy server |
| MaxInvalidationFetchDelay | User & Browser Settings Managed Guest Session Settings |
Other settings / Policy fetch delay / Maximum fetch delay after a policy invalidation |
| NativeMessagingAllowlist | User & Browser Settings | User experience / Native Messaging allowed hosts / Native Messaging hosts not subject to the blocklist |
| NativeMessagingBlocklist | User & Browser Settings | User experience / Native Messaging blocked hosts / Prohibited Native Messaging hosts |
| NativeMessagingUserLevelHosts | User & Browser Settings | User experience / Native Messaging user-level hosts |
| NtlmV2Enabled | User & Browser Settings | Network / NTLMv2 authentication |
| OverrideSecurityRestrictions OnInsecureOrigin |
User & Browser Settings Managed Guest Session Settings |
Security / Override insecure origin restrictions / Origin or hostname patterns to ignore insecure origins security restrictions |
| PaymentMethodQueryEnabled | User & Browser Settings Managed Guest Session Settings |
User experience / Payment methods |
| PrinterTypeDenyList | User & Browser Settings Managed Guest Session Settings |
Printing / Blocked printer types |
| PrintRasterizationMode | User & Browser Settings | Printing / Print rasterization mode |
| RequireOnlineRevocationChecks ForLocalAnchors |
User & Browser Settings Managed Guest Session Settings |
Network / Require online OCSP/CRL checks for local trust anchors |
|
SafeBrowsingForTrusted |
User & Browser Settings | Chrome Safe Browsing / Safe Browsing for trusted sources |
| ShowAppsShortcutInBookmarkBar | User & Browser Settings | User experience / Apps shortcut in the bookmark bar |
| SignedHTTPExchangeEnabled | User & Browser Settings Managed Guest Session Settings |
Network / Signed HTTP Exchange (SXG) support |
| SpellcheckEnabled | User & Browser Settings Managed Guest Session Settings |
User experience / Spell check |
| SuppressUnsupportedOSWarning | User & Browser Settings Managed Guest Session Settings |
Security / Unsupported system warning |
| UserFeedbackAllowed | User & Browser Settings Managed Guest Session Settings |
User experience / Allow user feedback |
| WebRtcLocalIpsAllowedUrls | User & Browser Settings | Network / WebRTC ICE candidate URLs for local IPs / URLs for which local IPs are exposed in WebRTC ICE candidates. |
| WebUsbAskForUrls | User & Browser Settings Managed Guest Session Settings |
Hardware / WebUSB API / Allow these sites to ask for USB access |
| WebUsbBlockedForUrls | User & Browser Settings Managed Guest Session Settings |
Hardware / WebUSB API / Block these sites from asking for USB access |
| WPADQuickCheckEnabled | User & Browser Settings Managed Guest Session Settings |
Network / WPAD optimization |
New and updated policies (Chrome Browser and Chrome OS)
| Policy | Description |
| BasicAuthOverHttpEnabled | Non-secure HTTP connections are not permitted to use Basic authentication; HTTPS is required |
| NTPCardsVisible | Show cards on the New Tab Page |
|
ProfilePickerOnStartupAvailability |
Specifies whether the profile picker is enabled, disabled or forced at the browser startup |
|
SigninInterceptionEnabled |
This settings enables or disables sign in interception |
| TargetBlankImpliesNoOpener | Do not set window.opener for links targeting _blank |
Coming soon
Note: The items listed below are experimental or planned updates. They might change, be delayed, or canceled before launching to the Stable channel.
Upcoming Chrome Browser changes
- Facilitated version pinning for self-hosted extensions & apps in Chrome 89
To increase the stability in high-reliability environments, Chrome 89 facilitates the pinning of extensions and apps to a specific version. Administrators will be able to self-host the extension or app of their choice, and instruct Chrome to use the update URL from the extension forcelist instead of the extension manifest. This will be via a new boolean parameter in ExtensionSettings policy. As a result, extensions & apps will not be updated via the updateURL that was originally configured in their manifest, and will stay on one specific version.
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Users will be able to search open tabs in Chrome 89
Users will be able to search for open tabs across windows, as shown in this screenshot:
- Chrome 89 will introduce privacy-preserving APIs to replace some of the functionality of third-party cookies
An interest-based targeting API will be introduced as an origin trial. This API allows working with cohorts—groups of users with similar interests. Users cannot be individually identified.
An event-level conversion API will continue in origin-trial stage for Chrome 89 This API enables the correlation of an ad click on a website with a subsequent conversion on an advertiser site, such as a sale, a sign-up, and so on. Users cannot be individually identified.
See the chromium privacy sandbox page for details on these APIs and the privacy sandbox.
- Some permission requests will be less intrusive in Chrome 89
Permission requests that the user is unlikely to allow will be automatically blocked. A less intrusive UI will allow the user to manage permissions for each site.
- Chrome 89 will require SSE3 for Chrome on x86
Chrome 89 and above will require x86 processors with SSE3 support. This change does not impact devices with non-x86 (ARM) processors. Chrome will not install and run on x86 processors that do not support SSE3. SSE3 was introduced on Intel CPUs in 2003, and on AMD CPUs in 2005.
- Chrome 89 will prefer https to http when not specified in the address bar
When a user types an address into the address bar without specifying the protocol, Chrome will attempt to navigate using https first, then fallback to http if https is not available. For example, if the user navigates to google.com, Chrome will first attempt to navigate to https://google.com, then fallback to http://google.com if required.
This change is planned for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android in Chrome 89, and in Chrome 90 for iOS.
- Chrome 89 will introduce the Serial API
The Serial API provides a way for websites to read and write from a serial device through script. You can read an explainer on the Serial API here.
You will be able to control access to the Serial API using the DefaultSerialGuardSetting policy. You can also use the SerialAskForUrls and SerialBlockedForUrls policies to control serial device access on a site-by-site basis.
- Insecure public pages will no longer allowed to make requests to private or local URLs in Chrome 91
Insecure pages will no longer be able to make requests to IPs belonging to a more private address space (as defined in CORS-RFC1918). For example, http://public.page.example.com will not be able to make requests targeting IP 192.168.0.1 or IP 127.0.0.1. You will be able to control this behavior using the InsecurePrivateNetworkRequestsAllowed and InsecurePrivateNetworkRequestsAllowedForUrls enterprise policies.
- Chrome will maintain its own default root store as early as Chrome 92
In order to improve user security, and provide a consistent experience across different platforms, Chrome intends to maintain its own default root store. If you are an enterprise admin managing your own certificate authority, you should not have to manage multiple root stores. We do not anticipate any changes to be required for how enterprises currently manage their fleet and trusted enterprise CAs, such as through group policy, macOS Keychain Access, or system management tools like Puppet.
- The address bar might show the domain rather than the full URL as early as Chrome 90
To protect your users from some common phishing strategies, Chrome will test showing only the domain in the address bar for some users. This change makes it more difficult for malicious actors to trick users with misleading URLs. For example, https://example.com/secure-google-sign-in/ will appear only as example.com to the user.
