Google tightens Chrome sync: Old PCs face compatibility cut‑off
New rules for the Chrome Sync service have been announced—an element of Chrome that allows passwords and other data to be synchronized between a user's devices. Google aims to limit this option to versions of Chrome that are regularly updated and to exclude the oldest computers.
Users of the Google Chrome browser on exceptionally old computers should pay attention to the announced change relating to the operation of data synchronization. Currently, once a user logs into Google in the browser, they can be sure that their search history, passwords, and certain preferences will be continuously transferred and available across different user devices.
After the change, which according to the announcement will take effect "in early 2025," there will be some exceptions. Google stated that Chrome Sync will only work for those browsers that are updated relatively regularly, meaning the version installed on a computer must be no more than 4 years old.
At first glance, this restriction may seem to affect few people (after all, browsers update themselves in the background almost daily), but in practice, the scale may be larger than it seems. The issue could ultimately affect persistent users of Windows 7, 8, and 8.1, in extreme cases forcing them to change their computers.
This is because Google has not supported such old versions of Windows for a long time—and, of course, this is justified, as Microsoft no longer supports them. However, practice shows that both Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 still have users.
According to information about Chrome updates from Google support, the latest browser version that can be installed on computers with Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 is Chrome 109, released in January 2023. This version will be 4 years old in January 2027, and exactly then, data synchronization in the browser will cease to work on the mentioned devices.
If this is a key function of Chrome for someone and they are unable to update the operating system on the given computer, for example, due to hardware requirements, they need to plan to replace their PC within the next two years. At this moment, it is unknown when a similar situation will affect Windows 10, not to mention the latest Windows 11. However, it is worth remembering that Windows 10 will lose Microsoft's support in October of this year.
