Google is currently rolling out its Chrome 66 update to users of the web browser on Mac and iOS. The Mac version now mutes autoplaying content by default, while both desktop and mobile versions include a passwords export option, security improvements and new developer features.
Mute autoplay was originally slated for Chrome 64, which introduced autoplay settings on a per-site basis, but the function got pushed back for unspecified reasons. However, Chrome 66 now rolls out the default behavior for all users, and feeds into Google's wider intention to make the media playback experience more consistent when users navigate the web.
Going forward, web-hosted media can only automatically play if it has no audio, if the user interacted with the page during a previous browsing session, or if the user frequently plays media on the site. Similarly on mobile, media can only autoplay if the site was added to the Home Screen by the user.
The new passwords export option was previously hidden in Chrome's backend flag menus, but Chrome 66 adds the option to the user-facing settings. That said, it's still not obvious how to generate the CSV file containing your login credentials, so we've published a separate how-to article that goes through the process step by step.
As for enhancing security, Chrome 66 follows through on Google's plan to deprecate Symantec-issued certificates, after the company failed to comply with industry security standards. The decision to end its trust for Symantec certificates was made when certificates for example.com and variations of test.com escaped into the wild.
Additionally, Chrome 66 includes a Site Isolation feature that offers additional protection from the Spectre CPU vulnerability, by forcing websites to run as different processes, with blocks to prevent them receiving certain types of sensitive data.
Google Chrome for Mac is a free download available directly from Google's servers.
Google Chrome for iOS is a free download for iPhone and iPad available on the App Store. [Direct Link]
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