ChromeOS is a fantastic middle ground between the multitasking capabilities of Windows and the simplicity of Android, all without taxing yourfantastic Chromebook’slimited hardware capabilities. Google keeps it alive with regular updates, which often reveal new features in development, locked behind experimental system–level flags. A few new flags Google is working on add to the security and privacy features on ChromeOS, alongside minor tweaks to the user interface (UI) design of Settings components and the app launcher.
An option to hide your username and profile picture on the lock screen is in the works
Android doesn’t display any personal identifying information on the lock screen, and Windows 11 gives you the option to hide the email associated with your user account. However, ChromeOS doesn’t offer such features. Digging through the new experimental flags in the latest Canary build of the OS,@cr_c2cv on X(formerly Twitter) chanced upon one which allows hiding your username and profile picture from the ChromeOS lock screen (via9to5Google).
Several users will appreciate this convenience alongside existing support to use a short PIN instead of your complete Gmail password to unlock the computer. Since your lock screen is visible to anyone, including people who don’t have the correct PIN or password, it makes sense to hide confidential information like the username and profile picture. Additionally, Google is working on a new toggle to define if your Chromebook unlocks automatically after entering the PIN. This option is reportedly located underSettings→Lock Screen & Sign-in.
Settings for managing apps have changed
Another minor change in the Settings app splits the option toManage Google Play preferencesseparate from theManage your appsoption. As 9to5Google points out, the option to remove the Google Play Store under the Play preferences section now clearly spells out that your Android apps will be disabled if you remove the Play Store. Previously, this menu only mentioned the app marketplace’s removal.
Another change comes to the ChromeOS launcher, which Google now calls the Everything launcher, disguised as the following flag.
chrome://flags/#launcher-search-control
Enabling this flag adds a section for customized search results to the app launcher, which otherwise resembles an Android phone. The new UI has a Settings icon (sliders) on the right-hand side, which can be used to exclude results from some apps like the Shortcut Customization app or the Explore app.
The redesigned launcher search features interactive cards and a settings button
This section also shows interactive cards from the Diagnostics app. One of them shows the CPU usage, followed by the hardware’s temperature and current clock speed. Google is also reworking how installed apps show up in the launcher — just like on the Pixel Launcher, the ChromeOS launcher will now show you the app icon with “Installing…” written underneath for apps which are still being downloaded from the Play Store.
Apps will show up in the launcher while downloading
There’s no timeline specified for these changes to make their way to the stable version of ChromeOS, but we suppose it will take just a few months, considering these were spotted in the Canary build. That said, Google can always remove features, or choose to release them later, so the users don’t find the OS unfamiliar suddenly.
