Chrome is, without a doubt, the world’s most popular web browser. As such, there’s a very good chance you’re using it to read this article right now. If you happen to be doing so on a Mac, especially an older Mac, I have some news: Google might be dropping Chrome support for your machine soon.
The company quietly dropped the news in a post on its Chrome Platform Status site. Chrome 138, the current version of Chrome, will be the last to support macOS 11, otherwise known as macOS Big Sur. Once Google launches Chrome 139, it will only be available on Macs running macOS 12 or newer.
That doesn’t mean Chrome will shut down on Macs running Big Sur, though. You won’t need to worry about losing access to the internet overnight, just because you happen to use an older machine. However, it does mean your version of Chrome will not receive any future updates—including, importantly, security patches. Security patches are essential to safely using technology that connects to the internet: software vulnerabilities are an inevitability, and once they are discovered, developers race to patch them before hackers learn how to exploit them.
Google frequently issues security patches for Chrome, and often fixes critical issues after they are publicly disclosed or exploited (otherwise known as a zero-day vulnerability). As such, it won’t be safe to use a version of Chrome that doesn’t have the latest security patches for long, which means macOS Big Sur users really shouldn’t be using Chrome for the foreseeable future. Apple doesn’t issue security updates for Big Sur anymore, either. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend you continue to use a version of macOS without security patches, but if you’re going to, your browser really should be ironclad.
What to do if your Mac is running Big Sur
macOS Big Sur came out in November of 2020, so if you’ve been able to update your Mac recently, you’re likely safe here. But, just to be sure, you can check what version you’re running by clicking the Apple in the top left and choosing About This Mac. You’ll see your software version next to “macOS.”
What do you think so far?
If you are running Big Sur, see if there’s an available update to a newer version of macOS from System Settings > General > Software Update—anything macOS 12 or newer will do. If there isn’t an update available, your Mac may not support macOS 12 or newer, and is then stuck on macOS 11, as far as Apple is concerned.
You have some options here beyond buying a newer Mac. If you’re not locked into using Chrome, you can simply switch to a web browser that does still support Big Sur. That includes Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Opera, all three of which will continue to issue software and security updates for your internet browsing needs.
If you need Chrome to function and you happen to be a bit technologically savvy, consider going around Apple to update your Mac to newer version of macOS. OpenCore Legacy Patcher can help instill macOS versions that are not supported on your particular machine. There’s no guarantee you’ll be able to run the most up-to-date version of macOS, but you’ll likely be able to update to something that Chrome still supports. Just be aware the process is a bit involved.