Google posted a message on the official Chrome Support website, notifying users about sunsetting synchronization capabilities in old versions of Chrome.
According to the post, Chrome sync will stop working in Chrome 48 and older once Google releases Chrome 96. Google plans to ship Chrome 96 on November 16, 2021, which means oldies have one week to update their browsers to keep using Chrome sync. Starting next week, Google will require Chrome 49 and newer to use sync.
"As previously shared in the Chrome Enterprise release notes for M94, we'd like to inform anyone using Chrome Browser version M48 or lower that Chrome sync will be deprecated on these versions, and will no longer work once M96 launches on the stable channel. In order to continue to use Chrome sync, please update your browser to Chrome version M49 or higher."
According to a report from StatCounter, Google Chrome holds the title of the most popular browser with a 67.17% market share. Google does not provide official numbers about Chrome versions usage, but W3Schools reports that most users are running the latest Chrome 94 and 95 releases.
Approximately 2.5% of Chrome users are on version 85 and older, which means quite a lot of people, for some reason, prefer ancient and significantly outdated versions of the browser. That makes them vulnerable to attacks that use exploits and security holes patched in the newer releases.
Note that moving from Chrome 48 to other Chromium-based browsers that support Chrome sync is not an option. This year, Google announced plans to block such browsers from accessing Google APIs.
Unless your computer or operating system cannot run the latest Chrome release, it is better to upgrade from Chrome 48 or move to another browser if privacy or other issues in newer Chrome versions bother you.
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