Google has announced a new policy for its Chrome browser which will disable Sync if you haven’t updated within the past few years.
Starting “early” this year, Google says that Chrome Sync will implement a new policy in which Chrome Sync will stop working on older versions of the browser. The cutoff is versions that are “more than four years old.”
Affected browser versions will show a message telling users to update their browser to “start sync” or “keep using the Chrome data in your Google Account.”
Google explains:
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.”
Chrome updates are turned on by default and apply when the browser is relaunched. So, for the vast majority of Chrome’s huge userbase, this change will have no impact. It’s only for those who have opted to manually disable updates, or those stuck on an older OS and, in turn, an older Chrome version. Even in that case, most people are still able to use a Chrome version within the past four years. Windows 7, which was deprecated by Microsoft in 2020, is still able to update to Chrome 109 which was released in 2023, meaning users there still have around two more years before sync is no longer available.
More on Google Chrome:
- Google says Eclipsa Audio support is coming to Chrome and Android
- How to customize the Google Chrome toolbar with shortcuts on Mac, Windows
- Google details its Chromium contributions, like hundreds of millions in ‘maintenance costs’
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