Google Is Quietly Killing Chrome Apps – Here's When The Support Period Ends

If you've never heard of Chrome apps, that's not surprising. This is a technology introduced two decades ago that Google has been discontinuing for a few years now, and it's finally reaching its end (for real); the final stop for Chrome app support will be October 2028. Given this timeline, you should probably move away from Chrome apps, as this technology is now considered history. In fact, it's a very niche technology you might not be using at all.

Chrome apps are web-based software designed to run inside Chrome browser environments and ChromeOS. They're like native desktop apps, sitting between an extension — of which there are still many worth adding to your Google Chrome browser — and proper software that lives on your computer. These Chrome apps work outside the traditional browser window, can often be used offline, and sometimes have access to system-level hardware.

However, with the rise of Progressive Web Apps (PWAs), which natively support offline storage, push notifications, and local device hardware access, Google decided that Chrome apps were redundant – there are way more interesting features for Google Chrome. As an added benefit, PWAs work on other browsers, too. Google now focuses on native Android apps and PWAs for ChromeOS. Finally, with Google phasing out Chrome apps, the company is also retiring legacy, highly-privileged APIs that could affect Google Chrome's security and reduce the complexity of maintaining a technology it doesn't want people to use anymore.

In 2016, Google announced its plans to sunset Chrome apps on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Between 2020 and 2022, the company ended uploads to its public store and fully phased out support on those platforms. For ChromeOS, on the other hand, Google continued to extend support repeatedly for enterprise and school clients.

Then, in July 2025, the company ended support for user-installed Chrome apps on ChromeOS. A year later, it released the final update for Kiosk Mode. As of now, Google says that by early 2027, enterprise force-installed apps will be disabled by default, requiring manual admin policy overrides. In early 2028, Google will publish the final ChromeOS release containing Chrome app code, so by October of that year, the Long-Term Support devices will reach their end of life, and there will be no Chrome apps on its web store.

Enterprises and schools, the ones responsible for keeping this technology alive, have two paths to take. They can either replace this technology with PWAs, which serve as perfect replacements for standalone software, or convert them into Chrome Extensions, which are great for browser-specific tools and background tasks. If you're a regular user, you don't need to worry. Support for Chrome apps on most devices ended a long time ago, as Google has been focusing on way more fun features for Chrome users. If you're a school or enterprise admin, it's time to hurry, as Chrome apps are a thing of the past and there are better ways to run software for schools or companies.