Browsers app
Chrome
Google’s free web browser, built on the open-source Chromium project.
Chrome is the web browser made by Google. It is free on computers and phones, and it is the browser most people use: about seven in ten visits to websites come from it.
Signing in with a Google Account turns on sync, which keeps your bookmarks, history, saved passwords and settings the same on every device where you use Chrome. Several people, or work and personal accounts, can each have their own profile in the same browser.
Most of Chrome’s code comes from Chromium, an open-source project that other browsers, such as Microsoft Edge, are built on too. Extensions from the Chrome Web Store add features such as ad blocking or password managers.
01Is Chrome free?
Chrome costs nothing on any device and has no paid version for personal use. Signing in with a Google Account is optional; if you turn on sync, your bookmarks, history and saved passwords are stored in that account so they appear on your other devices.
02How to start using Chrome
- 1
Download Chrome from google.com/chrome on a computer, or from the App Store or Google Play on a phone. Most Android phones already have it.
- 2
Open it and, when asked, choose whether to make it your default browser.
- 3
Sign in with your Google Account and turn on sync if you want the same bookmarks and passwords everywhere. Chrome also works without signing in.
- 4
Bring over bookmarks and passwords from your old browser: in Settings, choose Import bookmarks and settings.
- 5
Save the pages you return to with how to bookmark a page in Chrome.
03Is Chrome safe?
Updates
Chrome updates itself in the background. When the button at the top right asks you to relaunch, do it, so the security fixes take effect.
Dangerous sites and downloads
Safe Browsing is on by default and warns before known dangerous sites and downloads. Enhanced protection, in Settings, Privacy and security, Security, checks more but sends more of your browsing to Google.
Extensions
An extension can read the pages you visit. Install only the ones you need from the Chrome Web Store, and remove unused ones at chrome://extensions.
Incognito mode
Incognito keeps no history on your device after you close the window. Websites, an employer or school network and your internet provider can still see what you visit.
