I’ve only got one device left running Windows 10. It’s an older tablet PC that I mostly use for media playback. It’s been a reliable little workhorse for years, but it isn’t eligible for Windows 11, so it’s stuck where it is. I still use Chrome on it every day, and like a lot of people holding onto older hardware, I’ve started to wonder how much longer that’s going to last.
Windows 10 is officially out of support for free updates, but it is not completely gone, and millions of people are still using it. After a wave of criticism, Microsoft backed off a bit and offered a one-year extension through paid and no-cost enrollment security updates. That extra time changes the outlook for apps like Google Chrome. Once those security updates stop completely, the risks of staying on Windows 10 will quickly rise.
The trouble is that Google hasn’t committed to a cutoff date, so users like me are left reading signals, looking at what happened with older versions of Windows, and trying to figure out how long Chrome will stay safe and usable on a Windows 10 machine.
Google sends mixed signals on Chrome support for Windows 10
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So what has Google actually said about Google Chrome and Windows 10? The short answer: almost nothing firm. On the official Chrome support forum, a post from July 2023 notes that Chrome “will continue to receive security updates, bug fixes, and new features for as long as LTSC editions of Windows 10 are supported by Microsoft.” That suggests there is some commitment, but more importantly, it only refers to the LTSC (long-term support) editions of Windows 10, not the average consumer builds.
In 2025, some more indirect clues showed up. According to reporting, Chrome recently began quietly checking if a Windows 10 PC is eligible to upgrade to Windows 11. Google’s intention seems to be collecting anonymized data, perhaps so that it can gauge how many “stuck with Windows 10” machines are out there before deciding how long Chrome should keep supporting them.
In short, there is no official “this-date-is-the-end” statement from Google. What we have is a few soft signals and a continuing support note for some Windows 10 editions, and backend data collections inside Chrome, but nothing concrete or public facing that promises long-term support for all Windows 10 users.
What Chrome’s Windows 7 timeline tells us about Windows 10
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When Chrome finally stopped supporting Windows 7, it gave users what I would call a generous runway. Officially, the last version of Chrome that supported Windows 7 was Chrome 109, released January 10, 2023. That means a machine running Windows 7 could still get updates and security patches nearly three years after Microsoft’s support deadline for the OS.
Even then, Google didn’t cut users off cold. The company tied Chrome’s sunset to a specific build number and put out several warnings first. Prior to that, Chrome support for Windows 7 was supposed to end in mid-2021, but as enterprises lagged in upgrading, Google extended that out to January 15, 2023. That extra leeway shows that Google understood that many of its customers, both enterprise and consumer, were still depending heavily on older PCs.
Why Chrome is likely to outlive Windows 10’s support deadline
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Even though Windows 10’s official support ended in October 2025, there are several reasons to think Chrome might keep quietly working on it for a good while longer. First off, browsers don’t always cut off support the moment an operating system reaches end-of-life. As long as the underlying system still supports the core APIs and Chrome’s developers don’t explicitly block older versions, the browser can continue functioning, and there’s been no public declaration from Google that it plans to pull the plug any time soon.
In fact, recent reporting suggests Chrome is still gathering telemetry from Windows 10 PCs to see which ones are eligible for an upgrade to Windows 11. That suggests Google is evaluating how many users remain on Windows 10, and implies the company may wait until that number drops significantly before ending support. Meanwhile, there are precedents of browsers staying functional long after an operating system’s end-of-life, and no technical barrier yet is preventing Chrome from running on Windows 10 builds. Given that, using Chrome on a Windows 10 tablet or PC remains plausible for the foreseeable future.
What you should do before Chrome support ends
If you want to stay safe and keep Chrome working reliably on a Windows 10 device, the best move is to upgrade to Windows 11 if your hardware allows it. If that is not an option, consider enrolling in Microsoft’s Extended Security Updates program, which offers security patches for Windows 10 until October 2026. You should also keep Chrome fully updated, remove outdated and insecure software, and follow basic security habits like avoiding suspicious downloads and links. Finally, back up your important files to an external drive or cloud service so that you are ready to move to a new device when Chrome support eventually ends.
At the end of the day, Chrome will probably keep working on Windows 10 longer than many people expect, but that does not mean you should rely on it forever. Google has not given a firm cutoff date, and Microsoft is already pushing the operating system toward its long-term sunset. If you are still using a Windows 10 device, now is the time to plan your next move, whether that means upgrading, replacing old hardware, or simply backing up your data so you are ready when support finally runs out.
