Articles about Google Chrome

Google is testing an iOS-style navigation feature for Chrome

Chrome logo

Talent borrows, genius steals – or so the saying goes. In the world of software, there is certainly a lot of borrowing of ideas, and Google is no stranger to bringing influences from other browsers to Chrome.

The latest example sees Google copying an idea that was implemented by Apple some time ago. Designed to aid navigation, Chrome now has a “predictive back animation” much like the one that was introduced in Android 16 for app navigation. But just what does this latest feature mean for users – and when can you expect to see it?

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Google Chrome address bar – are you a top or a bottom?

Google Chrome address bar – are you a top or a bottom? Across all platforms, Google Chrome remains one of the most popular – if not the most popular – web browser. But while the desktop version of the software is versatile, customizable and flexible, the same cannot be said of the mobile apps. And this is why an announcement made by Google several weeks ago caused a flurry of excitement. On the face of things, the news that it would be possible to move the address bar from its familiar position at the top of the browser may not seem huge, but now that it is rolling out, it is becoming clear that it is actually pretty significant for Android users. You’d be forgiven for having forgotten about the announcement. Google said last month that the address bar was being made movable, but it is only now that the vast majority of people are starting to see this hitting their device At the time of the announcement last month, Google said: It's now possible to customize Chrome on Android by moving your address bar to the bottom of the screen. Depending on the size of your hand and your device, one address bar position may feel more comfortable than the other. We designed this update to give you the flexibility to choose your preferred location — so you can browse with more ease. If you’d like to move your address bar, long-press on it and select the "Move address bar to bottom" option. Or just navigate to the Settings menu and select “address bar” to choose your preferred spot. This feature will begin to appear on devices today and will be available to everyone in the coming weeks. Being able to have the address bar at the bottom of Chrome only really makes sense when using the browser in portrait mode, but some users may disagree. Whether or not you find this feature to be useful depends on a number of things. If you have a device with a very large screen, moving the address bar to the bottom of the screen is useful. The same is true for anyone with small hands. But how you use Chrome and how you browse the web need to be considered too. You might not make use of the address bar very often, so it may not really matter where it is located. If, however, you are someone who is constantly flicking between tabs or needs to type URLs frequently, having it within easier reach at the bottom is great. There are, of course, many other factors that may influence your decision about address bar placement. As it is so easy to move – just long-press and select Move address bar to the bottom/top – you can just experiment with positions to see what works best for you. So, the question remains: are you a top or a bottom?

Across all platforms, Google Chrome remains one of the most popular – if not the most popular – web browser. But while the desktop version of the software is versatile, customizable and flexible, the same cannot be said of the mobile apps.

And this is why an announcement made by Google several weeks ago caused a flurry of excitement. On the face of things, the news that it would be possible to move the address bar from its familiar position at the top of the browser may not seem huge, but now that it is rolling out, it is becoming clear that it is actually pretty significant for Android users.

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Forget Google Chrome and Firefox, LibreWolf is the privacy focused browser you've been looking for

LibreWolf

Are you frustrated by Mozilla’s recent leanings towards putting revenue ahead of privacy? Fans of Firefox who are looking to take their privacy to the next level (and beyond any potential compromises Mozilla might make going forward) should take a look at LibreWolf, available for Windows, macOS and Linux.

LibreWolf is a direct fork from the latest version of Firefox with a raft of additional privacy measures added to make your browsing experience even more private.

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How to keep using Windows 10 safely after Microsoft ends support

As of October 14, 2025, Microsoft will officially stop supporting Windows 10, marking the end of the road for regular security updates and technical support.

This doesn’t mean your Windows 10 machine will suddenly stop working of course, but it does mean that keeping it safe and secure will require more proactive measures. Here’s how you can protect your Windows 10 system after official support ends.

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Best Windows apps this week

Five-hundred-and-eighty-eight in a series. Welcome to this week's overview of the best apps, games and extensions released for Windows 10 and 11 on the Microsoft Store and elsewhere in the past seven days.

Microsoft released the March 2024 optional update for Windows 11 this week. It includes all the changes of the Moment Update 5, which adds more AI to Windows and also changes for European Economic Area users.

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Google rolls out Chrome for Arm-compatible Windows PCs

Google has announced the release of a new version of its Chrome browser, specifically optimized for Arm-compatible Windows PCs powered by Snapdragon processors. This update promises to deliver faster and smoother web browsing experiences for users of these devices.

The new version of Chrome has been designed to fully leverage the hardware and operating system of Arm-based Windows PCs. This optimization is expected to result in significant performance improvements, particularly with the upcoming Snapdragon X Elite platform, as noted by Cristiano Amon, President and CEO of Qualcomm Inc. He stated, "The new version of Google Chrome will help cement Snapdragon X Elite's role as the premier platform for Windows computing starting in mid-2024."

