{{Short description|Open-source web browser project}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}} {{Infobox software | name = Chromium | logo = Chromium Logo.svg | logo size = 100px | screenshot = Chromium 140 on Linux screenshot (light theme).webp | caption = Chromium version 140, showing the home page of Wikipedia | author = Google<ref name="2008 debut"/> | developer = The Chromium Projects,<ref name="tcphome"/> controlled by Google<ref name="still Google's project in 2020"/> | released = {{Start date and age|df=yes|2008|9|2}}<ref name="2008 debut"/> | programming language = C++ primarily,<ref name="source code language percentages">{{cite web |title=Chromium - Language Breakdown |url=https://www.openhub.net/p/chrome/analyses/latest/languages_summary |website=Open Hub |access-date=19 February 2024}}</ref> HTML, CSS, JavaScript for UI and test suite<ref name="Chromium coding style">{{cite web |title=Chromium coding style |website=Google Open Source |publisher=Google Source |url=https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/+/master/styleguide/styleguide.md |access-date=22 April 2021}}</ref><ref name="web platform tests"/> | operating system = {{ubl |Android 10 or later <!--NOTE: only the OSes officially supported, i.e. OS-specific code resident in the codebase, are listed here --> |BSD |iOS 17 or later |iPadOS 17 or later |Linux <!--NOTE: covers all Linux distros, e.g. Raspberry Pi OS--> |macOS 12 or later |Windows 10 or later }} | engines = V8, Blink (WebKit on iOS/iPadOS)<ref>{{cite web |title=Open-sourcing Chrome on iOS! |year=2017 |url= https://blog.chromium.org/2017/01/open-sourcing-chrome-on-ios.html |quote=Due to constraints of the iOS platform, all browsers must be built on top of the WebKit rendering engine. |access-date=26 April 2021}}</ref> | platform = IA-32, x86-64, ARM, ARM64 | license = LGPL, BSD-3 and others<ref name="BSD license"/><ref name="other FOSS licenses"/> | website = {{URL|https://chromium.org/}} }}
'''Chromium''' is a free and open-source web browser project, primarily developed and maintained by Google.<ref name="still Google's project in 2020"/> It is a widely used codebase, providing the vast majority of code for Google Chrome and many other browsers, including <!--per https://gs.statcounter.com/ only list the 3 most-used here-->Microsoft Edge, Samsung Browser, and Opera. The code is also used by several app frameworks.
== Licensing ==
Chromium is a free and open-source software project. Owing to its origins in the WebKit project, Chromium incorporates code subject to a variety of licenses, including LGPL, MIT, Ms-PL, and MPL (with the MPL/GPL/LGPL tri-license clause).<ref name="other FOSS licenses">{{cite web |url=https://code.google.com/chromium/terms.html |title=Chromium Terms and Conditions |date=2 September 2008 |access-date=27 April 2021 |work=Google Code |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081022102106/https://code.google.com/chromium/terms.html |archive-date=22 October 2008}}</ref> Original Google-authored portions and some portions written by Apple are shared under the 3-clause BSD license.<ref name="BSD license">{{cite web |title=BSD license |url=https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/+/master/LICENSE |website=Chromium repository |access-date=27 April 2021}}</ref>
This licensing permits any party to build the codebase and share the resulting browser executable with the Chromium name and logo. Thus many Linux distributions do this, as well as FreeBSD and OpenBSD.<ref name="Woolyss"/> Chromium also forms the basis of Electron, which in turn is used for many commercial and proprietary cross-platform applications, such as Slack.
Many Chromium-based browser, such as Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, are include the proprietary components, such as proprietary wrapper libraries for hardware acceleration.<ref>{{Cite web |title=928630 – chrome/chromium va-api support failing |url=https://bugs.gentoo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=928630 |access-date=2026-05-31 |website=bugs.gentoo.org}}</ref>
== Differences from Google Chrome ==
Chromium provides the vast majority of source code for Google Chrome, but there are important differences.
