Say bye to synced tabs, passwords, settings on older Chrome versions

Chrome Sync is one of the best features of Google’s world-dominating web browser. The ability to switch between devices and maintain the same bookmarks, passwords, tabs, etc. is a godsend. Not to mention newer features like moving tabs between mobile and desktop.

Sadly, Chrome Sync is being deprecated on older versions of the browser, according to a recent Google community post — specifically, versions of Chrome that are “more than four years old.” While it hasn’t happened yet, it will start in “early 2025.”

If you’re on such an older version of Chrome, you may start seeing error messages that say “Update Chrome to start sync” or “Update Chrome to keep using the Chrome data in your Google Account.” To keep your Chrome profile data synchronized, you’ll need to update Chrome to the newest version(s) available for your device(s).

What if you can’t update Chrome for whatever reason? Unfortunately, as long as your Chrome stays more than four years out-of-date, you won’t be able to use Chrome Sync going forward. In that case, consider switching to another syncable browser that you can keep updated.

It’s a reasonable move, to be honest. Google wants you on the latest versions of its browser, if for no other reason than the patching of various security flaws. The farther you lag behind in updates, the more vulnerable you become to exploits, malware, and hackers.