Google has been using your Chrome apps for a while, as the company announced on Monday an extension of its scheduled timeline to end software support (via 9to5Google).
If you are unfamiliar with Chrome apps, then they are apps that you install in Chrome, which work the same as apps you want to launch from your desktop – like this for app-read-app- pocket. But they are not widely accepted – Google said that “about 1 percent of users on Windows, Mac, and Linux actively use Chrome-packed apps” back in August 2016 when it first announced plans to discontinue support for the platform .
In January, Google said Chrome apps would stop working on Windows, Mac and Linux this year (technically, the company is setting a June 2020 deadline, but it doesn’t look like it has actually followed through). Now, Google says Chrome apps on those platforms will run until June 2021. Organizations may extend additional support for Chrome apps on those platforms for an additional year, which means they will work through June 2022.
And if you’re a Chrome OS user, Google will now end support for Chrome apps in June 2022 instead of June next year. But no matter what platform you are on, Google says support for Chrome apps will end on June 2022 on all platforms.
Chrome attachments will still work, though – and in fact, making an extension is one of the options Google recommends as an alternative for developers who now need to switch from Chrome apps, but still want to offer similar functionality in Chrome browser.
