Google is releasing a new version of Chrome this week that will improve its dark mode support, alongside removing FTP and Adobe Flash support. The dark mode improvements can be found on both Windows and Chrome OS. There are refinements to both the light and dark modes in Chrome OS, with the themes updated for the app launcher, quick settings, and shelf parts of Chrome OS.
Google’s new Chrome 88 update improves dark mode, removes FTP and Adobe Flash
Chrome 88 is rolling out this week
Chrome 88 is rolling out this week
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
is a senior correspondent and author of Notepad, who has been covering all things Microsoft, PC, and tech for over 20 years.
How To Geek also reports that the Windows 10 dark mode is improved with Chrome 88, with scroll bars finally appearing dark. Unfortunately, these are currently limited to the settings, bookmarks, history, and new tab pages of Chrome 88 and not across all websites with dark themes.
Elsewhere, Google is also removing some old web technology in Chrome 88. The File Transport Protocol (FTP) is officially disabled with this latest version, removing support for a protocol that has been used for decades to send files across the web.
Adobe Flash is also being fully removed from Chrome 88, after being initially blocked and then disabled in recent years. The removal of Flash from Chrome marks the end of an era, following Adobe’s discontinued support on December 31st.
Google is also experimenting with some new features for Chrome. Both tab search and less intrusive website permission requests can be found hidden away in Chrome 88. You’ll need to enable the new tab search using chrome://flags/#enable-tab-search, and it will appear as a new drop down arrow in the Chrome tab UI. Smaller permission prompts can also be enabled from chrome://flags/#permission-chip.
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