=== Features ===
Chromium lacks the following Chrome features:<ref name="Woolyss">{{cite web |title=Notes on Chromium |url=https://chromium.woolyss.com/ |website=Woolyss |access-date=3 April 2021}}</ref> *Automatic browser updates *API keys for some Google services, including browser sync<ref name="sync2021"/> *The Widevine DRM module *Licensed codecs for the popular H.264 video and AAC audio formats *Tracking mechanisms for usage and crash reports
=== Branding and licensing ===
Google first chose the name "Chrome" with intention to minimize ''chrome'' for its browser.<ref>{{cite news |last=Dougerty |first=Conor |date=July 12, 2015 |title=Sundar Pichai of Google Talks About Phone Intrusion |url=https://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/12/sundar-pichai-of-google-talks-about-phone-intrusion/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150719034413/https://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/12/sundar-pichai-of-google-talks-about-phone-intrusion/ |archive-date=July 19, 2015 |access-date=April 25, 2019 |work=The New York Times |quote=There is a reason when we built Chrome we minimized everything to do with Chrome so that all you spent time on was the website you cared about at the given time. We wanted the users to focus on the content they were using. The reason the product was named "Chrome" was we wanted to minimize the chrome of the browser. That's how we thought about it.}}</ref> Then the open-source release was named "Chromium" because chromium metal is used to make chrome plating.<ref name="2008 debut">{{cite web|url= https://blog.chromium.org/2008/09/welcome-to-chromium_02.html|title= Welcome to Chromium|author=((Google))|date=2 September 2008 |access-date=28 April 2021}}</ref>
Chrome has the same user interface functionality as Chromium, but with a Google-branded color scheme. Unlike Chromium, Chrome is not open-source; its binaries are licensed as freeware under the Google Chrome Terms of Service.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.google.com/chrome/browser/privacy/eula_text.html|title=Google Chrome Terms of Service|website=www.google.com|access-date=26 September 2017}}</ref>
== Development ==
The Chromium browser codebase contains over 36 million source lines of code, excluding comments and blank lines.<ref name="source code language percentages"/>
=== Contributors ===
Chromium has been a Google project since its inception,<ref name="2008 debut"/><ref name="still Google's project in 2020">{{cite web|first=Stephen|last=Shankland|date=30 November 2020|title=Google gets web allies by letting outsiders help build Chrome's foundation|url=https://www.cnet.com/news/google-gets-web-allies-by-letting-outsiders-help-build-chromes-foundation/|website=CNET|access-date=27 April 2021}}</ref> and Google employees have done the bulk of the development work.<ref name="Google devs have made 92% of commits as of 2019">{{cite web|title=Intent to Explain: Demystifying the Blink Shipping Process|url=https://blog.chromium.org/2019/11/intent-to-explain-demystifying-blink.html|website=Chromium Blog|date=12 November 2019|access-date=27 April 2021}}</ref>
Google refers to this project and the offshoot ChromiumOS as "the Chromium projects",<ref name="tcphome">{{cite web |title=The Chromium Projects |url=https://www.chromium.org/ |publisher=Google |access-date=28 April 2021}}</ref> and its employees use @chromium.org email addresses for this development work. However, in terms of governance, the Chromium projects are not independent entities; Google retains firm control of them.<ref name="still Google's project in 2020"/>
The Chromium browser codebase is widely used, so others have made important contributions, most notably Microsoft, Igalia, Yandex, Intel, Samsung, LG, Opera, Vivaldi, and Brave.<ref name="Google devs have made 92% of commits as of 2019"/><ref name="still Google's project in 2020"/> Some employees of these companies also have @chromium.org email addresses.
=== Architecture === Google designed the first multi-process browser.<ref>{{cite web |title=Modern Multi-Process Browser Architecture |date=22 January 2019 |url=https://helgeklein.com/blog/modern-multi-process-browser-architecture/ |quote=Chrome was the first browser with a multi-process architecture. |access-date=1 December 2023}}</ref><ref name="debut_video"/> Compared to single-process designs, this architecture has better responsiveness with many browser tabs open and security benefits of process isolation, but with the trade-off of higher memory usage.<ref name=inside-chrome-blog>{{cite web |last1=Kosaka |first1=Mariko |title=Inside look at modern web browser (part 1) |url=https://developer.chrome.com/blog/inside-browser-part1/ |website=developer.chrome.com |access-date=1 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Multi-process Architecture |url=https://www.chromium.org/developers/design-documents/multi-process-architecture/ |access-date=2023-11-18 |website=www.chromium.org}}</ref> This was later refined as per-process website isolation, providing additional security.<ref name=inside-chrome-blog/>
Another important design decision was for the browser's user interface to be minimalistic.<ref name="debut_video">{{cite web |title=The story behind Google Chrome |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGmO7Oximw8 |website=YouTube | date=26 August 2008 |publisher=Google |access-date=5 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/battle-of-the-browsers--which-is-master-of-the-web-1743947.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220515/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/battle-of-the-browsers--which-is-master-of-the-web-1743947.html |archive-date=15 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | location=London | work=The Independent | first=Pat | last=Pilcher | date=13 July 2009|title=Battle of the browsers - which is master of the web? }}</ref><ref name="Chromium User Exp"/>
