Google prepares unexpected limitation in Chrome: How to avoid it
Chrome sync will become unavailable on older devices (photo: Getty Images)
Google has announced a new policy for the Chrome browser, under which the synchronization feature will be disabled if the browser has not been updated for several years, the news website about Google and Android, 9to5Google, reports.
Details of changes
Starting in early 2025, Chrome Sync will stop working on outdated browser versions. The restriction will affect versions older than four years.
Users of such versions will see a notification prompting them to update Chrome to "start synchronization" or "continue using Chrome data in a Google account."
"Starting in early 2025, Chrome Sync (using and saving data in your Google Account) will stop working on versions of Chrome that are more than four years old. If you are on a version of Chrome that is older than four years old, you may begin to see the error message 'Update Chrome to start sync' or 'Update Chrome to keep using the Chrome data in your Google Account'," Google explained.
By default, Chrome updates are enabled and applied when the browser is restarted, so this change will not affect most users. It will only impact those who have manually disabled updates or are using outdated operating systems that do not support newer Chrome versions.
Even in such cases, many users will still be able to use versions released in the last four years. For instance, Windows 7, whose support ended in 2020, still allows updates to Chrome 109, released in 2023. This means that Windows 7 users will retain the synchronization feature until approximately 2027.
As previously reported, Google Chrome tests a feature that will end pop-up ads.
