Google has quietly tested a Read Later feature for Chrome on Android, and it looks like the search giant wants to implement it nearby in a future stable building for everyone.
With the release of Chrome 90, which is currently in the Canary Channel, Google has added a Read Later feature on Android. This feature is accessible on the Canary Channel, even without activating a feature flag.
In essence, Read Later works by allowing users to save a web page for later reading. If you’ve ever used a service like Pocket, it’s basically a great way to store bookmarks. Firefox has a deep integration with Pocket since Mozilla acquired the service in 2017.
Oddly enough, Google Chrome has had a functional Read Later feature on iOS since 2017, but not on Android or PC. In the middle of last year, however, we found out that Google was working on a Read Later feature for Chrome for Android.
The feature is fairly easy to use. If you want to save a link, hold and hold a link, then the usual actions are listed, including ‘Open in new tab’. You will also see a new “Read later” option. Items you have saved can be found in your Bookmarks, where you can see a “Reading List” folder.
It’s not the most exciting feature Google has ever introduced to Chrome, but it does make users less dependent on similar ‘read it later’ services.
Google recently launched Chrome 88, which introduced tab search and enhanced password protection. The latter feature makes it easy to identify and correct bad passwords, as well as to update multiple usernames and passwords simultaneously.
With Chrome 88 now available, we have a few more versions before the Read Later feature becomes more available. But as soon as it’s available, let us know for sure. If you want to test the feature now on desktop and mobile, enable this Chrome flag: chrome: // flags / #read later.
Thanks to XDA member Some_Random_Username for the tip!
This article was updated on January 27, 2021 at 12:40 ET to explain that the feature is accessible to users on the Canary Channel.