The browser engine was originally based on Apple's WebKit, which Google deemed the "obvious choice" of available options.<ref name="blink_announcement"/> However, Google's novel multi-process design required engine changes. This divergence from Apple's version increased over time, so in 2013 Google officially forked its version as the Blink engine.<ref name="blink_announcement"/><ref name="blink_ars"/> However, as of 2025, Google is still working on getting the Blink engine onto iOS, and has released experimental code for it.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chromium Docs - Checking out and building Chromium for iOS |url=https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src.git/+/HEAD/docs/ios/build_instructions.md#building-blink-for-ios |access-date=2025-12-08 |website=chromium.googlesource.com}}</ref>
=== Programming languages === C++ is the primary language, comprising over half of the codebase.<ref name="source code language percentages" /> This includes the Blink and V8 engines, the implementation of HTTP and other protocols, the internal caching system, the extension API, and most of the user interface.<ref name="UI repo">{{cite web |title=chrome/browser/ui - chromium/src.git - Git at Google |url=https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src.git/+/refs/heads/main/chrome/browser/ui/ |website=Chromium repository |access-date=20 December 2023}}</ref>
The rest of the user interface, called the WebUI, is implemented in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript (usually via TypeScript transpilation).<ref name="UI repo"/><ref name="Chromium coding style" /> An extensive collection of web platform tests is also written in these languages plus XML.<ref name="web platform tests">{{cite web |title=Web Platform Tests |url=https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/+/master/docs/testing/web_platform_tests.md |website=Chromium repository |access-date=27 April 2021}}</ref><ref name="source code language percentages" />
Third-party libraries that provide essential functionality,<ref>{{cite web |title=third_party - chromium/src.git - Git at Google |url=https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src.git/+/master/third_party |website=Chromium repository |access-date=27 April 2021}}</ref> such as SQLite and numerous codecs, are written in C, C++, or beginning in 2023,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jansens |first=Dana |date=2023-01-12 |title=Supporting the Use of Rust in the Chromium Project |url=https://security.googleblog.com/2023/01/supporting-use-of-rust-in-chromium.html |access-date=2023-01-13 |website=Google Online Security Blog |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Rust in Chromium |website=Chromium docs |url=https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/+/refs/heads/main/docs/rust.md |access-date=2023-12-02}}</ref> the newer Rust language.<ref name="source code language percentages"/>
Support for mobile operating systems requires special languages: for Android both Java and Kotlin, and for iOS both Objective-C and Swift.<ref name="Chromium coding style"/><ref name="source code language percentages"/>
Python is the main language of the build system,<ref name="source code language percentages"/> which also has special configuration files for Google's GN tool.<ref>{{Cite web |title=gn - Git at Google |url=https://gn.googlesource.com/gn |access-date=2023-12-03 |website=gn.googlesource.com}}</ref>
=== Logistics ===
The bug tracking system is a publicly accessible website.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chromium bug tracking system |url=https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/list |access-date=28 April 2021}}</ref> Participants are identified by their email addresses.
The Chromium continuous integration system automatically builds and tests the codebase several times a day.<ref name="CI system">{{cite web|url=https://dev.chromium.org/developers/testing/chromium-build-infrastructure/tour-of-the-chromium-buildbot|title=Tour of the Chromium Continuous Integration Console|access-date=26 April 2021}}</ref>
Builds are identified by a four-part version number that is major.minor.build.patch.<ref name="dev-cal">{{cite web|url=https://www.chromium.org/developers/version-numbers|title=Version Numbers|website=The Chromium Projects|access-date=1 May 2015|date=14 March 2014|first= Mike|last= Frysinger}}</ref> This versioning scheme and the branch points that occur every six to seven weeks are from Google Chrome and its development cycle.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1uv_dNkPVlDFG1kaImq7dW-6PasJQU1Yzpj5IKG_2coA/present?slide=id.i109|title=Chrome Release Cycle -12/16/2010 |website=Google Slides|access-date=1 May 2015|date=16 December 2010|first=Anthony|last=LaForge}}</ref>
== History ==
=== 2008 to 2010 ===
Google Chrome debuted in September 2008, and along with its release, the Chromium source code was also made available, allowing builds to be constructed from it.<ref name="2008 debut"/><ref name="Paul02Seo08">{{cite web|url= https://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2008/09/google-unveils-chrome-source-code-and-linux-port.ars|title= Google unveils Chrome source code and Linux port|access-date=19 June 2010|last= Paul|first= Ryan|date=September 2008}}</ref><ref name="Paul11Dec08">{{cite web|url= https://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2008/12/google-anticipates-a-bright-and-shiny-future-for-chrome.ars|title= Google releases Chrome 1.0|access-date=19 June 2010|last= Paul|first= Ryan|date=December 2008}}</ref>
