While the stable channel for Google Chrome for Windows has been updated with version 96, it is now also released to the Extended Stable channel. The latest release does not bring any new features but fixes several key issues and vulnerabilities discovered by Google.
You can upgrade your Chrome browser using the guide given. If you are not using Google Chrome, you can directly download Chrome 96 using the download links given below.
The vulnerabilities fixed in version 96 may impact your device so significantly, that access to complete bug details have been kept confidential until the majority of users have upgraded to this version, says Google:
Access to bug details and links may be kept restricted until a majority of users are updated with a fix. We will also retain restrictions if the bug exists in a third party library that other projects similarly depend on, but haven’t yet fixed.
A total of 25 vulnerabilities has been fixed in Chrome 96, out of which 7 are deemed to be of high importance.
Moreover, Google Chrome 96 is also available for the Extended Stable channel. Since Microsoft shifted from a 6-week release cycle to a 4-week release cycle, they also introduced a new channel – the Extended Stable channel – which is an 8-week release cycle.
The Extended Stable channel is only available for enterprise users on Windows and Mac and can be enabled using the enterprise policies. During the first 4 weeks of the cycle, both Stabel and Extended Stable channels receive the same updates. After this duration, bi-weekly updates are shipped to the Extended Stable channel.
That said, we recommend that you upgrade your Chrome version immediately. Installing this version of Chrome will upgrade your build to 96.0.4664.45.
Let us now show you how you can upgrade your current Google Chrome to version 95, or install it from scratch.
Table of contents
Release Summary
- Complete release build: 96.0.4664.45
- Release date: Monday, November 15th, 2021
- Compatibility: Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7 (32-bit and 64-bit), Linux, Mac, iOS, and Android.
- Previous build: Chrome 95
- Bug fixes: 25. More information about security fixes can be found here.
Upgrade to Chrome 96
If you already have Google Chrome installed on your computer, then updating it would be easy. Please follow the guide below to update your existing Chrome browser to version 96.
Launch Google Chrome and click on the ellipses (3 dots) in the top-right corner of the browser. Then, expand Help, and click About Google Chrome.
As soon as the About page opens, the browser will start searching for an update and then automatically download it.
Once it is ready to install, you will be presented with a Relaunch button. Note that the browser closes when you click Relaunch and then reopens, restoring all closed tabs.
Click Relaunch. When the browser reopens, you can navigate to the About Google Chrome page again and confirm that it has indeed been updated to version 96.
There are a few different methods that can be used to update your Chrome browser to the latest version, including:
- Update using Google update
- Use the downloaded Chrome installer
- Using Ninite
- Download Chrome without using a browser
You can learn more about these methods in this guidepost.
You may also download the Chrome browser from the links given below if you do not already have it.
Download Google Chrome 96
Click on the links below to download Chrome 96:
Download: Google Chrome web installer
Download: Google Chrome offline installer
Download: Google Chrome MSI Installer [Enterprise Edition]
Download: Google Chrome for macOS
Download: Google Chrome Offline Installer for Linux
Download: Google Chrome for Android
Download: Google Chrome for iOS
Download: Google Chrome Portable
Install Google Chrome 96
Installing the Chrome browser on a Windows PC is as easy as downloading them. The process may vary for different platforms.
Download the file from the links above, and then double-click it to execute. The rest of the process is pretty much automatic. The setup will download the required files (if the web installer was downloaded), install them for you and the browser will launch itself as soon as it is installed successfully.
The process is the same for all Windows versions.
Type winver in Run to check your operating system’s build and version.
