Google Chrome is turning 15, and to celebrate, it’s getting a redesign and new safety features.
The new design is based on Google’s Material You design language, which is used in other Google products such as Android and Google Search. The new design features a new color palette, smoother animations, and a more consistent look and feel.
To change the design of your browser, click a new button at the bottom of your homepage titled “Customize Chrome.” Then, a pop-out gives you the option to change themes, with colorways ranging from yellow to purple and everything in between. Chrome will automatically switch to whichever choice you click on, so you can explore the different colors before committing to one. Here’s where you can also choose to have your browser be in light mode, dark mode or to match your computer’s settings. Your settings can differ based on which Google account you’ve logged into (and can even stay the standard white if you prefer).
Google has also added more options to Chrome’s drop-down menu that the company says will make it quicker to access tools like Google Password Manager and extensions. You can also check out a public preview of Chrome’s “fresh, modern” web store. It now has an AI-powered extensions tab and an Editor’s spotlight section if you want recommendations for ones to download.
In addition to the design changes, Google is also improving its Safe Browsing technology. Instead of updating its internal list of sites with phishing or malware threats every half hour to hour, Chrome should now check sites in real time. Google claims that 60 percent of bad sites exist for less than 10 minutes and that this change should improve protection by 25 percent.
Overall, the new Chrome updates are a welcome addition, especially the improved security features. The new design is also a nice touch, and it will be interesting to see how the Material You design language evolves in the future.