Upon release, Chrome was criticized for storing a user's passwords without the protection of a master password. Google has insisted that a master password provides no real security against knowledgeable hackers, but users argued that it would protect against co-workers or family members borrowing a computer and being able to view stored passwords as plaintext.<ref name="Issue1397">{{cite web |url=https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=1397|title= 1397 - Master password is missing |access-date=29 March 2011|website=bugs.chromium.org|date=March 2011}}</ref> In December 2009, Chromium developer P. Kasting stated: "A master password was issue 1397. That issue is closed. We will not implement a master password. Not now, not ever. Arguing for it won't make it happen. 'A bunch of people would like it' won't make it happen. Our design decisions are not democratic. You cannot always have what you want."<ref name="Issue812">{{cite web |url=https://bugs.chromium.org/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=812#c69|title= 812 - Profile/login support |access-date=29 March 2011|website=bugs.chromium.org|date=March 2011}}</ref>
thumb|An alpha build of Chromium 3 for Linux
Version 3 was the first alpha available for Linux. Chromium soon incorporated native theming for Linux, using the GTK+ toolkit to allow it fit into the GNOME desktop environment.<ref name="Paul27May09">{{cite web|url= https://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2009/05/hands-on-google-chromium-browser-alpha-for-linux.ars |title=Hands on: Google Chromium browser alpha for Linux |access-date=20 June 2010|last= Paul|first= Ryan|date=May 2009}}</ref><ref name="Paul05Jun09">{{cite web |url=https://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2009/06/google-releases-chrome-preview-for-mac-os-x-and-linux.ars|title= Google releases Chrome preview for Mac OS X and Linux |access-date=20 June 2010 |last=Paul|first= Ryan|date=June 2009}}</ref><ref name="Paul08Jul09">{{cite web|url= https://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2009/07/google-chromium-gains-native-theming-support-on-linux.ars|title= Google Chromium gains native theming support on Linux |access-date=20 June 2010|last= Paul|first= Ryan|date=July 2009}}</ref><ref name="ChromiumBlog04Jun09">{{cite web|url= https://blog.chromium.org/2009/06/danger-mac-and-linux-builds-available.html|title= Danger: Mac and Linux builds available |access-date=22 June 2010 |last=Smith|first= Mike and Karen Grunberg|date=June 2009}}</ref> Version 3 also introduced JavaScript engine optimizations and user-selectable themes.<ref name="Paul16Sep09">{{cite web |url=https://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2009/09/chrome-3-out-javascript-performance-increased-150-since-v1.ars|title= Chrome 3 out, JavaScript performance increased 150% since v1 |access-date=20 June 2010|last= Paul|first= Ryan|date=September 2009}}</ref>
Version 6 introduced features for user interface minimalism, as one of Google's goals was to make the browser "feel lightweight (cognitively and physically) and fast".<ref name="Chromium User Exp">{{cite web|title=User Experience |url=https://dev.chromium.org/user-experience |access-date=5 July 2009 |publisher=dev.chromium.org |year=2009 |work=Chromium Developer Documentation}}</ref> The changes were a unified tools menu, no home button by default (although user configurable), a combined reload/stop button, and the bookmark bar deactivated by default. It also introduced an integrated PDF reader, WebM and VP8 support for use with HTML video, and a smarter URL bar.<ref name="OMGUbuntu11Jul10">{{cite web|url= http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2010/07/chromiums-unified-menu-great-idea-sucks.html|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100815043349/http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2010/07/chromiums-unified-menu-great-idea-sucks.html |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all |archive-date=2010-08-15 |title= Chromium's Unified Menu Comes to Daily Builds |access-date=15 July 2010|last= Sneddon |first= Joey-Elijah|date=July 2010}}</ref><ref name="Gruener11Jul10">{{cite web|url= http://www.conceivablytech.com/1770/products/chrome-6-the-naked-browser/|title= Overview: Chrome 6, The Naked Browser |access-date=14 July 2010|last= Gruener|first= Wolfgang|date=July 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120406211829/http://www.conceivablytech.com/1770/products/chrome-6-the-naked-browser |archive-date=6 April 2012}}</ref>
Version 7 boosted performance to twice that of prior versions via hardware acceleration.<ref name="NakanoAug10">{{cite web|url= http://www.cmswire.com/cms/web-publishing/chromium-7-has-arrived-and-its-not-that-awesome-008367.php|title= Chromium 7 Has Arrived and It's Not that Awesome |access-date=20 August 2010|last= Nakano |first= Chelsi|date=August 2010}}</ref><ref name="Gruener17Aug10">{{cite web|url= http://www.conceivablytech.com/2295/products/first-look-google-increases-graphics-performance-with-chrome-7/ |title= First Look: Google Increases Graphics Performance With Chrome 7 |access-date=20 August 2010 |last=Gruener |first= Wolfgang |date=August 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120724042508/http://www.conceivablytech.com/2295/products/first-look-google-increases-graphics-performance-with-chrome-7 |archive-date=24 July 2012}}</ref><ref name="Gruener08Oct10">{{cite news|url= http://www.conceivablytech.com/3391/products/a-preview-of-chrome-8-clouds-ahead/|title= A Preview of Chrome 8: Clouds Ahead |access-date=14 October 2010|last= Gruener|first= Wolfgang|date=October 2010 |work= Conceivably Tech |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120724042517/http://www.conceivablytech.com/3391/products/a-preview-of-chrome-8-clouds-ahead |archive-date=24 July 2012}}</ref>
