Early Stable Update for Desktop

The Stable channel has been updated to 136.0.7103.48 for Windows and Mac as part of our early stable release to a small percentage of users. A full list of changes in this build is available in the log.


You can find more details about early Stable releases here.

Interested in switching release channels?  Find out how here. If you find a new issue, please let us know by filing a bug. The community help forum is also a great place to reach out for help or learn about common issues.


Srinivas Sista

Google Chrome

From Fiber to Airwaves: What Taara’s Laser Links Can Do

At GFiber, we’ve been pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with internet connectivity going back to 2010. So when we had the opportunity to test a promising new technology from Taara – a recent spinout from X, Alphabet’s moonshot factory – we jumped at the chance.

Taara uses wireless optical communication to transmit data through the air, delivering fiber-like speeds without the need for cables. It’s a game-changer for places where traditional fiber installation is challenging like city centers, remote communities, crowded events, and areas affected by network outages.

To see how this technology performs in real-world conditions, we partnered with Taara for a proof-of-concept trial of its laser link, Taara Lightbridge, in San Francisco. Over four weeks, we tested a high-speed wireless link between two buildings, measuring its performance across a variety of weather conditions.

Putting Taara to the Test
The trial ran from November to December 2024, using a 4.5-mile laser link. We monitored everything from throughput and latency to environmental factors like wind and rain, capturing data with a network monitoring system, high-resolution cameras, and weather sensors.

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The results? Taara delivered a rock-solid 20 Gbps connection on clear days with ultra-low latency and zero packet loss – on par with the best wired networks. It also outperformed traditional millimeter and microwave radios in throughput.

Key Takeaways
  • Speed & Stability: Throughout four weeks of testing, Taara provided a seamless high-speed connection on clear days and demonstrated resilience in challenging conditions, proving its ability to move serious amounts of data.
  • Network Flexibility: The system was quick to deploy and dismantle, making it an intriguing option for temporary or hard-to-reach locations.
  • Hybrid Potential: A planned microwave backup will help ensure a resilient connection, even in adverse weather conditions.
Our pilot program provided valuable insights into how this cutting-edge technology performs in an urban environment. As Taara continues refining its approach, we’re excited to see how innovations like this could shape the future of connectivity.

At GFiber, we believe in the power of innovation, collaboration, and bold ideas. Whether it’s delivering fast, reliable service over fiber or exploring new wireless solutions, we’re always looking for ways to bring better internet to more people.

The journey to better, faster internet continues – stick around for more on what’s coming next!

Posted by James Alexander, GFiber Network Engineer




Google Ads API v17 sunset reminder

Google Ads API v17 will sunset on June 4, 2025. After this date, all v17 API requests will begin to fail. Migrate to a newer version prior to June 4, 2025 to ensure your API access is unaffected.

Here are some resources to help you with the migration: You can view a list of methods and services your project has recently called using the Google Cloud Console:
  1. In the Google Cloud Console, open the APIs & Services tab.
  2. In the table, click Google Ads API.
  3. On the METRICS subtab, you should see your recent requests plotted on each graph. You can see which methods you've sent requests to in the Methods table. The method name includes a Google Ads API version, a service, and a method name, such as google.ads.googleads.v17.services.GoogleAdsService.Mutate.
  4. (Optional) Choose the timeframe you want to view for your requests.
If you have questions while you’re upgrading, reach out to us on the forum or at [email protected].
Benji Rothman, Google Ads API Team

Introducing Frontline Plus: Enhanced Security and AI features for Frontline Workers

What’s changing

We’re expanding Google Workspace Frontline to include a new edition: Frontline Plus. Building on the core Frontline offering, Frontline Plus includes our most advanced data protection and compliance controls, inline with features available in our Enterprise Plus plan. Further, Frontline Plus users will gain access to helpful Google AI capabilities including Gemini in Gmail, Google Chat, and Google Meet, AI classification in Drive, the Gemini app, and NotebookLM. 


