Chrome 90 Defaults to HTTPS, Adds AV1 Codec for Optimized Video Conferencing

Google today rolled out Chrome 90 to its stable channel, introducing automatic preference for HTTPS sites over the HTTP protocol, plus some other notable changes.

chrome 90
By default, Chrome will now redirect all websites to use the more secure HTTPS protocol. Encrypted using Transport Layer Security (TLS), HTTPS secures communication over networks by authenticating the website and protecting the privacy of data in transit. MacRumors.com has supported HTTPS for some time now.

In addition, Chrome 90 adopts the AV1 codec for optimized video conferencing with WebRTC. The new codec should improve compression efficiency and reduce bandwidth consumption while improving video quality, and improve connectivity on low bandwidth connections. Screen sharing is also said to be more efficient when compared to the VP9 codec.

Elsewhere, users can now hide the Reading List without delving into Chrome's flags. To do so, right-click the Bookmark Bar and deselect the new Show Reading List option at the bottom.

Meanwhile, for developers, Chrome 90 introduces support for CSS overflow, which should help prevent scrolling within a CSS box. Google has also renamed the Feature Policy API to Permission Policy, which lets users adjust the behavior of certain APIs and web features in the browser.

In the previous version of the browser, Chrome 89 introduced Google's live caption transcription feature, which uses machine learning to create a real-time transcription for videos or audio played through the browser.

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]

Tag: Chrome

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 21, 2025 2:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are around three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices from credible sources. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X...
iPhone 16 Battery Life Feature

iOS 26's New Battery Life Mode Available Only on These iPhone Models

Saturday June 21, 2025 9:02 am PDT by
Last week, we reported that iOS 26 introduces an opt-in Adaptive Power Mode on the iPhone, alongside the existing Low Power Mode. Apple says that Adaptive Power Mode can make "small performance adjustments" when necessary to extend an iPhone's battery life, including slightly lowering the display brightness or allowing some activities to "take a little longer." The full description of...
All Screen iPhone 2027 Feature 1

iPhone Reportedly Moving to All-Screen Design in Two Stages

Sunday June 22, 2025 3:58 pm PDT by
Apple has long been working towards an iPhone with an all-screen design, and it might finally achieve the feat in a few more years from now. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that Apple will shrink the size of the Dynamic Island on new iPhone models released next year. A year after that, he expects Apple to release a redesigned 20th-anniversary iPhone model....
iOS 26 Feature

Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 2

Monday June 23, 2025 2:57 pm PDT by
Apple provided developers with the second beta of iOS 26, introducing the first changes and refinements to the new operating system since it debuted after the WWDC keynote. Because we're early in the beta testing process, there are quite a few tweaks to iOS 26, which we've rounded up below. Control Center The background behind the Liquid Glass Control Center buttons has more blur, allowing...
ios 26 control center b2

iOS 26 Beta 2 Fixes Control Center Design

Monday June 23, 2025 10:58 am PDT by
With the second beta of iOS 26 that Apple provided to developers today, Apple addressed one of the major complaints that people have had with Liquid Glass. iOS 26 beta 1 on left, iOS 26 beta 2 on right The Control Center buttons are now slightly more opaque, making it easier to see the different control options even on a multicolored background. The new, more opaque look is apparent with the ...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro's Alleged Vapor Chamber Cooling System Partly Revealed

Sunday June 22, 2025 6:37 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models are rumored to be equipped with a vapor chamber cooling system, and a leaker known as Majin Bu today shared a photo of an alleged copper thermal plate for the system. Many high-end Android smartphones like Samsung's Galaxy S25 Ultra are equipped with a vapor chamber cooling system, which can manage heat dissipation inside the...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adding Two New Wi-Fi Features, Allows AirDrop and AirPlay Alternatives

Saturday June 21, 2025 7:02 am PDT by
iOS 26 is gaining two new Wi-Fi features, including Captive Assist and Wi-Fi Aware. MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris discovered a reference to Captive Assist within the code for the first iOS 26 developer beta, but Apple has yet to enable the feature. It should be available by the time the software update is released later this year. In his Power On newsletter last month, Bloomberg's...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

iOS 26 Includes These Five Smaller Features You Might Have Missed

Saturday June 21, 2025 11:18 am PDT by
While the dust is beginning to settle on the first iOS 26 beta, we continue to take a closer look at new features coming with the update. Below, we recap five smaller changes that you might have missed. Emoji Game Apple News+ subscribers in the U.S. and Canada can play a new Emoji Game, which tasks players with completing words and phrases with emoji. This is the fifth game that is...
airpods 4 blue

Apple Offering Free AirPods — Here's How to Get Them

Tuesday June 17, 2025 6:33 am PDT by
Apple is running a new promotion that offers free AirPods to qualifying customers. Now through September 30, college and university students in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Singapore can receive free AirPods 4 when they purchase an eligible new Mac or iPad from Apple. AirPods Pro 2 are also available at a discount. If you do not want AirPods, the promotion also offers various other...

Top Rated Comments

Santabean2000 Avatar
55 months ago
I know Chrome is hugely popular (and I have used it a lot too, and still do have to occasionally), but I have not been happier since kicking it into touch for the most part. Such a greedy pig of a thing is so many ways...

Safari on an M1 is snappier!
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ForkHandles Avatar
55 months ago
It’s free because they want your life story, then they sell adverts you’ll love.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cerberusss Avatar
55 months ago
This and the previous version of Chrome now contain FLoC, Google's replacement for cookies. It's slowly being turned on by default. If you value your privacy, the EFF has a website that to check whether it's enabled or not:

https://amifloced.org/
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
telo123 Avatar
55 months ago

It’s free because they want your life story, then they sell adverts you’ll love.
Ad blocker. Turn off ads personalization on Google Account settings.

Easy fix. I don't know why people make such a big deal about this.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
apparatchik Avatar
55 months ago

Ad blocker. Turn off ads personalization on Google Account settings.

Easy fix. I don't know why people make such a big deal about this.
If 100% of people did this, Google would stop offering the product or disable ad-blocking altogether as it has in mobile Chrome.

As you’re basically working around the product which is you. That’s why it’s a big deal, you’re working around the product design and understating the implications of the business model and its derivatives:

https://chromeisbad.com/

I’ve struggle myself trying to find lightweight Chromium-based alternatives for all the functionality intentionally missing from Google services in Safari, such as the ability to share just one browser Tab or program window on a Google Meet call, or the ability to share the audio from said tab or window. This is just an example.

Heck, up until relatively recently you couldn’t even take Meet/Hangout calls in Safari, even though Safari had implemented the technologies to do so. Proven by the fact that if you changed Safari’s browser agent the sites would work.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jtrenthacker Avatar
55 months ago
I have been using Brave on my Macs and PC for the last couple of months and love it. Very fast.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)