Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Safety Check will now run automatically in the background and warn you if you have compromised passwords, harmful extensions, and more.
- Memory Saver will tell you if a tab should remain active and how much memory can be saved if a tab goes inactive.
- Tab groups can now be saved and accessed on other desktop devices.
Next month, Google plans on testing a “Tracking Protection” feature that will restrict websites from accessing third-party cookies that track your actions across the internet. Before that happens, however, Google is enabling new capabilities that it says will make Chrome on desktop safer and smarter.
Google revealed it is rolling out a few new abilities for Safety Check, Memory Saver, and tab groups this week. Three of the abilities launched today and the fourth will be released in the next few weeks.
According to the announcement, Safety Check for Chrome on desktop will now run automatically in the background. The feature will be able to proactively tell you which passwords have been compromised, if you have any harmful extensions, if site permissions need to be changed, and if you’re on the latest version of Chrome. Safety Check is also gaining the ability to revoke site permissions — like microphone access — if you haven’t visited the site in a while.
For Memory Saver, Google is allowing the feature to share more information. It will now tell you how much memory can be saved if you let a tab go inactive. Additionally, it will let you know which tabs should be allowed to remain active.
The final change that will arrive in the next few weeks is meant for the tab groups feature. When it becomes available, users will be able to save tab groups and access them on different desktop devices.