Chrome saves memory and supports passkeys

Passkeys enable passwordless authentication, for example, which Google wants to support with other major providers such as Apple and Microsoft. They are now officially available in Chrome and are intended to protect against phishing, for example. Passkey support is now available in Chrome Stable M108. The browser also gets an improvement in the energy and memory saving mode.

On Android, passkeys are available within Google's own password manager, Google writes in a blog post. But other integrated password managers and other platforms also support the WebAuthentification standard. These passkeys should also remain end-to-end encrypted, protected from Google's own access.

Passkeys extend the FIDO2 method of authentication, which firmly binds online accounts to hardware security keys, called tokens or authenticators. They offer more convenience, since devices and accounts do not all have to be linked by the owner himself. They can even be restored in the event of an error. You can also use passkeys on the desktop by using them on a nearby mobile device, for example in the form of a fingerprint.

Chrome also gets new performance modes on the desktop, the Energy Saver and the Memory Saver. These should make the browser faster. With them, Chrome is said to need up to 40 percent less RAM to run the tabs smoother and to maximize battery life. The functionality will be available to users worldwide for Windows, macOS and ChromeOS in the upcoming weeks.

The energy saving mode starts when a laptop has 20 percent battery life left. Chrome automatically limits the background activities and visual effects, such as videos and animations in the browser. The function can be completely deactivated in the browser settings. To save storage capacity, the browser freezes tabs that are inactive for a certain period of time.

Google introduced this so-called tab throttling years ago with Chrome 87. As soon as you open a tab again, it will be reloaded. According to Google, it runs smoother now. This Memory Saver can also be switched off.