Chrome

Password managers are a dime a dozen these days, but some of them have fallen out of favor due to one business-related change or another. Some password managers are also limited to doing just what their name suggests, creating and storing passwords. These days, however, many users find themselves wanting to store and retrieve more than just passwords, and Microsoft's new Autofill service is aiming to fill that need across all platforms, both mobile and desktop.

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Though we'll probably never see the return of Google Reader, the company has tossed its users a bone in the form of a new Follow button on Chrome. The feature is only available on Android at this time, though it is now present in the browser's stable build. The feature's rollout to everyone follows the company's test earlier this year.

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It seems that Google is going on a spree to turn its web browser into a portal to its other products and services. Whether that campaign will ruffle competitors' and regulators' feathers remains to be seen, but there doesn't seem to be any stopping Google from its push. Most of these new and upcoming features revolve around search results and the New Tab Page, the latter of which is getting a new module that will surface your Google Photos whenever you think of opening a new browser tab.

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Google has so many products that it's not really surprising to see it trying to connect the dots across its different properties, like Android, Search, and Chrome. What may sound natural, however, isn't always desirable or even legal in some cases, especially when businesses are involved. That is why the company has been embroiled in numerous monopoly and antitrust lawsuits, and its latest spate of new features exclusive to Chrome could eventually land it in hot water yet again.

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Once upon a time, there was a small movement among web browser extensions to introduce side panels for things like tab navigation and other useful pieces of UI. Browser makers themselves seem to have frowned on such an interface, but it seems that the tables have turned recently. Google is apparently starting to reclaim the sides of Chrome for additional information, like Reading lists and Google Lens searches. Now it is working on another panel that's designed to keep you living in Google land, even when you've turned away to another web page.

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Announced almost four years ago, Lens is one of Google's silent workers that power many of the features mobile users might be taking for granted these days. It powers both Google Photos' and Google Assistant's image recognition functionality, but Lens also has its own separate app on mobile. It doesn't have much of an existence outside smartphones, however, but that might soon change as Google works to integrate Lens functionality right inside Search results, at least in Chrome for the desktop.

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Users of Chrome that regularly open multiple windows at once, rejoice! The latest version of Chrome shows a new Save Group toggle when creating a group of tabs. This should allow the user to keep track of the multiple tabs they need open at once, even after Chrome is closed down for the day. That's assuming you or I ever close Chrome and/or shut one's computer off entirely which... is the healthy thing to do.

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Smartphones are getting more powerful and larger to the point that some of the hard limits of the past no longer really apply today. Multi-tasking has become more important as phones gain more RAM, and having more than one app open at the same time is a staple feature on tablets and the new breed of foldable devices. Despite those changes, mobile apps are still limited to the old "one instance" or "one window" per app convention from the first few years of smartphones. Google could be changing that with Chrome running on Android 12, allowing users to have as many as five instances of the web browser.

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Private browsing or incognito mode is one of the most basic privacy protection mechanisms web browsers offer today. Although sometimes mistaken for total privacy protection, incognito mode simply makes sure you don't leave traces on the browser itself. That protection, however, is pretty much pointless if someone else already holds your phone and the browser is open. That's why Google has been working on a reauthentication mechanism for Incognito mode that's coming to Android soon.

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The Google two-factor authentication (2FA) security system was updated with a new security key. This system is also called 2SV, or 2-Step Verification. Before now, users were given the option to use a physical security key (USB), or via a Google Prompt notification (via the Google or Gmail app)*. Now Google also allows users to use a smartphone with Android running the Chrome web browser app.

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Everyone talks about steps to take in protecting your security and privacy on the Web, but, to be honest, not all security measures are easy to understand or use. Some come with a plethora of options that overwhelm people, while others impact performance and the overall experience in exchange for better security. Chrome 92 was just released on all platforms to address those issues by making it easier to access relevant security and privacy settings and by mitigating the performance impact of certain security features.

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A new version of the Google Chrome web browser is available for Android devices and iOS devices as of this week. If you're using a mobile device right now without the latest version of Chrome, you'll see the Chrome 92 release available in your device's app store in the very near future. Depending on the device you have, you may have a Beta version available, too.

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