Google is going to be ending support for Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 next year, with a final last update for the popular browser. The last update will be available on 7th February 2023, but this date is tentative a the moment. Running an unsupported browse can cause many issues, as any security issues or bugs found after the fact won’t be addressed and could leave users at risk.
After the 7th February 2023, Chrome won’t just stop working, it just wont receive any critical updates going forward, which as we mentioned isn’t exactly recommend. Windows 10 and Windows 11 will be supported for a long time to come, however.
“You’ll need to ensure your device is running Windows 10 or later to continue receiving future Chrome releases. This matches Microsoft’s end of support for Windows 7 ESU and Windows 8.1 extended support on January 10th, 2023. If you are currently on Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, we encourage you to move to a supported Windows version before that date to ensure you continue to receive the latest security updates and Chrome features.”
Microsoft officially ended support for Windows 7 on the 14th January 2023 and the end is approaching for Windows 8.1, which will end on 10th January 2023. Google is recommending to move to a new version of Windows going forward, in order to stay up to date for the latest security updates.
As of writing, in 2022 Microsoft has reported that 1.4 billion active devices are out there running Windows 10 or Windows 11. However, around 100 million users are running Windows 7. Shortly after Microsoft stopped supporting the OS in 2020, the German government paid Microsoft to extend the support for a while longer.