Although this change is designed to keep your users’ credentials safe, you can revert to the old behavior through the ShowFullUrlsInAddressBar policy.
This change has been enabled for some users, with a potential full rollout in a later release.
- The SSLVersionMin policy will not allow TLS 1.0 or TLS 1.1 in Chrome 91
The SSLVersionMin enterprise policy allows you to bypass Chrome's interstitial warnings for legacy versions of TLS. This will be possible until Chrome 91 (May 2021), then the policy will no longer allow TLS 1.0 or TLS 1.1 to be set as the minimum.
We previously communicated that this would happen as early as January 2021, but the deadline has since been extended.
- SyncXHR policy will no longer be supported on Chrome 93
The AllowSyncXHRInPageDismissal enterprise policy will be removed in Chrome 93. For any apps that rely on the legacy web platform behavior, be sure to update them before Chrome 93. This change was previously planned for Chrome 88, but delayed to provide more time for enterprises to update legacy applications.
Important: Adobe will no longer update and distribute Flash Player after December 31, 2020. Therefore, after this date, all versions of Chrome will stop supporting Flash content. Pinning to or keeping an earlier version of Chrome through any other mechanism, will not prevent this change.
You can read more about Adobe's plans to discontinue Flash player and your options in Adobe's blog post. Adobe is working with HARMAN, their exclusive licensing/distribution partner, to provide support for Flash Player in legacy browsers.
Chrome is designed to meet the needs of Chrome Enterprise customers, including integration with legacy web content. Companies that need to use a legacy browser to run Flash content after December 31, 2020 should use a HARMAN solution with Legacy Browser Support.
With Flash removed, Chrome 88 will no longer support these policies: DefaultPluginsSetting, PluginsAllowedForUrls, PluginsBlockedForUrls, AllowOutdatedPlugins, DisabledPlugins, DisabledPluginsExceptions, EnabledPlugins.
Chrome Browser updates
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Google Cloud Print will no longer be supported after December 31, 2020
As of January 1, 2021 Google Cloud Print will no longer be supported on Chrome. You can continue to use the Windows®, Mac®, and Linux® operating system print solutions or engage with a print solution provider. Chrome OS admins can select a print solution provider or migrate to the Chrome OS local and network printer solution. Learn more about Cloud Print migration. -
Saving to Google Drive will no longer be available from the print dialog after December 31, 2020
Mac®, Windows®, Linux® devices and Chrome Browser will no longer be able to save directly to Google Drive from the print dialog, starting on January 1, 2021. Users can instead print locally to PDF then upload the file to Google Drive through drive.google.com and select New
File upload. You can also set up automatic syncing between local files and Google Drive with Backup and Sync or Drive File Stream. More details on printing from Chrome are available here.
Chrome OS has a new way of saving to Google Drive. See the Chrome OS section below for more information.
- Legacy Browser Support might be affected by IE + Edge redirection
Starting in November, Microsoft Edge® might enable automatic redirection from Internet Explorer to Microsoft Edge® for specific URLs. If you're using Legacy Browser Support, this might interfere with your existing setup. You can disable the redirection by setting the Microsoft Edge® policy RedirectSitesFromInternetExplorerRedirectMode to 0.
- Improved resource consumption for background tabs
To save on CPU load and prolong battery life, Chrome limits the power consumption of background tabs. Specifically, Chrome allows the timers in the background tabs to only run once per minute. Network event handlers are not affected, which allows sites like Gmail or Slack® to continue delivering timely notifications in the background. Some users will see this feature in Chrome 87, with a wider release planned for Chrome 88.
You will be able to control this behavior using the IntensiveWakeUpThrottlingEnabled policy.
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Updated PDF viewer
Chrome has updated PDF viewer to include toolbar updates, table of contents, thumbnails, two-up view, and the ability to view annotations.
- Users can sign into the browser when they sign into Google web services
When users sign into a Google web service while using an Android device, Chrome offers for them to sign in with the Google account already signed in on the device. Signing into Chrome doesn’t turn on sync; that’s a separate, optional step.
This simplifies Android sign-in, makes the feature more consistent with Chrome on desktop, and provides signed-in users access to features without sync enabled. For example, click-to-call.
You can control this feature with the BrowserSignin enterprise policy.
- Certain features are available to users who have signed in without having to enable Chrome Sync
Users who have signed into Chrome might be able to access and save payment methods and passwords stored in their Google Account without Chrome Sync being enabled.
You can control users' access to payment methods on Chrome on Android using the AutofillCreditCardEnabled enterprise policy. You can control access to passwords on Chrome on desktop by either setting the SyncDisabled enterprise policy to disabled, or by including "passwords" in SyncTypesListDisabled.
- Enhanced Safe Browsing
Users will be prompted to consider enabling Enhanced Safe Browsing in Chrome, which provides better protection against phishing attacks. These prompts will show up on security warning interstitials and the new tab page, but only if you are not setting either of the SafeBrowsingProtectionLevel or SafeBrowsingEnabled policies. If one of these policies is set, your users can't change the setting and will not see any prompts to do so.
- The new tab page allows users to complete previously started workflows
The Chrome new tab page will show cards to help users return to searches and workflows that were already in progress, like searching for recipes or price comparisons. Users are able to control and remove these cards.
They appear for some users in Chrome 87, but a wider rollout, by way of policy, is planned for a later release.
- Chrome warns about mixed content forms
Web forms that load using HTTPS but submit their content using HTTP (unsecured) pose potential risk to user privacy. Chrome 85 shows a warning on such forms, letting the user know that the form is insecure. Chrome 87 shows an interstitial warning when the form is submitted, which stops any data transmission, so the user will be able to choose whether to proceed or cancel the submission. This was previously planned for Chrome 86 but the rollout was delayed and is now available in Chrome 87.
You will be able to control this behavior using the InsecureFormsWarningsEnabled enterprise policy.
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Insecure downloads are blocked from secure pages, with changes through Chrome 88
By Chrome 88, downloads from insecure sources will no longer be allowed when started from secure pages. This change will be rolled out gradually, with different file types affected in different releases:
- Executables—Users were warned in Chrome 84, and files will be blocked in Chrome 85.
- Archives —Users will be warned in the Chrome developer console in Chrome 85, and files will be blocked in Chrome 86.
- Other non-safe types (For example, PDFs)—Users will be warned in the Chrome developer console in Chrome 86, and files will be blocked in Chrome 87.
- Other files—Users will be warned in the Chrome developer console in Chrome 87, and files will be blocked in Chrome 88.
Warnings on Android will lag behind computer warnings by one release. For example, executables showed a warning starting in Chrome 85.
The existing InsecureContentAllowedForUrls policy can be used to allow specific URLs to download insecure files. You can read more details in our blog post.
- Introducing more inclusive policy names
Chrome is moving to more inclusive policy names. The terms "whitelist" and "blacklist" have been replaced with "allowlist" and "blocklist". If you're already using the existing policies, they will continue to work, though you will see warnings in chrome://policy stating that they're deprecated.