Google Chrome Update History
Google Chrome Releases Version History
| Chrome Version | Release Date | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Chrome 120 | 29-Nov-23 | Auto-grouping of tabs using AI, copy and save video frames, pin side panel elements to toolbar, improved transparent navigation bar on Android |
| Chrome 119 | 31-Oct-23 | 15 security updates, save and sync grouped tabs, smart Omnibox with typo detection, and continue where you left off on another device for iOS. |
| Chrome 118 | 10-Oct-23 | 20 security patches, extended Passkey support, Read Aloud in Reading Mode |
| Chrome 117 | 12-Sep-23 | New Material You designs, intimation of potentially malicious web store extensions. |
| Chrome 116 | 15-Aug-23 | Security update cadence changed to weekly from biweekly, One-Time permissions, 26 security patches |
| Chrome 115 | 12-Jul-23 | Includes Topics API (Privacy Sandbox), reading mode, improved Memory Saver UI, HTTP automatic conversion to HTTPS |
| Chrome 114 | 30-May-23 | Improves the Google Password Manager, introduces Popover API for developers, and adds auto-verification of CAPTCHAs. |
| Chrome 113 | 26-Apr-23 | Makes notes in the sidebar, deletes the last 15-minute browsing history on Android, adds a bookmark or translate button in the toolbar on Android, enable or disables all extensions, and WebGPU enabled by default. |
| Chrome 112 | 4-Apr-23 | Removal of Chrome app support, improved UI (experimental), CSS Nesting, WebAssembly Tail Call |
| Chrome 111 | 6-Mar-23 | Automatic lazy-loading, sharing selected regions of the screen, and several improvements for Chromebooks |
| Chrome 110 | 7-Feb-23 | Improved Password Manager and Google Translate controls, Cookies Having Independent Partitioned State, opt-out support for Secure Payment Confirmation |
| Chrome 109 | 10-Jan-23 | Conditional focus on screen sharing, Material You theming support |
| Chrome 108 | 29-Nov-22 | Evergy saver mode, COLRv1 fonts, resize virtual keyboards (Android) |
| Chrome 107 | 25-Oct-22 | HEVC hardware decoding, screen-sharing improvements, and User-Agent reduction (Phase 5) |
| Chrome 106 | 28-Sep-22 | Selective text translation, integrated RSS reader, and advanced search improvements to Omnibox. |
| Chrome 105 | 30-Aug-22 | Improvements for web applications in terms of customizations |
| Chrome 104 | 2-Aug-22 | Automatic lazy-loading, share selected regions of the screen, and several improvements for Chromebooks |
| Chrome 103 | 21-Jun-22 | Pre-fetch page data for faster loading, local fonts for web apps, and block notifications automatically. |
| Chrome 102 | 24-May-22 | Extensions Starter Kit, New Keyboard Shortcuts, And Continued Searches |
| Chrome 101 | 26-Apr-22 | Improved downloads UI, save group tabs, and password manager |
| Chrome 100 | 29-Mar-22 | Multi-screen API, audio controls |
| Chrome 99 | 1-Mar-22 | Handwriting Recognition, Date Picker, And Security Improvements |
| Chrome 98 | 1-Feb-22 | Built-in screenshot tool, smoother emojis with COLRv1, Emojis to screenshots on Android |
| Chrome 97 | 4-Jan-22 | Delete data saved by websites, zoom settings, better web application layouts, HDR enabled |
| Chrome 96 | 15-Nov-21 | Faster navigation, dark mode per site, flags for testing v100 |
| Chrome 95 | 19-Oct-21 | Save grouped tabs, secure payments |
| Chrome 94 | 21-Sep-21 | HTTPS-only mode, sharing hub |
| Chrome 90 | 15-Apr-21 | AV1 codecs support, window naming feature |
| Download Google Chrome Offline Installers [Stable, Beta, Canary] |
Final Thoughts
This Chrome release brings in no new features to the browser, thus we would understand why many of you would not be excited to upgrade just yet.
However, we still emphasize that you do upgrade your Chrome browser to version 96, as this one is a pure security update, and fixes critical vulnerabilities. Google believes that if they publish the complete details of those vulnerabilities before the majority of the users upgrade their builds, these could be exploited by the attackers. This restriction by Google clearly states just how sensitive these vulnerabilities could be.
