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Google Chrome is undoubtedly one of the most popular web browser apps for desktop and mobile clients out there. It offers users one of the best web browsing experiences. And that’s why Google actively experiments with it and adds new features. More recently, there were reports about a new feature that allows Chrome to auto-revoke site permissions. While that news is still fresh, a new report published today hints about Chrome users seeing fewer APK download warnings on Android devices down the line.
You’re likely to see fewer APK download warnings in Chrome for Android soon
As you may know, there’s a lot of risk involved in downloading APK files from any other source than the Google Play Store. If the file turns out to be malicious, it could be a nightmare for the end user. And, Google doesn’t want its users to go through all that hassle. Therefore, to help users understand this risk, Chrome on Android displays a warning prompt when you try to download APK files from any website.
While this feature is mostly useful, these download warnings can be overwhelming or unnecessary for users at times. Usually, when you try to download an APK file from any website using Chrome on Android, you would see a “File might be harmful” warning. The annoying part is you get to see those warnings even if you’ve enabled Google Play Protect (GPP). However, this will change soon.
Google is apparently aware of this issue and is working towards showing fewer unnecessary APK download warnings. That too, specifically when you’ve Play Protect enabled on your Android device. The news comes via MSPowerUser which recently spotted a commit on Chromium that hints towards this feature. Notably, this behavioral change will apply to all downloads and not just APK files. It means when you download a file and haven’t chosen a location yet, you won’t see the “File might be harmful” warning.
Users will still see the download warnings, but there’s a condition
The “File might be harmful” download warnings will still be visible to users when downloading a file. This will only happen when they have disabled Google Play Protect. Well, that’s fair enough though. With these download warnings in place, users will be more cautious about what they are downloading or installing on their Android devices.
The planned changes related to download warnings are currently being tested. There’s no mention of when this feature will be rolled out. All in all, these planned changes will provide Android users with a safer internet browsing experience using Chrome down the line.