Google to Simplify Chrome browser Security Settings Interface for Better User Experience

Security is paramount for the web browser, as it protects the websites you visit, the work you do, and the data you save. Security settings shouldn’t be that hard to understand; it seems Google is giving this priority in Chrome and is working on bundling them in Chrome as either a standard or enhanced bundle to see if the simplified settings UI helps users make informed decisions.

First and foremost, Google’s Safe Browsing technology has been integrated into Chrome, which protects and warns users against malicious downloads and suspicious webpages where users can confidently surf the web with malware and phishing protection in standard form enabled by default in Chrome.

Yes, by default, Chrome users get Standard protection, where the browser protects against dangerous websites, downloads, and extensions.

Google optionally offers higher security in Chrome, which requires sending more data to Google with Enhanced Protection. This feature protects users in real-time against dangerous extensions, sites, and downloads using AI. Both Standard Protection and Enhanced Protection are part of the Safe Browsing security feature in Chrome.

Similarly, Chrome protects and warns you when you visit sites that don’t support secure connections. Chrome security settings also include protection against data breaches, choosing a secure DNS provider managing V8—Chrome’s JavaScript and WebAssembly engine—and Certificates.

Chrome’s new bundled Security Settings UI

Google is now bundling all these into either standard or enhanced bundle UI so that users can understand them easily. This is being tested behind a flag in Canary.

Bundled Security Settings

Enables new Bundled Security Settings UI on chrome://settings/security. This new UI bundles all security settings into either an enhanced or standard bundle, which should simplify the security settings page and also help simplify the user’s decision. – Mac, Windows, Linux, ChromeOS

The new bundled Security Settings UI will appear on chrome://settings/security when you enable the flag. Alternatively, you can visit Settings > Privacy and Security > Security to see the changes to the interface.

Apart from the new bundled Security Settings UI, Chrome could get Contextual Search in the address bar, a Split Tabs feature similar to Edge’s Split Screen, and an option to turn off toast messages that appear when you copy links or images.