The following policies have been deprecated, and equivalent policies are now available in Chrome 87 and 88. The deprecated policies will continue to work, and there is not yet any removal date planned. Future plans to remove the policies will be published in the enterprise release notes once confirmed.
Deprecated Policy Name New Policy Name Version DeviceNativePrintersBlacklist DevicePrintersBlocklist 87 DeviceNativePrintersWhitelist DevicePrintersAllowlist 87 DeviceNativePrintersAccessMode DevicePrintersAccessMode 87 DeviceNativePrinters DevicePrinters 87 UsbDetachableWhitelist UsbDetachableAllowlist 87 QuickUnlockModeWhitelist QuickUnlockModeAllowlist 87 AttestationExtensionWhitelist AttestationExtensionAllowlist 87 DeviceUserWhitelist DeviceUserAllowlist 87 PrintingAPIExtensionsWhitelist PrintingAPIExtensionsAllowlist 87 AllowNativeNotifications AllowSystemNotifications 88 - Chrome Actions allow the user to accomplish tasks directly from the address bar
Some Chrome users will be able take actions directly from the address bar, like clearing browsing data, using a button that appears among auto-complete suggestions. A wider rollout is planned for a later release.
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Chrome will support remote commands from Chrome Browser Cloud Management in the future
Admins using Chrome Browser Cloud Management will soon be able to issue remote commands to enrolled Chrome Browsers, for example remotely clearing cache and cookies. Although the functionality will come to the Admin console in the future, support for this set of features will be added in Chrome 87.
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The CORB/CORS allowlist has been removed
Chrome has removed the CORB/CORS allowlist in Chrome 87. Please test Chrome extensions that your business depends on to make sure they work with the new behavior.
Please test Chrome 87.0.4266.0 or later versions of Chrome and run through critical workflows using your extension. Watch for fetches or XHRs that are initiated by content scripts and blocked by CORB or CORS. Some typical error messages are shown below:
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Cross-Origin Read Blocking (CORB) blocked cross-origin response <URL> with MIME type <type>. See https://www.chromestatus.com/feature/5629709824032768 for more details.
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Access to fetch at 'https://another-site.com/' from origin 'https://example.com' has been blocked by CORS policy: No 'Access-Control-Allow-Origin' header is present on the requested resource. If an opaque response serves your needs, set the request's mode to 'no-cors' to fetch the resource with CORS disabled.
If the extension's content scripts create requests that don’t work when Chrome is launched with the chrome://flags listed above, then make sure you keep the extension updated so that it continues to work in Chrome 87 and above. In particular, the extensions must be updated to initiate cross-origin fetches from the extension background page (instead of from a content script).
For more details see: https://www.chromium.org/Home/chromium-security/extension-content-script-fetches
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The Chrome Web Store displays more privacy-focused information for extension
The Chrome Web Store provides more information to users about how an extension uses their data, including authentication information, personally identifiable information, and user activity.
Developers are required to provide privacy disclosures regarding their data collection and usage. This is mandatory for every update and publishing of extensions.
Chrome OS updates
- Devices have a new way of saving to Google Drive
The Save to Drive feature has been expanded upon, users can now rename the file or save the file to a specified Google Drive folder location.
- Switch Access
For users with motor impairments who are unable to use a traditional mouse or keyboard, Switch Access lets you interact with your Chrome OS Device using one or more switches. Switch Access works by scanning the items on your screen until you make a selection. Ablenet, one of the top producers of switch devices, is now in our Works with Chromebooks program, as well.
- Tab Search
Tab Search lets users search through their open tabs across all windows. This feature is currently available in Chrome OS 87 and will be available for Mac® and Windows® in Chrome OS 88.
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Bluetooth battery levels
Users can now view their connected Bluetooth peripheral battery levels in Settings and Quick Settings.
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Coexistence of Multiple sign-in access and policy-provided custom trust anchors for TLS
Starting in Chrome OS 87, the coexistence of Multiple sign-in access and policy-provided custom trust anchors for TLS is no longer blocked. If trust anchors are configured, they will be applied to the primary user account. As a result, users can switch faster between accounts in managed environments that require trust roots.
- Language settings improvement for multilingual users
Language settings can get extremely confusing if you are bilingual or multilingual. In Chrome OS 87, we have updated the user experience to address the needs of multilingual users.
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More interactive Alt+Tab
When using Alt+Tab to switch between windows, you can now select a window with your mouse, touch screen, or stylus.
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Renaming Virtual Desks & Launcher folders
In Chrome OS 87, you will see visual improvements for the Virtual Desk renaming component. The visual improvements will also apply to folders in the Launcher as they use the same component.
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Zero-touch enrollment
Admins can configure devices to automatically enroll during the device setup process without requiring a user to invoke enterprise enrollment. More details can be found here.
Admin console updates
- Website icons and titles now display in the Admin console and Kiosk devices
In the Admin console, web apps that have been added under Apps & extensions now display the website's icon and title. In Kiosk devices, the website icons and titles are also displayed in the list of Kiosk web apps.
- Restrict access to VPN (openVPN and L2TP)
Admins can now add VPN to the list of Restricted Network Interfaces in the Admin console. This prevents users from connecting to OS-supported VPN options (openVPN and L2TP). Any third-party VPNs will need to be blocked through application management policies.
- Additional policies in the Admin console
Many new policies are available in the Admin console, including:
Policy control Admin console location Description Emoji suggestions User & browser settings This policy enables Google Chrome to suggest emojis when users type text with their virtual or physical keyboards. URLs in the address bar User & browser settings This feature enables display of the full URL in the address bar. Audio sandbox User & browser settings This policy controls the audio process sandbox. Browser guest mode User & browser settings This policy controls guest logins. PIN auto-submit User & browser settings The PIN auto-submit feature changes how PINs are entered in Chrome OS.
Instead of showing the same textfield that is used for password input, this feature shows a special UI that clearly shows to the user how many digits are necessary for their PIN. As a consequence, the user's PIN length will be stored outside the user encrypted data. Only supports PINs that are between 6 and 12 digits long.
Variations Device Settings Configuring this policy allows to specify which variations are allowed to be applied on an enterprise-managed Google Chrome OS device. Single sign-on verified access Device Settings This policy configures which URLs will be granted access to use remote attestation of device identity during the SAML flow on the sign-in screen.
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New and updated policies (Chrome Browser and Chrome OS)
Policy Description MediaRecommendationsEnabled Enable Media Recommendations WebRtcAllowLegacyTLSProtocols Allow legacy TLS/DTLS downgrade in WebRTC
Coming soon
Note: The items listed below are experimental or planned updates. They might change, be delayed, or canceled before launching to the Stable channel.
Upcoming Chrome Browser changes
- Single words will not be treated as intranet locations by default in Chrome 88
By default, Chrome will improve user privacy and reduce load on DNS servers by avoiding DNS lookups for single keywords entered into the address bar. This change might interfere with enterprises that use single-word domains in their intranet. That is, a user typing "helpdesk" will no longer be directed to "https://helpdesk/".
