If you spend most of your day in a browser anyway, Google’s testing something you might find useful. According to Chrome Story, Chrome startup Windows support just showed up in Chrome Canary, which means the browser could soon open automatically as soon as you log into your PC. The feature’s still experimental, but it gives us a look at what’s coming.
The toggle lives in Chrome’s Settings under the “On startup” section, where you’d normally pick between opening a new tab or continuing where you left off. It’s called “Open Chrome when my computer starts” and it does exactly that. Once you flip it on, Chrome will launch a window immediately after Windows boots up. The feature’s turned off by default, so you’ll need to enable it manually if you want it.
Google’s also showing occasional prompts to some Canary users, letting them know the option exists. If you see one of these pop-ups and click “Allow,” Chrome startup Windows will turn on automatically. But if you dismiss the prompt, it won’t come back to bug you again.
Why you might actually want this
For people who live in Gmail, Google Docs, or web apps all day, having Chrome ready to go right away saves a step. You’re basically treating your browser like part of your operating system’s startup routine, similar to what you’d do with Slack or other work tools. Chrome’s been adding more features lately to make the browser do more for you, so this fits that pattern.
That said, Chrome’s not exactly light on resources. If your PC’s already slow to boot, adding Chrome to the startup mix might make things worse. The browser will start using system memory right away, which could affect other programs or slow down your login process on older machines.
Firefox already has a similar option, and Windows itself lets you add pretty much any program to your startup list. But Google’s approach is simpler since it’s built right into Chrome’s settings. You don’t need to mess with Windows’ Task Manager or drag shortcuts into startup folders.
The Chrome startup Windows feature is only in Canary right now, so there’s no word yet on when it’ll make it to the stable version. If you’re curious about whether this was worth the wait, you’ll have to try out Canary yourself or wait for Google to push it wider.
