Google is delaying the shutdown of Chrome apps, but you probably weren’t using them anyway
Google is going to let you use Chrome apps for a little while longer, as the company on Monday announced an extension to its planned timeline to end support for the software (via 9to5Google).
If you aren’t familiar with Chrome apps, they’re apps that you install in Chrome that work similarly to apps that you’d launch from your desktop — like this one for read-it-later app Pocket. But they aren’t widely adopted — Google said that “approximately 1 percent of users on Windows, Mac, and Linux actively use Chrome packaged apps” all the way back in August 2016 when it first announced plans to wind down support for the platform.
In January, Google said Chrome apps would stop working on Windows, Mac, and Linux this year (technically, the company set a June 2020 deadline, but it doesn’t look like it actually followed through). Now, Google says Chrome apps will work on those platforms until June 2021. Organizations can extend support for Chrome apps on those platforms for an extra year, meaning they’ll work through June 2022.
And if you’re a Chrome OS user, Google will now end support for Chrome apps in June 2022 instead of June of next year. But no matter what platform you’re on, Google says support for Chrome apps will end on all platforms by June 2022.
Chrome extensions will still work, though — and in fact, making an extension is one of the options that Google recommends as an alternative for developers who now need to transition away from Chrome apps but still want to offer similar functionality within the Chrome browser.
Google is going to let you use Chrome apps for a little while longer, as the company on Monday announced an extension to its planned timeline to end support for the software (via 9to5Google). If you aren’t familiar with Chrome apps, they’re apps that you install in Chrome that work…
