Chrome: Google suspends browser updates due to coronavirus

Chrome and Chrome OS will no longer receive new updates until further notice. Google has announced that it is pausing deployments due to the workload adjustment of its developers. The coronavirus has indeed forced the firm to take internal measures to prevent the spread of the virus.

Google Chrome

Faced with the multiplication of new cases of coronavirus In the United States (6,519 cases and more than 100 deaths across the country), Google asked all of its North American employees to work from home when possible, until April 10 at least. The disruption caused by these changes prompted the company to pause the deployment of updates Chromium and Chrome OS.

No more new versions of Google Chrome until further notice

Due to work schedule adjustment, we are suspending future versions of Chrome and Chrome OS , the company said in a tweet on March 18. Our goal is to ensure that they (updates) continue to be stable, secure and reliable . So there will be no more new versions of Chrome in the coming weeks, but Google has decided to maintain the essential security patches. These will be added directly to Chrome 80.

These changes are upsetting Google’s calendar for the coming months. Chrome 81 was expected to arrive in March and was to mark the start of the gradual rollout of new features aimed at blocking unsecured downloads. This plan was to end with Chrome 86 in October 2020. By that time, Google will have implemented all the options to block the download of all types of so-called mixed content.

This timeline is no longer the order of the day. With its dispersed teams working remotely, Google absolutely wants to avoid pushing Chrome or Chrome OS updates that introduce bugs, at a time when the confinement imposed by the coronavirus is increasing the need to be on the Internet more than ever.

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