You will be able to control the behavior of Chrome using the IntranetRedirectBehavior enterprise policy, including preserving the existing behavior (which will perform a search immediately and then ask the user if they're trying to reach the intranet site). - Chrome will introduce a new permission chip UI in Chrome 88
Permission requests can feel disruptive and intrusive when they lack context – which often happens when prompts appear as soon as a page loads or without prior priming. This leads to a common reaction where end users dismiss the prompt in order to avoid making a decision.
Chrome will begin showing a less intrusive permissions chip in the address bar. Since the prompt doesn't intrude in the content area, users who don't want to grant the permission no longer need to actively dismiss the prompt. Users who wish to grant permission can click on the chip to bring up the permission prompt.
This change will be rolled out gradually throughout Chrome 88.
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Factor in scheme when determining if a request is cross-site (Schemeful Same-Site) in Chrome 88
Chrome 88 will modify the definition of same-site for cookies such that requests on the same registrable domain but across schemes will be considered cross-site instead of same-site. For example, http://site.example and https://site.example will be considered cross-site to each other which will restrict cookies using Same-Site. For additional information please see the Schemeful Same-Site explainer. We recommend testing critical sites using the testing instructions.
You may revert to the previous legacy behavior by using the LegacySameSiteCookieBehaviorEnabledForDomainList and LegacySameSiteCookieBehaviorEnabled policies. These policies will be available at least until Chrome 93. For more details, including availability, please see Cookie Legacy SameSite Policies.
- Chrome 88 on Mac® will not support OS X 10.10 (Yosemite)
Chrome 88 will not support OS X 10.10 (OS X Yosemite). Chrome on Mac® will require OS X 10.11 or later.
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Popup on page unload policy will no longer be supported on Chrome 88
The AllowPopupsDuringPageUnload enterprise policies will be removed in Chrome 88, as previously communicated. For any apps that rely on the legacy web platform behavior, be sure to update them before Chrome 88.
- The Legacy Browser Support extension will be removed from the Chrome Web Store in Chrome 88
Legacy Browser Support (LBS) is built into Chrome, and the old extension is no longer needed. The Chrome team unpublished LBS from the Chrome Web Store in Chrome 85, and it will be disabled in Chrome 88. Legacy Browser Support will still be supported, please migrate away from the extension and towards using Chrome's built-in policies, documented here. The old policies set through the extension will no longer function, and you won't be able to force install the extension once it's been disabled.
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Chrome will treat an empty string as an unset policy on Android for some policies in Chrome 88
To integrate better with mobile management UEMs, Chrome on Android will not set list or dictionary policies from empty strings.
- Users will be able to search open tabs in Chrome 88
Users will be able to search for open tabs across windows, as shown in this screenshot:
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The address bar will show the domain rather than the full URL in Chrome 88
To protect your users from some common phishing strategies, Chrome will show only the domain in the address bar. This change makes it more difficult for malicious actors to trick users with misleading URLs. For example, https://example.com/secure-google-sign-in/ will appear only as example.com to the user.
Although this change is designed to keep your users’ credentials safe, you can revert to the old behavior through the ShowFullUrlsInAddressBar policy.
This change has been enabled for some users, with a full rollout planned for an upcoming release. -
DTLS 1.0 will be removed in Chrome 88
DTLS 1.0, a protocol used in WebRTC for interactive audio and video, will be removed by default. Any applications that depend on DTLS 1.0 (most likely gateways to other teleconferencing systems) should update to a more recent protocol. You can test if any of your applications will be impacted using the following command line flag when launching Chrome:
--force-fieldtrials=WebRTC-LegacyTlsProtocols/Disabled/If your enterprise needs additional time to adjust, the WebRtcAllowLegacyTLSProtocols enterprise policy will be made available to temporarily extend the removal.
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Chrome 88 will launch an origin trial for detecting idle state
An early origin trial will allow websites to request the ability to query if users are idle, allowing messaging apps to direct notifications to the best device.
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Chrome 89 will require SSE3 for Chrome on x86
Chrome 89 and above will require x86 processors with SSE3 support. This change does not impact devices with non-x86 (ARM) processors. Chrome will not install and run on x86 processors that do not support SSE3. SSE3 was introduced on Intel CPUs in 2003, and on AMD CPUs in 2005.
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Insecure public pages no longer allowed to make requests to private or local URLs in Chrome 89
Insecure pages will no longer be able to make requests to IPs belonging to a more private address space (as defined in CORS-RFC1918). For example, http://public.page.example.com will not be able to make requests targeting IP 192.168.0.1 or IP 127.0.0.1. You will be able to control this behavior using the InsecurePrivateNetworkRequestsAllowed and InsecurePrivateNetworkRequestsAllowedForUrls enterprise policies.
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The SSLVersionMin policy will not allow TLS 1.0 or TLS 1.1 in Chrome 91
The SSLVersionMin enterprise policy allows you to bypass Chrome's interstitial warnings for legacy versions of TLS. This will be possible until Chrome 91 (May 2021), then the policy will no longer allow TLS 1.0 or TLS 1.1 to be set as the minimum.
We previously communicated that this would happen as early as January 2021, but the deadline has since been extended.
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Chrome will maintain its own default root store as early as Chrome 90
In order to improve user security, and provide a consistent experience across different platforms, Chrome intends to maintain its own default root store. If you are an enterprise admin managing your own certificate authority, you should not have to manage multiple root stores. We do not anticipate any changes to be required for how enterprises currently manage their fleet and trusted enterprise CAs, such as through group policy, macOS Keychain Access, or system management tools like Puppet.
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SyncXHR policy will no longer be supported on Chrome 93
The AllowSyncXHRInPageDismissal enterprise policy will be removed in Chrome 93. For any apps that rely on the legacy web platform behavior, be sure to update them before Chrome 93. This change was previously planned for Chrome 88, but delayed to provide more time for enterprises to update legacy applications.
Upcoming Admin console changes
- New Version Report and Update Controls
There will be a new Version Report and Update Controls available in the Admin console. These features give increased visibility into the Chrome versions deployed in your enterprise and allows you to more granularly control how managed Chrome browsers update. If you would like to sign up to be a Trusted Tester for these features, enter your test domain and a contact email into this form.
Important: Adobe will no longer update and distribute Flash Player after December 31, 2020. Therefore, after this date, all versions of Chrome will stop supporting Flash content. You can read more about Adobe's plans to discontinue Flash player and your options in Adobe's blog post. Adobe is working with HARMAN, their exclusive licensing/distribution partner, to provide support for Flash Player in legacy browsers.
Chrome Browser updates
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Insecure downloads will be blocked from secure pages in Chrome 84 through Chrome 88
By Chrome 88, downloads from insecure sources will no longer be allowed when started from secure pages. This change will be rolled out gradually, with different file types affected in different releases:
- Executables—Users were warned in Chrome 84, and files will be blocked in Chrome 85.
- Archives —Users will be warned in the Chrome developer console in Chrome 85, and files will be blocked in Chrome 86.
- Other non-safe types (For example, PDFs)—Users will be warned in the Chrome developer console in Chrome 86, and files will be blocked in Chrome 87.
