Timeline of Google Chrome
Chrome from its 2008 debut to a rapidly updated browser platform, covering V8, Blink, mobile releases, process isolation, web standards, and extension changes through 2025.
- Category
- Engineering & Technology
- Events
- 18 events 2008 – 2025
- Generated
- by gpt-6
2008: Google launches Chrome and Chromium
Google released a Windows beta of Chrome in September and published the Chromium source project. Separate processes, a sandbox, and the V8 JavaScript engine supported its approach to responsiveness and isolation; the first stable Chrome release followed in December.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Chrome2009: Extensions and desktop betas widen the platform
Google introduced Chrome extensions and beta releases for macOS and Linux. Developers could add browser capabilities with web technologies, while users outside Windows gained an official preview of the browser.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Chrome2010: Stable Chrome reaches macOS and Linux
Chrome 5 brought stable releases to macOS and Linux. The same browser family could now serve the three major desktop operating-system ecosystems, expanding its audience and simplifying cross-platform testing for web developers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Chrome2010: Chrome adopts a faster release cycle
Google announced a roughly six-week stable-release cadence for Chrome. Smaller, more frequent releases shortened the wait for features and security work and made continuing automatic updates a defining part of the browser.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Chrome2010: The Chrome Web Store opens
Google opened the Chrome Web Store as a distribution channel for applications, extensions, and themes. The store gave developers a centralized way to reach Chrome users and made add-on software more discoverable.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrome_Web_Store2012: Chrome reaches Android and iOS
Google released Chrome for Android and iOS, extending browser synchronization to phones and tablets. The iOS version used Apple’s browser engine under platform rules, rather than bringing the desktop Chromium rendering engine to the iPhone.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Chrome2013: Chrome and Firefox demonstrate browser video calls
Google and Mozilla demonstrated interoperable browser-to-browser video calling using Web Real-Time Communication. The work showed that audio and video communication could move into web applications without a shared proprietary plug-in.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebRTC2013: Blink separates from WebKit
Google announced Blink as a fork of WebKit’s rendering engine for Chromium. The split let Chromium evolve its rendering architecture independently, while other browsers continued development on separate WebKit-based code.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blink_(browser_engine)2015: HTTP/2 reaches stable Chrome
Chrome added stable support for the second version of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol. Multiplexing requests over a connection addressed limitations of older connection patterns and helped bring a new standardized transport for web pages into everyday use.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP/22015: Chrome removes legacy NPAPI plug-ins
Chrome removed support for the Netscape Plug-in Application Programming Interface. Applications depending on plug-ins such as Java applets and Silverlight needed other browsers or replacement technologies, continuing the shift toward native web capabilities.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NPAPI2018: Site Isolation strengthens process boundaries
Chrome enabled Site Isolation for most desktop users, separating content from different sites into different renderer processes. The design provided an additional boundary against attacks that tried to read data across sites, including threats highlighted by Spectre.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Site_isolation2018: Unencrypted pages receive a visible warning
Chrome 68 began labeling ordinary unencrypted web pages as "Not secure." The interface change encouraged encrypted connections by making the absence of transport protection visible during everyday browsing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Chrome2020: Cookie defaults become more restrictive
Chrome began rolling out changes that treated cookies without an explicit SameSite attribute as Lax and required Secure for cookies marked SameSite=None. The rollout was temporarily paused during the pandemic before resuming, reflecting the compatibility impact on existing sites.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_cookie2021: Manifest V3 reaches stable Chrome
Chrome 88 introduced support for Manifest V3 extensions. The platform changed extension background execution and request-handling capabilities, requiring developers to adapt software originally built for Manifest V2.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Chrome#Extensions2021: Flash support disappears from Chrome
Chrome 88 removed Adobe Flash support following Flash’s end of life. Sites that still depended on Flash could no longer use the built-in support, completing a long shift toward video, graphics, and interaction implemented with web standards.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Flash2021: Stable releases move to four-week intervals
Chrome 94 began a four-week stable-release cadence. Google also offered an extended stable channel for organizations needing a slower feature-update schedule, while continuing to deliver security fixes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Chrome2023: WebGPU reaches supported desktop systems
Chrome 113 shipped WebGPU on supported desktop configurations. The interface gave web applications a modern route to graphics and general-purpose computation on graphics processors, extending capabilities beyond the older WebGL model.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebGPU2025: Manifest V2 extensions reach their final cutoff
Chrome 138 disabled Manifest V2 extensions for ordinary users without an option to re-enable them. Chrome 139 then removed the remaining enterprise-policy exception. Older extensions needed a Manifest V3 replacement or another supported environment to continue functioning.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Chrome#Extensions