Google Rolls Out Chrome 78 With Dark Mode and Password Checker

One of the nice things about Google’s Chrome browser is that it updates frequently in the background and delivers new goodies. However, you might never know there are new features unless you pay close attention to the changelog. Chrome 78 is rolling out now for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android, and it brings a few changes you’re likely to notice. There are also some new features hiding in the settings you might want to investigate.

Google runs four separate update channels for Chrome. There’s the Canary build, which is the quickest to get updates and the most buggy. The Dev channel comes next, but it’s usually too unstable for most people to use. Beta runs about a month ahead of the stable channel, and it’s close enough to final that you won’t run into too many bugs. However, most people install the stable channel version and never bother moving to another release. Chrome 78 has made its way through Canard, Dev, and Beta — now it’s available on the Stable channel.

There are several UI changes, one of which is purely decorative. You can now add a background image and change the theme color of the New Tab page. Just click the “Customize” button in the corner to get started. Google includes a few dozen backgrounds, many of which come from its Android wallpapers app. You can also upload your own image or have Google cycle through images automatically every day.

The other UI change is more functional. You can force an always-on dark theme in the settings so websites aren’t so blinding at night, regardless of whether they support a dark theme in the code. This feature doesn’t change the site’s code, but it uses color inversion to change the way it renders on your device.

This update also lays the groundwork for Google’s Password Checkup feature (which launched as an extension in early 2019) to come to the browser. Soon, you’ll get a safe browsing dialog if you attempt to log into a website with a password known to be part of a data breach. Google will help you change those passwords to keep your accounts safe. Of course, the best way to stay safe is to use two-factor authentication.

There are a few other minor changes like Click to Call, which lets you place calls on your Android phone by highlighting a phone number in the desktop browser. On the more technical side, Chrome 78 adds the DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) protocol to prevent someone from spying on your traffic.

If you’re on the stable channel, there’s probably an update waiting for you. A quick browser restart will install it.

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