- Other files—Users will be warned in the Chrome developer console in Chrome 87, and files will be blocked in Chrome 88.
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Other files—Users will be warned in the Chrome developer console in Chrome 87, and files will be blocked in Chrome 88.
Warnings on Android will lag behind computer warnings by one release. For example, executables will show a warning starting in Chrome 85.
The existing InsecureContentAllowedForUrls policy can be used to allow specific URLs to download insecure files. You can read more details in our blog post.
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New lookalikes policy and request flow
Chrome is introducing a new "safety tip" for sites with URLs that look very similar to those of other sites. This UI, as well as the existing lookalike interstitial warning, uses client-side heuristics to warn users about sites that might be spoofing other sites (For example, goog0le.com spoofing google.com):
Chrome is adding the LookalikeWarningAllowlistDomains enterprise policy to give you control of this behavior. This policy suppresses both the full-page interstitial warning and the smaller "safety tip" in the domains indicated.
In addition, if you think a site is triggering a warning incorrectly, you can file a request here.
- Improved resource consumption when a window is not visible
To save on CPU and power consumption, Chrome detects when a window is covered by another window and will suspend work painting pixels. A previous version of this feature had incompatibility issues with some virtualization software, resulting in Chrome rendering blank white pages. Known bugs have been fixed, but if you experience any issues, you will be able to disable this feature using the NativeWindowOcclusionEnabled policy.
Some users have already seen this change since Chrome 85, however this feature is fully rolled out in Chrome 86.
- User-Agent Client Hints is fully rolled out in Chrome 86
As part of an ongoing effort to reduce the ability of bad actors to track users, Chrome plans to reduce the granularity of information that is part of the user agent string and expose that information through User-Agent Client Hints. In Chrome 84, we introduced User-Agent Client Hints for some users. This is an additional change only, and should not have any negative effect when interacting with any standards-compliant server.
However, some servers may not be able to accept all characters in the User-Agent Client Hints headers as part of the broader Structured Headers emerging standard. If the addition of this header causes problems with servers that can't be fixed quickly, you will be able to use the UserAgentClientHintsEnabled policy to disable the added headers.
This is a temporary policy that will be removed in Chrome 88.
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Chrome warns about mixed content forms
Web forms that load via HTTPS but submit their content via HTTP (unsecured) pose a potential risk to users' privacy. Chrome 85 showed a warning on such forms, telling the user that the form is insecure. Chrome 86 shows an interstitial warning when the form is submitted, which stops any data transmission, and the user is able to choose whether to proceed or cancel the submission.
You are able to control this behavior using the InsecureFormsWarningsEnabled enterprise policy.
- The address bar shows the domain rather than the full URL for some users
To protect your users from some common phishing strategies, Chrome shows only the domain in the address bar. This change makes it more difficult for malicious actors to trick users with misleading URLs. For example, https://example.com/secure-google-sign-in/ will appear only as example.com to the user.
Although this change is designed to keep your users’ credentials safe, you are now able to revert to the old behavior through the ShowFullUrlsInAddressBar policy.
This change is initially only rolled out to some users, however a full rollout is planned for a later release.
- Chrome has a new way to show you it’s time to update your browser
To make it more clear that Chrome should be restarted to apply an update, users will see a new UI, with the word "Update," replacing the colored arrow that users see today.
- Chrome extensions are not able to inject Flash content settings
Extensions will not be able to inject content settings for Flash. If you're using an extension to control Flash behavior in Chrome, you should instead use PluginsAllowedForUrls. Otherwise, users will see the default Flash behavior, which will require them to allow Flash to run on each site.
- The Chrome Browser Cloud Management - Reporting Companion extension no longer functions
The Chrome Browser Cloud Management - Reporting Companion extension ID,
oempjldejiginopiohodkdoklcjklbaais no longer necessary, as its functionality has been integrated into Chrome browser. If you are manually force-installing this extension, you can safely stop doing so. Please ensure that you've set "Enable managed browser cloud reporting" in the admin console instead. - The TLS13HardeningForLocalAnchorsEnabled enterprise policy no longer functions
As documented in the policy description, support for the TLS13HardeningForLocalAnchorsEnabled enterprise policy will be removed in Chrome 86. As a result, the security feature will be enabled for all users, protecting your environment from certain TLS downgrade attacks.
The policy was introduced as a temporary measure to mitigate implementation flaws with some TLS-intercepting proxies. If you had previously set this policy to take advantage of the migration period, please ensure your TLS-intercepting policies are up to date and compliant. You can test Chrome by ensuring it works without this policy set.
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More inclusive policy names are introduced
Chrome is moving to more inclusive policy names. The terms "whitelist" and "blacklist" have been replaced with "allowlist" and "blocklist". If you're already using the existing policies, they will continue to work, though you will see warnings in chrome://policy stating that they're deprecated.
The following policies will be deprecated (but will still work), and equivalent policies will be introduced for each:
Deprecated Policy Name New Policy Name Version NativeMessagingBlacklist NativeMessagingBlocklist 86 NativeMessagingWhitelist NativeMessagingAllowlist 86 AuthNegotiateDelegateWhitelist AuthNegotiateDelegateAllowlist 86 AuthServerWhitelist AuthServerAllowlist 86 SpellcheckLanguageBlacklist SpellcheckLanguageBlocklist 86 AutoplayWhitelist AutoplayAllowlist 86 SafeBrowsingWhitelistDomains SafeBrowsingAllowlistDomains 86 ExternalPrintServersWhitelist ExternalPrintServersAllowlist 86 NoteTakingAppsLockScreenWhitelist NoteTakingAppsLockScreenAllowlist 86 PerAppTimeLimitsWhitelist PerAppTimeLimitsAllowlist 86 URLWhitelist URLAllowlist 86 URLBlacklist URLBlocklist 86 ExtensionInstallWhitelist ExtensionInstallAllowlist 86 ExtensionInstallBlacklist ExtensionInstallBlocklist 86 UserNativePrintersAllowed UserPrintersAllowed 86 NativePrinters Printers 86 NativePrintersBulkConfiguration PrintersBulkConfiguration 86 NativePrintersBulkAccessMode PrintersBulkAccessMode 86 NativePrintersBulkBlacklist PrintersBulkBlocklist 86 NativePrintersBulkWhitelist PrintersBulkAllowlist 86 DeviceNativePrintersBlacklist DevicePrintersBlocklist 87 DeviceNativePrintersWhitelist DevicePrintersAllowlist 87 DeviceNativePrintersAccessMode DevicePrintersAccessMode 87 DeviceNativePrinters DevicePrinters 87 UsbDetachableWhitelist UsbDetachableAllowlist 87 QuickUnlockModeWhitelist QuickUnlockModeAllowlist 87 AttestationExtensionWhitelist AttestationExtensionAllowlist 87 DeviceUserWhitelist DeviceUserAllowlist 87
Chrome OS updates
- Family Link and school account support for Android apps
Enables Family Link users to sign in to Android apps like Google Classroom using a school account to do schoolwork under parent supervision.
