Google has just started rolling out Chrome 80 to the stable channel on Windows, Mac and Linux, bringing a new feature that many users have been clamoring for in recent months. Originally rolled out to the Canary channel last month, the so-called ‘quieter UI’ will significantly cut down on annoying notification permissions from websites. In addition, Chrome 80.0.3987.87 also contains a number of fixes improvements, including 56 security patches.
According to Google, the new UI will bring a “new, quieter notification permission UI that reduces the interruptiveness of notification permission requests”. While the quieter UI will be an opt-in functionality for the most part, Google says it will be automatically enabled for users who generally block notification requests and on sites with very low opt-in rates. It can be enabled manually via Settings > Site Settings > Notifications > Use Quieter Messaging.
Alongside the aforementioned feature, Chrome 80 has also started implementing a new SameSite cookie classification system that restricts cookie access to first-party by default (sameSite=Lax) unless explicitly marked for third-party usage (SameSite+None). Chrome first announced this change in May 2019, and followed it up with a reminder for developers in October 2019 before rolling it out with the latest version of its web-browser.
Chrome 80 started rolling out to the stable channel on Tuesday, February 4, but enforcement of the new cookie classification system will only begin later in the month with a small population of users, gradually increasing over time. You can check out more information on the subject on the official SameSite Update page. You can also check out an official video from Google to get a better understanding.