Version 8 focused on improved integration into ChromeOS and improved cloud features. These include background web applications, host remoting (allowing users centrally to control features and settings on other computers) and cloud printing.<ref name="Gruener08Oct10"/>
Version 9 introduced a number of features, including a URL bar feature for exposing phishing attacks and sandboxing for the Adobe Flash plug-in. Other additions were the WebGL library and access for the new Chrome Web Store.<ref name="Bakke11Nov10">{{cite news |url=http://www.conceivablytech.com/4059/products/googles-next-big-browser-play-perendering-and-false-start/|title= Google's Next Big Browser Play: Prerendering and False Start? |access-date=23 October 2010|last= Bakke|first= Kurt |date=November 2010 |work= Conceivably Tech|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120724042540/http://www.conceivablytech.com/4059/products/googles-next-big-browser-play-perendering-and-false-start |archive-date=24 July 2012}}</ref><ref name="ChromiumBlog01Dec10">{{cite news |url=https://blog.chromium.org/2010/12/rolling-out-sandbox-for-adobe-flash.html|title= Rolling out a sandbox for Adobe Flash Player |access-date=1 December 2010|last= Schuh |first= Justin and Carlos Pizano |date=December 2010 |work= Chromium Blog}}</ref><ref name="Gruener04Feb11">{{cite news |url=http://www.conceivablytech.com/5491/products/chrome-9-and-11-instant-search-more-speed/ |title=Chrome 9 and 11: Instant Search, More Speed |access-date=6 February 2011 |last=Gruener |first=Wolfgang |date=February 2011 |work=Conceivably Tech |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018064658/http://www.conceivablytech.com/5491/products/chrome-9-and-11-instant-search-more-speed |archive-date=18 October 2012}}</ref>
=== 2011 ===
120px|thumb|Chromium logo introduced in 2011<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.techspot.com/news/42848-google-chrome-and-chromium-to-get-new-logos.html |title=Google Chrome and Chromium to get new logos |last=Protalinski |first=Emil |date=2011-03-16 |df=dmy-all |work=Conceivably Tech |access-date=2017-12-10}}</ref>
In February, Google announced that it was considering large-scale user interface (UI) changes, including at least partial elimination of the URL bar, which had been a mainstay of browsers since the early years of the Web. The proposed UI was to be a consolidation of the row of tabs and the row of navigation buttons, the menu, and URL bar into a single row. The justification was freeing up more screen space for web page content. Google acknowledged that this would result in URLs not always being visible to the user, that navigation controls and menus may lose their context, and that the resulting single line could be quite crowded.<ref name="Gruener20Feb11">{{cite news |url=http://www.conceivablytech.com/5746/products/google-may-kill-chrome-url-bar |title=Google May Kill Chrome URL Bar |access-date=6 February 2011 |last=Gruener |first=Wolfgang |date=February 2011 |work= Conceivably Tech|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130326023943/http://www.conceivablytech.com/5746/products/google-may-kill-chrome-url-bar |archive-date=26 March 2013}}</ref> However, by August, Google decided that these changes were too risky and shelved the idea.<ref name="Gruener09Aug11">{{cite news|url= http://www.conceivablytech.com/8765/products/google-shelves-hidden-location-bar|title= Google Shelves Hidden Location Bar |access-date=9 August 2011|last= Gruener|first= Wolfgang|date=August 2011 |work= Conceivably Tech|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120406211012/http://www.conceivablytech.com/8765/products/google-shelves-hidden-location-bar |archive-date=6 April 2012}}</ref>
In March, Google announced other directions for the project. Development priorities focused on reducing the size of the executable, integrating web applications and plug-ins, cloud computing, and touch interface support.<ref name="Gruener22Mar11">{{cite web|url= http://www.conceivablytech.com/6390/products/google-chrome-in-2011-the-biggest-loser |title= Google Chrome in 2011: The Biggest Loser? |access-date=27 March 2011 |last= Gruener|first= Wolfgang|date=March 2011|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120818111245/http://www.conceivablytech.com/6390/products/google-chrome-in-2011-the-biggest-loser |archive-date=18 August 2012}}</ref><ref name="Shankland22Mar11">{{cite web |url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20045776-264.html|title= Google working to reverse Chrome bloat |access-date=27 March 2011|last= Shankland|first= Stephen|work= CNET |date=March 2011}}</ref> Thus a multi-profile button was introduced to the UI, allowing users to log into multiple Google and other accounts in the same browser instance. Other additions were malware detection and support for hardware-accelerated CSS transforms.<ref name="Gruener19Apr11">{{cite news|url= http://www.conceivablytech.com/6908/products/google-preps-huge-ui-update-for-chrome|title= Google Preps Huge UI Update For Chrome |access-date=20 April 2011|last= Gruener|first= Wolfgang |date=April 2011 |work= Conceivably Tech|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120406211102/http://www.conceivablytech.com/6908/products/google-preps-huge-ui-update-for-chrome |archive-date=6 April 2012}}</ref><ref name="Paul10Jun11">{{cite news|url= https://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2011/06/chrome-12-arrives-with-security-rendering-improvements.ars |title= Chrome 12 arrives with security, rendering improvements |access-date=12 June 2011|last= Paul|first= Ryan|date=June 2011 |work= Ars Technica}}</ref>
