Google Brings New Features To Chrome For Forgetful Users

A new feature in Chrome can remember what was done before. (photo: doc. google)

JAKARTA - Google is bringing a new feature to its Chrome web browser, aiming to make it easier for users to find the topics that they previously browsed.

Dubbed the Journeys feature, users can explore the last page they left. This feature is rolling out for the desktop version of Chrome.

When a user types a word into the search bar or heads to the Chrome History Journeys page in a browser, the user will see a list of previously visited sites that link to that topic.

Chrome will know how much a user has interacted with a particular site, and the sites it deems to be the most relevant will be at the top of the list.

It said Google users would see information whether it was (from) earlier today or last week. The Journeys tool will also show related search terms, potentially helping users with further research.

However, unlike the History feature, Journeys groups searches by topic, even if those searches cover different time periods.

Of course, this can make it easier for the user, rather than retracing the user's search history in an attempt to remember the pages that are hard to remember. Instead, the user will see everything on the topic gathered, whether the user searched yesterday or three weeks ago.

Since this is Google, users may have privacy concerns about how this information is recorded and used by the company. Relax, Google tries to allay those concerns.

"Travel currently only groups the history on your device, nothing is saved to your Google account. (Also, you can) delete individual items or entire groups of activity (from Chrome settings or disable Trips completely)," Google said as quoted from Digital Trends, Wednesday, February 9th.

Currently, the Journeys feature is only available on the Chrome desktop. However, Google is still mulling over whether to allow access from multiple devices in the same way that a user's passwords or bookmarks are synced from one device to another.

In addition to Journeys, Google has added a few more tools to Chrome's address bar. Now users can type in things like "View your Chrome history", "Customize Chrome", or "Share this tab" to quickly perform tasks that require browsing in browser settings.

For Android users, Google has also added a new Chrome widget for the home screen. In addition to the widgets that allow the user to initiate a text, voice, or Lens search, there are also widgets to open an Incognito tab in the browser and even play Chrome dino games. These can all be added by long pressing the Chrome icon and selecting Widgets.