Google introduced that the Chrome Sync function will probably be discontinued in early 2025 for Chrome variations older than 4 years.
When enabled, Chrome Sync retains customers’ bookmarks, passwords, historical past, open tabs, settings, preferences, and, generally, Google Pay cost info. It additionally routinely indicators customers into Gmail, YouTube, Search, and different Google providers.
The transfer was introduced on the corporate’s neighborhood web site over the weekend through a locked publish that does not settle for replies.
“Beginning in early 2025, Chrome Sync (utilizing and saving information in your Google Account) will cease engaged on variations of Chrome which are greater than 4 years outdated,” the corporate stated.
“In case you are on a model of Chrome that’s older than 4 years outdated, you could start to see the error message ‘Replace Chrome to start out sync’ or ‘Replace Chrome to maintain utilizing the Chrome information in your Google Account’.”
Chrome customers who nonetheless need to use Chrome Sync to maintain their information synced to all gadgets logged into their Google account are suggested to replace their browser to the newest launch.
“In case you are unable to replace your Browser to a model that’s lower than 4 years outdated, you will be unable to make use of the Chrome Sync function on that machine any longer,” Google added.
In response to StatCounter information, Google Chrome has 68.34% of the worldwide browser market share and 66.83% on the desktop.
That is probably a part of the corporate’s efforts to pressure customers nonetheless utilizing deprecated and susceptible Chrome variations to replace their net browsers to the newest safety patches.
For example, simply over three years in the past, in November 2021, the corporate additionally introduced that it might kill Chrome Sync help on Chrome 48 and earlier after Chrome 96 reached the secure channel.
In March 2021, Google additionally blocked third-party Chromium-based browsers from utilizing personal Google APIs to combine options like Chrome Sync and Click on to Name that had been supposed to be used solely in Chrome.
Extra just lately, in October 2024, the Google Chrome Net Retailer warned that the uBlock Origin advert blocker and different Chrome extensions might quickly be blocked as a part of the corporate’s deprecation of the Manifest V2 extension specification.
This occurred a number of months after Google warned customers straight within the browser that uBlock Origin might quickly be disabled and that they need to discover options.