By May, the results of Google's attempts to reduce the file size of Chromium were already being noted. Much of the early work in this area concentrated on shrinking the size of WebKit, the image resizer, and the Android build system.<ref name="Bailey04May11">{{cite news|url= http://www.conceivablytech.com/7203/products/google-trims-fat-from-chrome|title= Google Trims Fat From Chrome |access-date=5 May 2011 |last= Bailey|first= Dan|date=May 2011 |work= Conceivably Tech|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120406211131/http://www.conceivablytech.com/7203/products/google-trims-fat-from-chrome |archive-date=6 April 2012}}</ref> Subsequent work introduced a more compact mobile version that reduced the vertical space of the UI.<ref name="Paul19May11">{{cite news |url= https://arstechnica.com/software/news/2011/05/chrome-13-introduces-experimental-hidden-nav-bar-option.ars|title= Chrome 13 introduces experimental hidden nav bar option |access-date=19 May 2011|last= Paul|first= Ryan|date=May 2011 |work= Ars Technica}}</ref><ref name="Gruener19May11">{{cite news|url= http://www.conceivablytech.com/7485/products/google-is-serious-you-can-kill-chromes-url-bar|title= Google Is Serious: You Can Kill Chrome's URL Bar |access-date=19 May 2011|last= Gruener |first=Wolfgang|date=May 2011 |work= Conceivably Tech|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120419081802/http://www.conceivablytech.com/7485/products/google-is-serious-you-can-kill-chromes-url-bar |archive-date=19 April 2012}}</ref>
Other changes in 2011 were GPU acceleration on all pages, adding support for the new Web Audio API, and the Google Native Client (NaCl) which permits native code supplied by third parties as platform-neutral binaries to be securely executed within the browser itself.<ref name="Bailey02Jun11">{{cite news |url= http://www.conceivablytech.com/7747/products/no-more-updates-for-firefox-4-chromium-14-released|title= No More Updates For Firefox 4, Chromium 14 Released |access-date=3 June 2011|last= Bailey|first= Dan|date=June 2011 |work= Conceivably Tech|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120406211200/http://www.conceivablytech.com/7747/products/no-more-updates-for-firefox-4-chromium-14-released |archive-date=6 April 2012}}</ref><ref name="Paul18Sep11">{{cite news|url= https://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2011/09/chrome-14-arrives-with-improved-lion-support-and-nacl.ars|title= Chrome 14 arrives with improved Lion support and NaCl |access-date=20 September 2011|last= Paul|first= Ryan|date=September 2011 |work= Ars Technica}}</ref> Google's Skia graphics library was also made available for all Chromium versions.<ref name="Bailey18Sep11">{{cite news|url= http://www.conceivablytech.com/9400/products/3d-web-browsing-sneaks-into-google-chrome|title= 3D Web Browsing Sneaks into Google Chrome |access-date=19 September 2011|last= Bailey |first= Dan|date=September 2011 |work= Conceivably Tech |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120818161953/http://www.conceivablytech.com/9400/products/3d-web-browsing-sneaks-into-google-chrome |archive-date=18 August 2012}}</ref><ref name="Bailey22Sep11">{{cite news|url= http://www.conceivablytech.com/9448/business/google-to-switch-chromium-for-mac-graphics-to-skia|title= Google To Switch Chromium For Mac Graphics to Skia |access-date=19 September 2011|last= Bailey|first= Dan |date=September 2011 |work= Conceivably Tech|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120616125718/http://www.conceivablytech.com/9448/business/google-to-switch-chromium-for-mac-graphics-to-skia |archive-date=16 June 2012}}</ref>
=== Since 2012 === thumb|120px|The Chromium Material Icon used until 2022
The sync service added for Google Chrome in 2012 could also be used by Chromium builds.<ref name="Mathias15May12">{{cite web|url= http://chrome.blogspot.ca/2012/05/keeping-tabs-on-your-tabs.html|title= Keeping tabs on your tabs |access-date=15 May 2012|last= Mathias|first= Raz |date=15 May 2012}}</ref><ref name="Paul16May12">{{cite news|url= https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/05/hands-on-with-the-new-tab-synchronization-feature-in-chrome-19/|title= Hands-on with the new tab synchronization feature in Chrome 19 |access-date=19 May 2012|last= Paul|first= Ryan |date=16 May 2012 |work= Ars Technica}}</ref> The same year, a new API for high-quality video and audio communication was added, enabling web applications to access the user's webcam and microphone after asking permission to do so.<ref name="Grunberg31Jul12">{{cite web|url= http://googlechromereleases.blogspot.ca/2012/07/stable-channel-release.html|title= Stable Channel Release |access-date=31 July 2012|last= Grunberg|first= Karen |date=31 July 2012}}</ref><ref name="Paul31Jul12">{{cite news|url= https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/07/chrome-21-launches-with-webcam-api-and-retina-mac-support/|title= Chrome 21 launches with webcam API and retina Mac support |access-date=15 August 2012|last= Paul|first= Ryan |date=31 July 2012 |work= Ars Technica}}</ref> Then GPU accelerated video decoding for Windows and support for the QUIC protocol were added.<ref name="Chrome06Nov12">{{cite web|url= https://chromereleases.googleblog.com/2012/11/stable-channel-release-and-beta-channel.html|title= Stable Channel Release and Beta Channel |website=Chrome Releases |access-date=6 November 2012|last= Grunberg|first=Karen|publisher = Google|date=6 November 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Issue 11125002: Add QuicFramer and friends. |url=https://chromiumcodereview.appspot.com/11125002|access-date=2020-12-25 |df=dmy-all|website= Chromium Code Reviews |date=2012-10-12 }}</ref>