Keep reading for more information on specific features. To learn more about Google Workspace Frontline, visit the Help Center or contact our Sales team. In line with the other Frontline editions, Frontline Plus is not available for self-service purchase. 


Who’s impacted

Admins and end users 


Why it matters 

Today, our Frontline offerings open up communication and collaboration channels between frontline workers and corporate teams in a way that’s safe and secure. Frontline Plus layers on our comprehensive suite of security and admin controls, as well as providing frontline workers with useful AI features, including:

Security

AI classification in Drive

IT teams can automatically and continuously identify, classify, and label sensitive files according to the specific needs of your organization. Classified files can then be protected with existing data loss prevention (DLP) controls. 

Hosted S/MIME

Enable the S/MIME standard to encrypt incoming and outgoing mail messages.

Work insights

Get access to detailed metrics on your organization's Google Workspace usage.

Enterprise data regions

You can choose to store your covered data in a specific geographic location (the United States or Europe). Data regions cover data at rest (including backups) and data processing for customer-supplied data in several Google Workspace core services.

Client-side encryption

Client-side encryption adds another layer to the default encryption that Google Workspace provides. CSE helps to keep your organization's data private with end-to-end encryption that Google servers and third parties can't decrypt, giving your organization greater control over access to its data. 

Security Sandbox

You can use Gmail Security Sandbox to protect your organization against malware. It works by scanning incoming email attachments in a secure, isolated environment called a “Security Sandbox” to identify malware in the attachments without risking any harm to your organization.

Access Transparency

You can use Access Transparency to review logs of actions taken by Google staff when accessing user content.

Gmail

Help me write

Effortlessly write and improve your new emails and replies – from polishing your tone with a single click to generating new drafts from scratch.

Side panel

Draft email responses, query your emails (“Catch me up on Project Clover emails”), and summarize emails and email threads.

Contextual smart replies

Gemini can analyze the context of an email and suggest relevant responses with Contextual Smart Reply.

Meet

Take notes for me

Automatically capture meeting notes, organize them in Google Docs, and share them with your team. Those joining late can catch up during the meeting with “Summary so far”.

Adaptive audio

Adaptive audio lets teams join meetings from multiple nearby laptops without echo or feedback, which is useful when conference rooms or meeting equipment is scarce.

Studio sound, studio look, and studio lighting

Studio look uses artificial intelligence to fix issues caused by low light or low quality webcams, while Studio lighting can be used to simulate studio-quality lighting. Studio sound will automatically improve poor audio quality from typical bluetooth headsets and dial-in participants by using AI to recreate higher audio frequencies.

Translated captions

Meet will automatically detect and translate over 65 languages to a user’s preferred language.

Generate a background

With Gemini in Meet, you can generate unique and bespoke meeting backgrounds. Meeting backgrounds can help obscure your surroundings during a meeting or they can enhance the meeting itself.

Chat

Side panel

Summarize a space or conversation (“What are the key takeaways in this conversation?”), generate a list of action items (“Are there any action items for me in this conversation?”), or ask specific questions (“What is the decision on the project discussed in this conversation?”).

Automatic translation

Chat will automatically detect and translate over 120 languages to a user’s preferred language while keeping the original message available for review.

As well as access to:

Gemini app

Kickstart learning, creating, and planning. Or use Gems to build a team of AI experts to tackle complex projects, including coding, research, and data analysis.

NotebookLM

Accelerate team knowledge sharing by uploading your sources to get instant insights and podcast-like Audio Overviews. 

*Visit the Help Center to learn more about specific feature availability.



Getting started

  • Admins: 
  • End users: 
    • To get the most out of the AI features included with your Frontline Plus license: 

Availability

Resources


Beta Channel Update for ChromeOS / ChromeOS Flex

The Beta channel is being updated to OS version 16238.26.0 (Browser version 136.0.7103.40) for most ChromeOS devices.