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Microsoft is fixing a long-standing Chrome text issue in Windows 10 and Windows 11

Microsoft building logo

Microsoft -- yes, Microsoft -- is set to address an issue that has plagued the look of text in Chrome running on Windows 10 and Windows 11. While this is not a problem that affects everyone, there are large numbers of people who have long-complained about strange-looking fonts in Google's web browser.

The font troubles stem from a font rending incompatibility which Microsoft is finally getting around to fixing. The ClearType Tuner of Windows is ignored by Chrome, but Microsoft's tweaks mean that the browser rendering will be noticeably improved.

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Google restores Dark Mode support for websites in Chrome

Dark-Chrome

Google Chrome users may once again enforce dark mode support for web content in the web browser. The feature has been in the making for a long time. Sofia talked about it more than five years ago here on BetaNews.

While Google did add support for a dark Chrome interface in the past, it never rolled out the option to display darker versions of webpages.

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Google Chrome gets enhanced security with real-time safe browsing and password checkup updates

Google has announced significant updates to its Chrome web browser aimed at bolstering cybersecurity for its users. In response to the ever-evolving nature of cyber threats, Chrome will now feature real-time Safe Browsing protections and enhanced password security measures, particularly for desktop and iOS users.

Traditionally, Chrome’s Safe Browsing feature relied on a periodically updated list to check if websites or files posed a potential danger. However, with malicious sites often fleeting, existing for less than 10 minutes on average, this method had its limitations. To address this, Chrome’s Standard protection mode will now verify sites against a real-time, server-side list of known malicious URLs. This shift is expected to increase the efficacy of phishing attack prevention by 25 percent.

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Microsoft fixes accidental import of Chrome Tabs in Edge

Happy-woman-laptop

Microsoft has fixed a puzzling issue in the latest version of its Edge web browser. Some users reported that Microsoft Edge was importing open tabs from Google Chrome automatically on their devices about two weeks ago.

While Microsoft Edge does have a preference to do so, the users claimed that the preference was set to off on their devices.

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Microsoft Edge is snooping on your Chrome browsing activity; here's how to stop it

Blurry Microsoft Edge logo with mobile in foreground

One web browser spying on another? Surely not! However, if you are using both Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, Microsoft's browser could be grabbing all of your browsing history from Chrome every time you launch it.

If you decided to jump from Firefox to Chrome, from Edge to Firefox, from Opera to Edge or any other combination, you will probably have taken advantage of the option to import browsing history, saved passwords and so on. But you likely don’t want this cross-browser communication to continue indefinitely. Here’s how to check whether this sneaky data swapping is happening in the background and how to stop it if it is.

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Google Chrome to warn users about problematic extensions

Google Chrome 117, the next major version of Google's dominant web browser, will inform users if an installed extension is no longer available on the Chrome Web Store.

Browser extensions may be removed from the official Chrome Store for extensions for a number of reasons: extension developers may pull them from the Store, Google may remove them because of malware or policy violations.

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Chrome now boasts about how much RAM its Memory Saver feature is freeing up

Chrome icon in the background with Chrome on mobile in the foreground

Chrome has long had the unenviable reputation of being a resource hog. This is something that Google has been working on over the years, and one of the most recent improvements has seen the introduction of the Memory Saver feature which puts inactive tabs to sleep to free up RAM.

With the feature enabled, you have just had to trust that it is working -- but now Google has made a change that makes it clear just how much memory is being saved by each tab. And in a future update, the browser will make it even more obvious about just how many resources it has freed up.

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Google brings new options to Chrome so you can change the look of the browser

Customizations in Google Chrome

Google has used the latest version of Chrome to give users new ways to personalize the browser with backgrounds, themes and color schemes.

While some options, such as themes and colors, affect the entire browser, others are only visible on the New Tab page -- such as background images. Google says that it I has a wide range of "special artist collections commissioned by Asian & Pacific Islander, LGBTQ+, Latino, Black and Native American artists", and promises that more are coming later this year.

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Google is changing the lock icon in Chrome because it believes 'security should be the default state'

Red padlock

Visit a secure website (that is, one that loads over HTTPS) in Chrome, and you'll see a lock icon in the address bar. But this is set to change. Google has announced plans to remove the familiar padlock icon, providing a number of reasons for a decision that many users will regard as a step in the wrong direction.

Among the arguments in favor of removing the icon is that HTTPS is the norm rather than the exception, and that the simple fact a site uses a secure connection is in no way indicative of its inherent trustworthiness.

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