- Smartcard support on the login screen
As an admin, you can enable users to sign in using smart cards on the managed Chrome devices in your organization. The solution builds upon SAML SSO identity providers (IdP) that supports smart cards. Learn more.
- Guide Parents to Set Up Devices for Children during OOBE/Add Person flow
Simplifies device setup for families that want to create parental controls for their kids on Chromebooks.
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Redesigned Update Screen during OOBE
The update page during OOBE has been redesigned to include time/battery estimates and a progress tracker so users don't have to sit in front of the computer while it updates. We have also included educational cards on the screen; users who choose to wait in front of the computer or choose to check in during the update will learn more about the unique values that Chrome OS offers.
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Option to view password/PIN on start screen and lock screen
Have a long password that you often type incorrectly? Need to refer to a password manager on your phone to log into your Chromebook? This is now easier as the login screen has a new button to let you review your password/PIN. Simply click the eye-shaped icon to show password/PIN in clear text, review or compare with your password manager, and then submit. For security, we will turn the clear text into ***** after 5 seconds of inactivity and clear the entire input after 30 seconds of inactivity.
- Display Identification on multi-monitor setups
Managing multiple displays on Chrome OS has never been easier. We improved the ability for users to quickly identify which tab in the Display settings corresponds to a user's external display, and we've made it easier to align displays via a first-of-its-kind alignment overlay. These options are available for anyone using 2 or more displays.
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Autocorrect UI improvements
For users with autocorrect enabled, we have improved the user interface with visual indicators which let you know that autocorrects have happened, as well as a new visual way to undo them.
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Linux upgrade flow to Debian 10
If you have been using Linux (Beta) with Debian 9, you will now see an option to upgrade to Debian 10. You can start the upgrade at any time by going to Linux settings.
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Virtual machine USB support beyond Android devices
You can now use more types of devices with Linux (Beta), including Arduino and EdgeTPU. Attach a device to your Chromebook and share it through Linux settings.
Admin console updates
- Website icons and names on the Apps & extensions configuration page
Websites will now display their name and icon in addition to the URL in the Admin console. Admins can search by either name or URL to find websites. This change does not affect how website shortcuts display on the Chrome OS shelf.
- Flash deprecation warnings
Flash Player will no longer be supported after December 2020 (roadmap). The Admin console no longer allows the configuration of Flash using wildcards. There are also additional reminders about the upcoming deprecation.
- Always-on VPN for Android
Always-on VPN allows you to specify an Android VPN app that handles Android and Chrome OS user traffic as soon as users start their devices. For security reasons, virtual private networks (VPNs) don’t apply to system traffic such as OS and policy updates. If the VPN connection fails, all user traffic is blocked until the VPN connection is re-established.
- Remotely factory reset a managed device
You can now perform a full remote factory reset for managed devices, which can be useful for deprovisioning a device for RMA, clearing data on a disabled device that has been misplaced or stolen, and clearing data for troubleshooting purposes.
Note: After a device has been factory reset, it must go through the initial setup again. For a lighter touch reset, you can clear a user’s profile instead.
- Device-level system log export
This feature extends existing kiosk functionality to any managed device, allowing you to remotely capture device-level system log files. Once the LogUploadEnabled policy is enabled, you can manually request and download logs directly from the device details page, and fetch them through the Chrome Directory API.
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Additional policies in the Admin console
Many new policies are available in the Admin console, including:
Policy control Admin console location Description Metrics reporting User & browser settings Controls anonymous reporting of usage and crash-related data about Google Chrome to Google. External extensions Apps & extensions Controls installation of external extensions Chrome Cleanup User & browser settings Controls whether Chrome Cleanup periodically scans the system for unwanted software on browsers enrolled with Chrome Browser Cloud Management on Windows. Disabled system features User & browser settings Controls whether users can access the camera, OS settings, and browser settings on Chrome OS devices Privacy screen on sign-in screen Device settings Controls whether the privacy screen is enabled on devices supporting an electronic privacy screen Disk cache size User & browser settings Controls the cache size used by Chrome browser PDF files User & browser settings Controls whether PDF files open in Chrome or using the system default application Suggested content User & browser settings Enables suggestions for new content to explore on Chrome OS. Includes apps, webpages, and more. This policy is disabled by default for managed users Default browser check User & browser settings Controls whether Chrome checks if it is the default browser at startup Background mode User & browser settings Controls whether Chrome keeps running when the last browser window is closed, allowing background apps to remain active Third party code User & browser settings Controls whether third party software will be allowed to inject executable code into Chrome's processes on Windows Relaunch notification User & browser settings Controls the notifications shown to users reminding them to update Chrome
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New and updated policies (Chrome Browser and Chrome OS)
Policy Description AuthNegotiateDelegateAllowlist Kerberos delegation server allowlist. Replaces AuthNegotiateDelegateWhitelist AuthServerAllowlist Authentication server allowlist. Replaces AuthServerWhitelist AutoplayAllowlist Allow media autoplay on a whitelist of URL patterns. Replaces AutoplayWhitelist CloudPrintWarningsSuppressed Suppress Google Cloud Print deprecation messages DefaultFileSystemReadGuardSetting Control use of the File System API for reading DefaultFileSystemWriteGuardSetting Do not allow any site to request write access to files and directories. See File System API for details DefaultSerialGuardSetting Control use of the Serial API EnterpriseRealTimeUrlCheckMode Check Safe Browsing status of URLs in real time ExtensionInstallAllowlist Configure extension installation allow list. Replaces ExtensionInstallWhitelist ExtensionInstallBlocklist Configure extension installation blocklist. Replaces ExtensionInstallBlacklist FileSystemReadAskForUrls Allow read access via the File System API on these sites FileSystemReadBlockedForUrls Block read access via the File System API on these sites FileSystemWriteAskForUrls Allow write access to files and directories on these sites. See File System API for details FileSystemWriteBlockedForUrls Block write access to files and directories on these sites. See File System API for details InsecureFormsWarningsEnabled Enable warnings for insecure forms LookalikeWarningAllowlistDomains Suppress lookalike domain warnings on domains SafeBrowsingAllowlistDomains Configure the list of domains on which Safe Browsing will not trigger warnings SerialAskForUrls Allow the Serial API on these sites SerialBlockedForUrls Block the Serial API on these sites ShowFullUrlsInAddressBar Show Full URLs SpellcheckLanguageBlocklist Force disable spellcheck languages. Replaces SpellcheckLanguageBlacklist URLBlocklist Block access to a list of URLs. Replaces URLBlacklist
Coming soon
Note: The items listed below are experimental or planned updates. They might be changed, delayed, or canceled before launching to the Stable channel.
Upcoming Chrome Browser changes
- ITP will block third party cookies in Chrome on iOS14
All Chrome versions on iOS14 will be subject to the new ITP (Intelligent Tracking Prevention) restriction in WebKit, which blocks third party cookies. Apple has provided more information on the changes here:
- Single words will not be treated as intranet locations by default in Chrome 87
By default, Chrome will improve user privacy by avoiding DNS lookups for single keywords entered into the address bar. This change to default behavior may interfere with enterprises that use single-word domains in their intranet. That is, a user typing "helpdesk" will no longer be directed to "https://helpdesk/".
