Google Chrome is no longer supported on Windows 7, 8 and 8.1. Using this combination of OS and browser today is a very bad idea.
Most of our parents’ computers… get old. Not to mention something else. Seeing them continue to glow day after day is sometimes a real miracle. But if your parents have an older version of Windows, more specifically Windows 7, 8 or 8.1, beware: Google Chrome will remain frozen.
Google Chrome is no longer supported on Windows 7, 8 and 8.1.
Mountain View has indeed announced the end of support for Chrome on Windows 7, 8, and 8.1 as of January 10th. Chrome 109 will be the last major version released for these operating systems. Google originally planned to end support for these older versions of Windows on July 15, 2021, and then delay it until January 15, 2022 due to Covid-19. And last year, Google finally decided to push it back to January 10th.
Nobody should still be using Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 on their PC, let alone our parents. These versions of Windows are no longer supported by Microsoft, which means that they are already completely vulnerable to security vulnerabilities that hackers and other attackers can discover and exploit. Microsoft will not fix these shortcomings either, thereby directly exposing users to danger.
That’s why apps like Google Chrome are leaving the ship. Many of them have already done this. Now the software is simply too old for developers to dedicate resources to maintain it. Big names like Google can afford to keep their popular apps, so as of this writing, Windows 7 can still run Chrome.
Using this combination of OS and browser today is a very bad idea.
So yes, the browser can work, but it’s completely insecure. Since Microsoft no longer provides security updates for Windows 7, Google will also no longer provide security updates for these versions of Chrome. Anyone using this combination of software puts their security at risk and must of course update this software to versions that are still officially supported.
Even if people try to stay on these platforms, there will come a time when it will simply be impossible. Chrome will remain at version 109, sites and services will eventually cease to be compatible with the browser. And in the end, the lack of features will make people move on.