Google extends Chrome support for Windows 7 to January 15, 2022

Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system hit the end of its lifecycle on January 14, 2020. This means the operating system is no longer receiving security updates from the software giant. Despite this, a large number of web users are still using Windows 7 everyday, including many business clients.

Google planned to cease Chrome support for Windows 7 on support until July 15, 2021 but the search giant now announces it's extending the cut-off date to January 15, 2022. In a blog post, Google Chrome engineer Max Christoff explains the company is extending support to give enterprise users more time to switch to Windows 10:

After assessing the current situation, and based on feedback from our valued enterprise customers, Chrome is extending our support for Windows 7 until at least January 15, 2022. That’s a 6-month extension from our previously communicated date of July 15, 2021. We’ll continue to evaluate the conditions our enterprise customers are facing, and communicate any additional changes in the future.

The blog post points to data which shows 22 percent of organizations that use Windows are still relying on older versions. About 21 percent of organizations are in the process of migrating to Windows 10 but some will need more time as IT priorities have shifted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.