In 2013, Chromium's modified WebKit rendering engine was officially forked as the Blink engine.<ref name="blink_announcement">{{cite web |last=Barth |first=Adam |url=https://blog.chromium.org/2013/04/blink-rendering-engine-for-chromium.html |title=Blink: A rendering engine for the Chromium project |website=blog.chromium.org |date=3 April 2013 |access-date=12 March 2024}}</ref><ref name="blink_ars">{{cite web |first=Peter |last=Bright |title=Google going its own way, forking WebKit rendering engine |url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/04/google-going-its-own-way-forking-webkit-rendering-engine/ |website=Ars Technica |publisher=Conde Nast |date=3 April 2013 |access-date=9 March 2017}}</ref>
Other changes in 2013 were the ability to reset user profiles and new browser extension APIs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-57599447-12/chrome-29-adds-a-reset-button/#!|title=Chrome 29 adds a reset button|access-date=8 April 2014|last=Cho|first=Eddie|date=20 August 2013|publisher=CNET |website=Download.com |archive-date=8 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408211548/http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-57599447-12/chrome-29-adds-a-reset-button/#!|url-status=dead}}</ref> Tab indicators for audio and webcam usage were also added, as was automatic blocking of files detected as malware.<ref name="Chrome32Release">{{cite news |url=http://googlechromereleases.blogspot.ca/2014/01/stable-channel-update.html|title= Stable Channel Update |access-date=14 January 2014 |first1=Karen |last1=Grunberg |first2=Daniel |last2=Xie |date=14 January 2014 |work=Chrome Releases |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116094641/http://googlechromereleases.blogspot.ca/2014/01/stable-channel-update.html |archive-date= Jan 16, 2014 }}</ref>
Version 67 added the security benefit of per-process website isolation.<ref name=inside-chrome-blog/> Then version 69 introduced a new browser theme, as part of the tenth anniversary of Google Chrome.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tehnoblog.org/how-to-fix-google-chrome-browser-new-round-design-revert-it-back/|title=Google Chrome Browser – New Material Design – 10 Years Anniversary |website=TehnoBlog.org |date=September 7, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240309035728/https://tehnoblog.org/how-to-fix-google-chrome-browser-new-round-design-revert-it-back/ |archive-date= Mar 9, 2024 }}</ref> The same year, new measures were added to curtail abusive advertising.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2018/12/06/chrome-71-stomps-on-abusive-advertising/ |title= Chrome 71 stomps on abusive advertising|access-date=7 December 2018|last = Bradbury |first = Danny|work = Naked Security |date=6 December 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209124019/https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2018/12/06/chrome-71-stomps-on-abusive-advertising/ |archive-date= Dec 9, 2018 }}</ref>
Since 2021, the Google Chrome sync service can no longer be used by Chromium builds.<ref>{{cite web|title=Limiting private API availability in Chromium|url=https://blog.chromium.org/2021/01/limiting-private-api-availability-in.html |website= Chromium Blog |date=January 15, 2021 |first1=Jochen |last1=Eisinger |access-date=20 March 2021}}</ref><ref name="sync2021">{{cite web|title=Chromium sync Google API removed|date=24 January 2021|url=https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2021/01/chromium-sync-google-api-removed|access-date=20 March 2021}}</ref> Also, starting with version 89, only Intel and AMD processors with the SSE3 instruction set or later are supported.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Weatherbed |first=Jess |date=February 8, 2021 |title=Google Chrome will no longer support some older processors |url=https://www.techradar.com/news/google-chrome-will-no-longer-support-some-older-processors |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211064911/https://www.techradar.com/news/google-chrome-will-no-longer-support-some-older-processors |archive-date=February 11, 2021 |access-date=February 16, 2021 |website=TechRadar |language=en}}</ref>
Starting with version 110, only Windows 10 and later are supported for Windows users.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chrome browser system requirements |url=https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/7100626?hl=en |website=Chrome Enterprise and Education Help |access-date=10 March 2024}}</ref>
== Third-party ports ==
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center; margin-top: 0px;" ! colspan="2" |Operating system ! Status |- | rowspan="2" |FreeBSD (Tier 1) | 13 and later | [https://cgit.freebsd.org/ports/plain/www/chromium/Makefile current (x64, ARM64)] |- | 12 | [https://cgit.freebsd.org/ports/plain/www/chromium/Makefile?id=3572ca3e01dedf1fe5b3776bd164e123252f5ef5 historic (120.0.6099.129 (IA-32))] |- | colspan="2" |OpenBSD -current | [https://cvsweb.openbsd.org/log/ports/www/chromium/Makefile,v?sort= current (x64, ARM64)] |- | rowspan="2" |OpenBSD -stable | 7.8 | [https://cvsweb.openbsd.org/checkout/ports/www/chromium/Makefile,v?rev=1.864.2.1 historic (145.0.7632.109 (x64, ARM64))] |- | 7.5 | [https://cvsweb.openbsd.org/checkout/ports/www/chromium/Makefile,v?rev=1.773 historic (122.0.6261.111 (IA-32))] |}
