Google today launched a Chrome Remote Desktop app for iOS, which allows Chrome users to access their Mac or PC desktop computers remotely using an iOS device. Google has had an Android version of the Chrome Remote Desktop app for several months and has finally brought the tool to iOS.

To access a PC or Mac remotely with the new app, users will first need to install the Chrome Remote Desktop on their computer, which is a free download from the Chrome Web Store. With both the desktop browser app and the iOS app, it’s possible for users to access their computers on an iOS device through the Chrome browser with a few simple taps after verifying through a generated code.

chromeremotedesktop

Securely access your computers from your iOS device.
- On each of your computers, set up remote access using the Chrome Remote Desktop app from Chrome Web Store.
- On your iOS device, open the app and tap on any of your online computers to connect.

In addition to allowing access from an iOS device with the new app, Google’s Chrome Remote Desktop feature also allows computer-to-computer access, which Google suggests is useful for securely accessing files on one machine from another or giving a friend temporary access to help solve a computer problem.

The Chrome Remote Desktop app can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Tags: Chrome, Google

Top Rated Comments

odedia Avatar
142 months ago
The fact that apple doesnt have this built in to any iOS device is behind me.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ArtOfWarfare Avatar
142 months ago
Do you believe that Apple doesn't spy on you at all? Proof?

The proof is it would be all over the news if they did, which they don't, so it hasn't happened. Every little thing that puts the slightest dent in Apple's image as the best tech company in the world (that is how they're viewed whether its true or not - their brand is the most valued in the world) ends up on the front page news.

Bendgate, a manufacturing defect that impacted 1 out of 1 M iPhone 6+s, for example. That wouldn't be anywhere in the news at all if it happened with a Samsung (actually, the S5 has a tendency for its screen to shatter in your pants. I've seen it happened on two separate coworkers - so far more prevalent, and yet precisely zero news articles on it).

If you want to make accusations like this, you really should have some evidence. You need to prove something has happened - it'd be retarded for us to have to prove something hasn't happened. A lot of us here are pretty tech savvy and would be capable of noticing the network traffic that would be generated by our own Apple devices spying on us.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
seamer Avatar
142 months ago
If you're already using Chrome, Google theoretically already sees what you're doing. I think the novel you're writing via free public wifi at Starbucks cafe is safe, though.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ArtOfWarfare Avatar
142 months ago
And Apple doesn't? Typical.

----------



And Apple doesn't spy on you? Classic!

Why would Apple spy on you? Whereas Google's sole source of revenue is intelligently serving up ads based on your interests, Apple makes most of their money off of hardware they sell and stuff purchased from their online store. They don't do much targeted advertising, and they don't sell info on you the way Google does.

Furthermore, it's not a conspiracy theory or something that Google spies on you and their users. Google exploits bugs in browsers specifically to track you - there's news on it and they've been sued over it.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
oneMadRssn Avatar
142 months ago
The fact that a Chrome Webstore App allows someone to reach into and control my computer through only a browser is a bit scary. That is not an App I want installed.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Reason077 Avatar
142 months ago
Install Chrome Remote Desktop so that Google can spy on everything I do on my Mac?

Err, no thanks!
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
Intel Inside iPhone Feature

Apple's Return to Intel Rumored to Extend to iPhone

Friday December 5, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Intel is expected to begin supplying some Mac and iPad chips in a few years, and the latest rumor claims the partnership might extend to the iPhone. In a research note with investment firm GF Securities this week, obtained by MacRumors, analyst Jeff Pu said he and his colleagues "now expect" Intel to reach a supply deal with Apple for at least some non-pro iPhone chips starting in 2028....
ive and altman

Jony Ive's OpenAI Device Barred From Using 'io' Name

Friday December 5, 2025 6:22 am PST by
A U.S. appeals court has upheld a temporary restraining order that prevents OpenAI and Jony Ive's new hardware venture from using the name "io" for products similar to those planned by AI audio startup iyO, Bloomberg Law reports. iyO sued OpenAI earlier this year after the latter announced its partnership with Ive's new firm, arguing that OpenAI's planned "io" branding was too close to its...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Monday December 1, 2025 2:40 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
Photos App Icon Liquid Glass

John Gruber Shares Scathing Commentary About Apple's Departing Software Design Chief

Thursday December 4, 2025 9:30 am PST by
In a statement shared with Bloomberg on Wednesday, Apple confirmed that its software design chief Alan Dye will be leaving. Apple said Dye will be succeeded by Stephen Lemay, who has been a software designer at the company since 1999. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Dye will lead a new creative studio within the company's AR/VR division Reality Labs. On his blog Daring Fireball,...
maxresdefault

iPhone Fold: Launch, Pricing, and What to Expect From Apple's Foldable

Monday December 1, 2025 3:00 am PST by
Apple is expected to launch a new foldable iPhone next year, based on multiple rumors and credible sources. The long-awaited device has been rumored for years now, but signs increasingly suggest that 2026 could indeed be the year that Apple releases its first foldable device. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Below, we've collated an updated set of key details that ...
Apple John Ternus 2019

Will John Ternus Really Be Apple's Next CEO?

Friday December 5, 2025 9:01 am PST by
There is uncertainty about Apple's head of hardware engineering John Ternus succeeding Tim Cook as CEO, The Information reports. Some former Apple executives apparently hope that a new "dark-horse" candidate will emerge. Ternus is considered to be the most likely candidate to succeed Cook as CEO. The report notes that he is more likely to become CEO than software head chief Craig Federighi, ...
Johny Srouji

Apple Chip Chief Johny Srouji Could Be Next to Go as Exodus Continues

Sunday December 7, 2025 10:41 am PST by
Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies Johny Srouji could be the next leading executive to leave the company amid an alarming exodus of leading employees, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. Srouji apparently recently told CEO Tim Cook that he is "seriously considering leaving" in the near future. He intends to join another company if he departs. Srouji leads Apple's chip design ...
ios 18 to ios 26 upgrade

Apple Pushes iPhone Users Still on iOS 18 to Upgrade to iOS 26

Tuesday December 2, 2025 11:09 am PST by
Apple is encouraging iPhone users who are still running iOS 18 to upgrade to iOS 26 by making the iOS 26 software upgrade option more prominent. Since iOS 26 launched in September, it has been displayed as an optional upgrade at the bottom of the Software Update interface in the Settings app. iOS 18 has been the default operating system option, and users running iOS 18 have seen iOS 18...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 Release Candidates to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Wednesday December 3, 2025 10:33 am PST by
Apple today seeded the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 updates to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming two weeks after Apple seeded the third betas. The release candidates represent the final versions of iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found during this final week of testing....