Google has recently released an updated version of Chrome, version 109, on supported platforms. The mobile version of Chrome now includes support for Secure Payment Confirmation (SPC), which allows users to confirm payments on websites using their smartphone’s biometric security features. However, this feature is only available if the website and payment service, as well as the bank, support it.
For Microsoft’s desktop platform, this is the latest version of Chrome that supports Windows 7 and 8.1. However, Chrome will no longer be updating these versions of Windows and updates will not be able to be installed on them.
The update also includes support for the Screen Capture API, which allows users to integrate a portion of the browser window into a video stream for demonstration purposes. This feature can be useful for video conferences with coworkers.
Sites will now find it more difficult to use third-party cookies to track user actions. Developers need to add information about the cookies they are using to a special repository on GitHub, otherwise they will lose this opportunity. This will make it difficult for sites to embed third-party services with comments, such as Disqus.
The Android version of Chrome has added stylization for the Material You design language, which includes the tooltips that appear when typing in the address bar. To activate this feature, users need to enable a special option via the chrome://flags/#omnibox-modernize-visual-update flag. On macOS, Windows, and Linux, the Material You style can be enabled via the chrome://flags/#customize-chrome-color-extraction flag to change Chrome’s appearance based on wallpaper color.
The desktop version of Chrome can now warn users about malicious downloads and the type of danger posed by certain files, such as the risk of compromising a user’s email or social media account information. The new tab page includes a button for quickly finding data in the Lens service, which can be done by dragging and dropping a picture to search from the drive to the browser.
When a website requests permission to access certain features, such as geolocation information, and the user denies access, the denial information will be displayed on the left side of the address bar for a few seconds. This allows users to change their mind and grant access during this time.
Additionally, the update includes the ability to sync Chrome’s tab groups across different devices. This feature is disabled by default but can be enabled with the chrome://flags/#tab-groups-save flag.