== {{anchor|BrowserList}} Browsers based on Chromium ==
In addition to Google Chrome, many other actively developed browsers are based on the Chromium code. Most of these are proprietary, like Chrome, but some remain free and open-source software (FOSS), like Chromium.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-06-07 |title=What are the best Chrome based browsers? |url=https://nordvpn.com/pt-br/blog/chrome-based-browsers/ |access-date=2024-10-04 |website=NordVPN |language=pt}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Chromium-based browsers |url=https://alternativeto.net/category/browsers/chromium-based/ |publisher=Alternative to}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=10 Best Chromium-Based Browsers 2024 |url=https://blog.browserscan.net/docs/best-chromium-based-browsers |access-date=2024-10-04 |website=BrowserScan}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-11-25 |title=16 Best Chromium Browsers 2024 [Ranked & Reviewed] |url=https://alvarotrigo.com/blog/best-chromium-browsers/ |publisher=Alvaro Trigo |access-date=2024-10-04}}</ref>
=== Proprietary === <!-- NOTE: the browser must have a Wikipedia article (or subsection) to be listed here -->
{{Columns-list|colwidth=12em| *Arc *Amazon Silk *Atlas *Avast *Comet *Comodo Dragon *DuckDuckGo *Ecosia *Epic *Epic Systems Hyperdrive, a chromium end user application for interacting with Epic Systems' electronic health record software<ref name="thales">{{cite web |url=https://thalesdocs.com/sas/extern/crn/007-013539-003_SafeNet_Agent_for_Epic_v3.0.2_CRN_RevC.pdf |title=SafeNet for Epic |publisher=Thalesgroup |date=2023-06-20 |accessdate=2023-11-20 |quote=The SafeNet Agent for Epic enables seamless integration with [...] Epic Hyperdrive, a Chromium web-based framework }}</ref> *Huawei *JioSphere *Maxthon *Microsoft Edge (not legacy, as that is built on EdgeHTML) *Naver Whale *NetFront *Opera *Puffin *Samsung Browser *Sleipnir *SRWare Iron *UC Browser *Vivaldi }}
Primarily non-English *360 and QQ, for the Chinese market *Cốc Cốc, for the Vietnamese market *Yandex, for the Russian market
=== Free and open-source === <!-- NOTE: the browser must have a Wikipedia article (or subsection) to be listed here -->
{{Columns-list|colwidth=12em| *Brave *Dooble *Falkon *Konqueror *Otter *qutebrowser *Supermium *ungoogled-chromium }}
== Use in app frameworks ==
These notable app frameworks embed a Chromium browser as the functional core of custom apps:
* Chromium Embedded Framework * Electron * NW.js<ref>{{cite web |title=What Is Nwjs In Task Manager |url=https://umatechnology.org/what-is-nwjs-in-task-manager/ |access-date=15 July 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=NW.js Web-Based Desktop Application Development |url=https://appilian.com/nwjs-web-based-desktop-application-development/ |access-date=15 July 2025}}</ref> * Qt WebEngine<ref>{{cite web|url=http://doc.qt.io/qt-5/qtwebengine-overview.html|title=Qt WebEngine Overview - Qt WebEngine 5.11|website=doc.qt.io|access-date=9 March 2024}}</ref>
The two prominent Chromium-based WebView components also provide a similar way to make apps:
* Android System WebView<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hildenbrand |first1=Jerry |title=What is the Android System WebView and why do so many apps depend on it? |url=https://www.androidcentral.com/what-android-system-webview-and-why-do-so-many-apps-depend-it |website=androidcentral.com |date=23 March 2021 |access-date=9 March 2024}}</ref> * Microsoft Edge WebView2<ref>{{cite web |title=Introduction to Microsoft Edge WebView2 |url=https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/webview2/ |website=learn.microsoft.com |access-date=9 March 2024}}</ref>
With either approach, the custom app is implemented with HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and other web technologies. Moreover, the app can be readily deployed on the operating systems supported by Chromium. Since the 2010s, many apps have been created this way. (Two examples are Spotify and Slack.)<ref>{{cite web |title=Open Source - Spotify |url=https://www.spotify.com/us/opensource/ |quote=Here are the sources to the great Chromium Embedded Framework that is used by the Spotify Desktop client. |access-date=1 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Betts |first1=Anaïs |title=Building Hybrid Applications with Electron |newspaper=Slack Engineering |date=25 October 2016 |url=https://slack.engineering/building-hybrid-applications-with-electron/ |publisher=Slack |access-date=1 December 2023}}</ref>
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
{{Commons category}} *{{Official website}}
{{Timeline of web browsers|2010s}} {{Web browsers}} {{Google FOSS}} {{Google LLC}}
{{Portal bar|Free and open-source software|Internet|Linux}}
Category:Cloud clients Category:Cross-platform free software Category:Free and open-source Android software Category:Free software programmed in C++ Category:Free web browsers Category:Google Chrome Category:Google software Category:MacOS web browsers Category:Portable software Category:Software based on WebKit Category:Software using the BSD license Category:Windows web browsers Category:2008 software Category:Software that uses FFmpeg