14 DAY TRIAL // Google Chrome is one of the few browsers still running on Windows 7, but the search giant has already announced that the support for this old operating system would soon come to an end.
In anticipation of this important milestone, Google Chrome is now showing warnings when running on Windows 7 and Windows 8.1, encouraging users to upgrade to a newer operating system.
As observed by BornCity, the nag screen is part of Chrome 108, and it can be blocked with a registry edit. However, given Chrome 109 will be the last version of the browser to run on Windows 7, the warning could actually come in handy, not necessarily to start planning the upgrade to Windows 10 or Windows 11 but to know when Chrome support for Windows 7 comes to an end.
Google says Chrome would remove support for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 in early 2023 with the release of version 110.
“Chrome 109 is the last version of Chrome that will support Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1. Chrome 110 (tentatively scheduled for release on February 7th, 2023) is the first version of Chrome that requires Windows 10 or later. You’ll need to ensure your device is running Windows 10 or later to continue receiving future Chrome releases. This matches Microsoft's end of support for Windows 7 ESU and Windows 8.1 extended support on January 10th, 2023,” the search giant announced in October.
Needless to say, Chrome will continue to work properly on devices where it’s already installed, but on the other hand, no further updates would be received.
"Older versions of Chrome will continue to work, but there will be no further updates released for users on these operating systems. If you are currently on Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1, we encourage you to move to a supported Windows version to ensure you continue to receive the latest security updates and Chrome features,” Google explains.