If you find new issues, please let us know one of the following ways:


  1. File a bug

  2. Visit our ChromeOS communities

    1. General: Chromebook Help Community

    2. Beta Specific: ChromeOS Beta Help Community

  3. Report an issue or send feedback on Chrome

  4. Interested in switching channels? Find out how.



Andy Wu

Google ChromeOS

Data classifications labels for Gmail are now generally available

What’s changing 

In 2024 we introduced data classification labels for email in open beta, and since then we’ve introduced several feature enhancements including: 

Beginning today, we are pleased to announce that data classification labels are generally available, giving admins yet another way to enhance their security posture.



Who’s impacted

Admins and end users

Why it matters 

Data breaches are increasingly common and costly across all organizations, including enterprises, public sectors, and government institutions. By extending data classification labels to Gmail, Google Workspace offers admins a more comprehensive and integrated system for protecting sensitive information. 


Admins can create custom labels or leverage existing Drive labels within Gmail, enabling classification of emails based on department, document type, sensitivity, and more. This allows for the creation of targeted data protection rules, such as blocking the sending of internal-labeled emails to external recipients or automatically applying a confidential label to messages containing sensitive financial data. 


The instant application of auto-classification and DLP rules in Gmail provides immediate feedback to users, educating them on data protection policies and allowing them to rectify issues before emails are sent, ultimately minimizing data breaches and improving overall data security. 


Finally,availability on mobile devices provides a comprehensive experience, ensuring data is protected and labeled across all user devices, whether users are sharing and accessing information from desktop devices or from mobile devices on-the-go.


Additional details

To further enhance the data classification labels experience, instant application of DLP rules and actions triggered by classification labels will soon be generally available on mobile devices. We anticipate that this functionality will be available in May – we’ll share an update once we have more information.


Getting started

  • Admins: 
    • If you've been using classification labels since the open beta period, there are no changes to your experience.
    • If you’re new to Gmail classification labels, they can be enabled at the domain, group level, or individual user level. You also have the option to enable existing classification labels used in Drive for use in Gmail. The Label Manager tool can be accessed by going to Security > Access and data control or admin.google.com/ac/dc/labels in the Admin console.  Visit the Help Center to learn more about getting started with classification labels, Gmail DLP & automatic classification labels, and preventing data leaks in email and attachments.

The Label Manager tool can be accessed in the Admin console  by going to Security > Access and data control



  • End users: Depending on the data loss prevention rules configured by your admin, you may see a dialog letting you know that your message cannot be shared and how to fix your message so it can safely be shared. Visit the Help Center to learn more about classification labels in Gmail.



Users can apply classification labels to a message, according to the organization’s data governance policies


Classification labels on mobile when composing a message and reading a message



Rollout pace


Availability

The Label Manager and manual classification is available to Google Workspace:
  • Frontline Starter and Standard
  • Business Standard and Plus
  • Enterprise Standard and Plus
  • Education Standard and Education Plus
  • Essentials, Enterprise Essentials, and Enterprise Essentials Plus


Data loss prevention rules with labels as a condition or labels as an action are available to:
  • Enterprise Standard and Plus
  • Education Fundamentals, Standard, Plus, and the Teaching & Learning Upgrade
  • Frontline Standard
  • Cloud Identity Premium (in combination with a Workspace Edition that includes Gmail)

Resources


Chrome Beta for Desktop Update

The Beta channel has been updated to 136.0.7103.48 for Windows, Mac and Linux.

A partial list of changes is available in the Git log. Interested in switching release channels? Find out how. If you find a new issue, please let us know by filing a bug. The community help forum is also a great place to reach out for help or learn about common issues.

Chrome Release Team
Google Chrome

Get ready for Google I/O: Program lineup revealed

Posted by the Google I/O team

The Google I/O agenda is live. We're excited to share Google’s biggest announcements across AI, Android, Web, and Cloud May 20-21. Tune in to learn how we’re making development easier so you can build faster.

We'll kick things off with the Google Keynote at 10:00 AM PT on May 20th, followed by the Developer Keynote at 1:30 PM PT. This year, we're livestreaming two days of sessions directly from Mountain View, bringing more of the I/O experience to you, wherever you are.