You will be able to control the behavior of Chrome using the IntranetRedirectBehavior enterprise policy, including preserving the existing behavior (which will perform a search immediately and then ask the user if they're trying to reach the intranet site).
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Improved resource consumption for background tabs in Chrome 87
To save on CPU and power consumption, Chrome will throttle the amount of CPU that background tabs can use. With this change, Chrome will only allow background tabs to wake up once per minute and to only use 1% CPU time.
You will be able to control this behavior using the IntensiveWakeUpThrottlingEnabled policy.
- DTLS 1.0 will be removed in Chrome 87
DTLS 1.0, a protocol used in WebRTC for interactive audio and video, will be removed by default. Any applications that depend on DTLS 1.0 (most likely gateways to other teleconferencing systems) should update to a more recent protocol. You can test if any of your applications will be impacted using the following command line flag when launching Chrome:
--force-fieldtrials=WebRTC-LegacyTlsProtocols/Disabled/If your enterprise needs additional time to adjust, the WebRtcAllowLegacyTLSProtocols enterprise policy will be made available to temporarily extend the removal.
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New PDF UI in Chrome 87
Chrome will have an updated PDF viewer, including toolbar updates, table of contents, thumbnails, two-up view, and annotations.
- The CORB/CORS allowlist will be removed in Chrome 87
Chrome will remove the CORB/CORS allowlist in Chrome 87. Please test Chrome extensions that your business depends on to make sure they work with the new behavior.
Please test Chrome 87.0.4266.0 or later and run through critical workflows with your extension. Watch for fetches or XHRs that are initiated by content scripts and blocked by CORB or CORS. Typical error messages are shown below:
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Cross-Origin Read Blocking (CORB) blocked cross-origin response <URL> with MIME type <type>. See https://www.chromestatus.com/feature/5629709824032768 for more details.
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Access to fetch at 'https://another.example.com/' from origin 'https://example.com' has been blocked by CORS policy: No 'Access-Control-Allow-Origin' header is present on the requested resource. If an opaque response serves your needs, set the request's mode to 'no-cors' to fetch the resource with CORS disabled.
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If the extension's content scripts create requests that don’t work when Chrome is launched with the chrome://flags listed above, then make sure you keep the extension updated so that it continues to work in Chrome 87 and above. In particular, the extensions must be updated to initiate cross-origin fetches from the extension background page (instead of from a content script).
For more details please see: https://www.chromium.org/Home/chromium-security/extension-content-script-fetches
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Insecure public pages no longer allowed to make requests to private or local URLs in Chrome 88
Insecure pages will no longer be able to make requests to IPs belonging to a more private address space (as defined in CORS-RFC1918). For example, http://public.page.example.com will not be able to make requests targeting IP 192.168.0.1 or IP 127.0.0.1. You will be able to control this behavior using the InsecurePrivateNetworkRequestsAllowed and InsecurePrivateNetworkRequestsAllowedForUrls enterprise policies.
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Chrome will introduce a new permission chip UI in Chrome 88
Permission requests can feel disruptive and intrusive when they lack context – which often happens when prompts appear as soon as a page loads or without prior priming. This leads to a common reaction where end users dismiss the prompt in order to avoid making a decision.
Chrome is experimenting with a permissions chip in the address bar next to the lock, which is less intrusive overall. Since the prompt doesn't intrude in the content area, users who don't want to grant the permission no longer need to actively dismiss the prompt. Users who wish to grant permission can click on the chip to bring up the permission prompt.
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Factor in scheme when determining if a request is cross-site (Schemeful Same-Site) in Chrome 88
Chrome 88 will modify the definition of same-site for cookies such that requests on the same registrable domain but across schemes will be considered cross-site instead of same-site. For example, http://site.example and https://site.example will be considered cross-site to each other. We recommend testing critical sites using the testing instructions.
You may revert to the previous, legacy behavior, by using the LegacySameSiteCookieBehaviorEnabledForDomainList and LegacySameSiteCookieBehaviorEnabled policies. For more detail please see Cookie Legacy SameSite Policies.
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Chrome 88 on Mac will not support OS X 10.10 (Yosemite)
Chrome 88 will not support OS X 10.10 (OS X Yosemite). Chrome on Mac will require OS X 10.11 or later.
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SyncXHR and Popup on page unload policies will no longer be supported on Chrome 88
The AllowPopupsDuringPageUnload and AllowSyncXHRInPageDismissal enterprise policies will be removed in Chrome 88, as previously communicated. For any apps that rely on the legacy web platform behavior, be sure to update them before Chrome 88.
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The Legacy Browser Support extension will be removed from the Chrome Web Store in Chrome 88
Legacy Browser Support (LBS) is built into Chrome, and the old extension is no longer needed. The Chrome team unpublished LBS from the Chrome Web Store in Chrome 85, and it will be disabled in Chrome 88. Legacy Browser Support will still be supported, please migrate away from the extension and towards using Chrome's built-in policies, documented here. The old policies set through the extension will no longer function, and you won't be able to force install the extension once it's been disabled.
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Chrome 89 will require SSE3 for Chrome on x86
Chrome 89 and above will require x86 processors with SSE3 support. This change does not impact devices with non-x86 (ARM) processors. Chrome will not install and run on x86 processors that do not support SSE3. SSE3 was introduced on Intel CPUs in 2003, and on AMD CPUs in 2005.
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The SSLVersionMin policy will not allow TLS 1.0 or TLS 1.1 in Chrome 91
The SSLVersionMin enterprise policy allows you to bypass Chrome's interstitial warnings for legacy versions of TLS. This will be possible until Chrome 91 (May 2021), then the policy will no longer allow TLS 1.0 or TLS 1.1 to be set as the minimum.
We previously communicated that this would happen as early as January 2021, but the deadline has since been extended.
Upcoming Admin console changes
- New Version Report and Update Controls
There will be a new Version Report and Update Controls available in the Admin console. These features give increased visibility into the Chrome versions deployed in your enterprise and allows you to more granularly control how managed Chrome browsers update. If you would like to sign up to be a Trusted Tester for these features please enter your test domain and a contact email into this form.
| Updated | Details |
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| September 3, 2020 |
Important: Adobe will no longer update and distribute Flash Player after December 31, 2020. Therefore, after this date, all versions of Chrome will stop supporting Flash content. You can read more about Adobe's plans to discontinue Flash player and your options in Adobe's blog post. Adobe is working with HARMAN, their exclusive licensing/distribution partner, to provide support for Flash Player in legacy browsers.
