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Chrome for Android and desktop simplifying sign in with Google Account

After introducing on iOS last year, Chrome for Android and desktop will soon replace the “Chrome Sync” system with a more standard Google Account sign in approach.

Similar to how other first-party apps work, signing into your Google Account in Chrome for Android and desktop will soon let you access saved passwords, payment info, and addresses. On Android, you also get bookmarks, reading list, and settings, with more data types coming to desktop in the future. 

Meanwhile, you can “Sync your tabs and history” to your Google Account by enabling a separate opt-in setting. 

Chrome Sync first came into existence in 2009 with a two-stage process: “requiring both sign-in and enabling sync.” This upcoming change reflects how “users increasingly expect to just sign in to get access to their stuff and sign out to keep it safe.” 

This “new identity model” that will eventually replace the legacy sync model is coming “soon” to Chrome for Android and desktop. You can also continue to use Chrome without signing in.

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Avatar for Abner Li Abner Li

Editor-in-chief. Interested in the minutiae of Google and Alphabet. Tips/talk: abner@9to5g.com

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