Here’s a sneak peek of what we’ll cover:

    • AI advancements: Learn how Gemini models enable you to build new applications and unlock new levels of productivity. Explore the flexibility offered by options like our Gemma open models and on-device capabilities.
    • Build excellent apps, across devices with Android: Crafting exceptional app experiences across devices is now even easier with Android. Dive into sessions focused on building intelligent apps with Google AI and boosting your productivity, alongside creating adaptive user experiences and leveraging the power of Google Play.
    • Powerful web, made easier: Exciting new features continue to accelerate web development, helping you to build richer, more reliable web experiences. We’ll share the latest innovations in web UI, Baseline progress, new multimodal built-in AI APIs using Gemini Nano, and how AI in DevTools streamline building innovative web experiences.

Plan your I/O

Join us online for livestreams May 20-21, followed by on-demand sessions and codelabs on May 22. Register today and explore the full program for sessions like these:

We're excited to share what's next and see what you build!

Get ready for Google I/O: Program lineup revealed

The Google I/O agenda is live. We're excited to share Google’s biggest announcements across AI, Android, Web, and Cloud May 20-21. Tune in to learn how we’re making development easier so you can build faster.

We'll kick things off with the Google Keynote at 10:00 AM PT on May 20th, followed by the Developer Keynote at 1:30 PM PT. This year, we're livestreaming two days of sessions directly from Mountain View, bringing more of the I/O experience to you, wherever you are.

Here’s a sneak peek of what we’ll cover:

    • AI advancements: Learn how Gemini models enable you to build new applications and unlock new levels of productivity. Explore the flexibility offered by options like our Gemma open models and on-device capabilities.
    • Build excellent apps, across devices with Android: Crafting exceptional app experiences across devices is now even easier with Android. Dive into sessions focused on building intelligent apps with Google AI and boosting your productivity, alongside creating adaptive user experiences and leveraging the power of Google Play.
    • Powerful web, made easier: Exciting new features continue to accelerate web development, helping you to build richer, more reliable web experiences. We’ll share the latest innovations in web UI, Baseline progress, new multimodal built-in AI APIs using Gemini Nano, and how AI in DevTools streamline building innovative web experiences.

Plan your I/O

Join us online for livestreams May 20-21, followed by on-demand sessions and codelabs on May 22. Register today and explore the full program for sessions like these:

We're excited to share what's next and see what you build!

By the Google I/O team

Get ready for Google I/O: Program lineup revealed

The Google I/O agenda is live. We're excited to share Google’s biggest announcements across AI, Android, Web, and Cloud May 20-21. Tune in to learn how we’re making development easier so you can build faster.

We'll kick things off with the Google Keynote at 10:00 AM PT on May 20th, followed by the Developer Keynote at 1:30 PM PT. This year, we're livestreaming two days of sessions directly from Mountain View, bringing more of the I/O experience to you, wherever you are.

Here’s a sneak peek of what we’ll cover:

    • AI advancements: Learn how Gemini models enable you to build new applications and unlock new levels of productivity. Explore the flexibility offered by options like our Gemma open models and on-device capabilities.
    • Build excellent apps, across devices with Android: Crafting exceptional app experiences across devices is now even easier with Android. Dive into sessions focused on building intelligent apps with Google AI and boosting your productivity, alongside creating adaptive user experiences and leveraging the power of Google Play.
    • Powerful web, made easier: Exciting new features continue to accelerate web development, helping you to build richer, more reliable web experiences. We’ll share the latest innovations in web UI, Baseline progress, new multimodal built-in AI APIs using Gemini Nano, and how AI in DevTools streamline building innovative web experiences.

Plan your I/O

Join us online for livestreams May 20-21, followed by on-demand sessions and codelabs on May 22. Register today and explore the full program for sessions like these:

We're excited to share what's next and see what you build!

By the Google I/O team