Chrome Browser updates
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User-Agent Client Hints will be introduced in Chrome 85
As part of an ongoing effort to reduce bad actors’ ability to track users, Chrome plans to reduce the granularity of information that is part of the user agent string and expose that information through User-Agent Client Hints. In Chrome 84, we introduced User-Agent Client Hints for some users. This is an additive change only, and should not have any negative effect when interacting with any standards-compliant server.However, some servers may not be able to accept all characters in the User-Agent Client Hints headers, part of the broader Structured Headers emerging standard. If the addition of this header causes problems with servers that cannot be fixed quickly, you will be able to use the UserAgentClientHintsEnabled policy to disable the added headers. This is a temporary policy that will be removed in Chrome 88.
A full rollout of this change is planned in Chrome 85.
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The default referrer policy will change in Chrome 85
The HTTP referrer header provides the full URL of the initiating document alongside many navigation and subresource requests. In practice, it can reveal users’ browsing habits or identities. Chrome will improve user privacy and security by switching to strict-origin-when-cross-origin as the default policy, instead of no-referrer-when-downgrade. Web developers may specify a referrer policy on their documents if they need a different policy.The expected long-term fix is to update all web apps to preferably not depend on the full URL for the referrer, and where unavoidable, specify a referrer policy when they require something other than strict-origin-when-cross-origin. However, to help with the transition, enterprises will be able to use the ForceLegacyDefaultReferrerPolicy enterprise policy to revert to the old default behavior until Chrome 88.
See more info and best practices. -
Chrome 64-bit on Windows will be installed in "Program Files" instead of "Program Files (x86)"
New installations of 64-bit Chrome will be installed in "%ProgramFiles%" on Windows instead of "%ProgramFiles(x86)%". Existing installations won't be impacted.
- Improvements to user productivity in Chrome 85
Chrome will be making several improvements to user productivity, including collapsible tab groups, tab previews, saving inputs in PDFs, and QR code sharing. You can read more about these improvements on the Keyword.
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Compiler optimization performance improvements in Chrome 85
Chrome will use an improved compiler optimization technique called PGO (Profile-guided optimization) on Mac and Windows. Enterprises aren't expected to notice any changes, except how software interacts with Chrome in unexpected or unsupported ways. For example, code injection may not function as expected with this version of Chrome.
- Insecure downloads will be blocked from secure pages in Chrome 84 through Chrome 88
By Chrome 88, downloads from insecure sources will no longer be allowed when started from secure pages. This change will be rolled out gradually, with different file types affected in different releases:
- Executables—Users were warned in Chrome 84, and files will be blocked in Chrome 85.
- Archives —Users will be warned in the Chrome developer console in Chrome 85, and files will be blocked in Chrome 86.
- Other non-safe types (For example, PDFs)—Users will be warned in the Chrome developer console in Chrome 86, and files will be blocked in Chrome 87.
- Other files—Users will be warned in the Chrome developer console in Chrome 87, and files will be blocked in Chrome 88.
Warnings on Android will lag behind Desktop warnings by one release. For example, executables will show a warning starting in Chrome 85.
The existing InsecureContentAllowedForUrls policy can be used to allow specific page URLs to download insecure files. You can read more details in our blog post.
- Wildcards are no longer supported in PluginsAllowedForUrls in Chrome 85
In preparation for the Flash deprecation later this year, Chrome will be removing the ability for enterprises to define entries with wildcards in hostnames (For example, “https://*” or “https://[*.]mysite.foo”) for the PluginsAllowedForUrls policy. If you're using hostname wildcards, you will need to explicitly specify which hostnames still require Flash. For example, “https://[*.]mysite.foo” would need to be updated to match explicit entries like “https://flash.mysite.foo”. This change is intended to help determine which sites still require updating, with time to make an adjustment before support for Flash is removed completely in December, 2020.
- The Legacy Browser Support extension will be removed from the Chrome Web Store in Chrome 85
Legacy Browser Support (LBS) is now built into Chrome, and the old extension is no longer needed. The Chrome team is planning to unpublish LBS from the Chrome Web Store in Chrome 85, and it will be removed from browsers in Chrome 86. To continue using Legacy Browser Support, ensure that you're using Chrome's built-in policies, documented here. The old policies set through the extension will no longer take effect when the extension is removed.
The Beta version of the extension (Extension ID
ebojbgfomggiamdflnhekjfkmdbeblpb) will be removed in Chrome 85. -
Cross-origin fetches will be disallowed from content scripts in Chrome Extensions in Chrome 85
As part of an effort to improve Chrome Extension security, cross-origin fetches are being disallowed from content scripts in Chrome Extensions. Cross-Origin Read Blocking (CORB) has already applied to content scripts since M73. We plan to also enable CORS for content script requests starting in M85. We expect most extensions to be unaffected by the CORS change, but there is a chance that some requests initiated from content scripts may start to fail.
Please test Chrome Extensions that your business depends on to make sure they work with the new behavior when Chrome is launched with the following cmdline flags (in 81.0.4035.0 or later):
--enable-features=OutOfBlinkCors,CorbAllowlistAlsoAppliesToOorCorsDuring the test, watch for fetches or XHRs that are initiated by content scripts and blocked by CORS. If extensions you depend on are affected, open a bug to add the affected extensions to a temporary allowlist which will exempt them from the change (the allowlist will be deprecated and removed in Chrome 87). The changes only affect fetches or XHRs for content types that are not blocked by CORB (such as images, JavaScript, and CSS) and only if the server does not approve the CORS request with an Access-Control-Allow-Origin response header.
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Improved resource consumption when a window is not visible in Chrome 85
To save on CPU and power consumption, Chrome will detect when a window is covered by other windows and will suspend work painting pixels. A previous version of this feature had incompatibility issues with some virtualization software. Known bugs have been fixed, but if you experience any issues, you will be able to disable this feature using the NativeWindowOcclusionEnabled policy.
Some users will see the change in Chrome 85, with a full rollout planned for Chrome 86.
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The SafeBrowsingExtendedReportingOptInAllowed policy is no longer available in Chrome 85
The support of SafeBrowsingExtendedReportingOptInAllowed policy has been removed in Chrome 85. Please use SafeBrowsingExtendedReportingEnabled policy instead. You can find the migration instructions on the deprecated policy page.
- Introduction of AutoLaunchProtocolsFromOrigins policy in Chrome 85
The new AutoLaunchProtocolsFromOrigins policy allows you to specify combinations of external protocols and origins that should be launched automatically, without requiring user confirmation.
- Chrome on MacOS has additional protections for sensitive enterprise policies in Chrome 85
Macs that are not managed by a UEM/EMM/MDM (or legacy MCX) will ignore sensitive enterprise policies that may be set by malware. This check already happens for sensitive policies on Windows, and will apply to the same set of policies on MacOS.
- Cross-Origin Resource Setting (CORS) enterprise policies are no longer available
The CorsMitigationList and CorsLegacyModeEnabled policies have been removed in Chrome 84, as previously communicated.
- The ForceNetworkInProcess policy is now deprecated
Chrome 73 introduced a change to move network activity into a separate process. We were aware of known incompatibilities with some third-party software that were injected into Chrome's process, so the ForceNetworkInProcess policy was provided as a temporary stop-gap to revert to the old behavior. The transition period for this change ended in Chrome 84, and the policy is no longer available.
- Certificates issued on or after September 01, 202