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Similarly, the Trust Token API allows a site like Gmail to install a token showing that you are a “trusted” Gmail user, something that other sites might see without knowing specifically who you are. This is something that would help reduce things like web fingerprints, which Google has already said it is working to reduce. Generally speaking, these updates attempt to replicate the functionality that cookies can offer without providing websites with almost as much tracking information about who is using the browser.
Google is also updating its somewhat controversial extension security tool known as Manifest V3. In 2019, there was some drama surrounding Manifest V3, as it seemed like it would prevent ad blocking extensions from working properly. In today’s launch, Google notes that it has received “a lot of helpful feedback” since it first shared the Manifest V3 proposal, and that since then it has been working with extension developers, “including ad blockers,” to continue changing and refining how Manifest V3 works. Developers interested in trying it out can give it a try with the beta version of Chrome 88; Chrome Web Store will start accepting Manifest V3 extensions starting in January with the stable version of Chrome 88.
As for the more advanced web apps, Google says today that it is making it easier to search for Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) in the Google Play Store on Chromebooks. Earlier this year, the Twitter and YouTube TV listings on the Play Store were able to automatically recognize if you were browsing on a Chromebook and install the PWA app instead of Android. To make PWAs more capable, Google is allowing developers to accept payments using the Play Store’s billing APIs, another feature that will make PWAs more compatible with their Android counterparts.
Lastly, in terms of performance optimization, Google is expanding the “Web Vitals” metrics it announced earlier this year. At a high level, Web Vitals is intended to give developers a clear view of the quality signals that make for a good browsing experience. A subset of them, Core Web Vitals, are three specific metrics that relate to user experience and will influence how Google ranks sites in search starting in May 2021. Today, Google announced that a new Web Vitals Report open source Let developers view and compare their metrics in Google Analytics.
Google will go into much more detail about all of these changes over the next two days at the Chrome Dev Summit, so if you’re a web developer, it might be worth tuning in and participating in the virtual experience. As for everyone else, these changes may not affect your web browsing experience right away, but hopefully things like more secure extensions and tools to improve site performance will contribute to an increasingly stable Internet.
