Google has been testing a bunch of new apps for its famous Chrome browser over the last few weeks. We've seen signs of a radically new Interface for Chrome's new Android tab page, a custom sharing sheet that's been found in Canary, less intrusive prompts for notification and more. Now, in the latest update to Google Chrome, Google has started rolling out some of those features. According to a new BleepingComputer article, Chrome 80 has now started rolling out to both Android and a laptop. The update brings with it a wide range of security fixes, bug fixes and a number of new features. Below are some of the key enhancements included in version 80.0.3987.87 of Chrome.

Google announced new cookie controls back in May last year to improve the way Google Chrome administers cookies. Chrome enforces the secure-by-default cookie classification system with the latest update which is designed to treat cookies without a SameSite= Lax tag. Google maintains that only cookies are set as SameSite= None; Secure is available in third-party contexts, subject to the conditions that they’re accessed from a secure connection.

The Google Chrome 80 also updates mixed content auto-upgrades through rewriting the URL to HTTPS. The browser does not provide a fallback to HTTP and blocks the websites if they do not load over https:/. We learned about this feature back in October of last year and Chrome will now automatically update mixed audio and video resources as per the schedule shared on the Chromium Blog. Mixed images, however, will still be allowed to load, but they will bring up the “Not Secure” label in the omnibox.

Chrome 80 will allow developers to use scalable SVG images as favicons, too. This, in effect, may help them reduce the number of such tools on any website or application. In addition, the update also enables writers and users to connect a specific portion of a web page by adding a text fragment from the website to the web page URL. When such a URL is opened in the browser, the added text will be highlighted on the page and Chrome will scroll the highlighted fragment into view automatically.

In addition to all of these improvements, the latest Chrome update also brings DevTools a range of updates and upgrades, along with a patch for 56 bugs found in the browser.

Image credit: Gadgetsnow

Source: Xda-developers