Google Chrome is a freeware web browser^[10] developed by Google. It used the WebKit layout engine until version 27 and, with the exception of its iOS releases, from version 28 and beyond uses the WebKit fork Blink.^[11][12][13] It was first released as a beta version for Microsoft Windows on September 2, 2008, and as a stable public release on December 11, 2008.

As of January 2015, StatCounter estimates that Google Chrome has a 51% worldwide usage share of web browsers, indicating that it is the most widely used web browser in the world.^[14]

Google releases the majority of Chrome's source code as an open-source project Chromium.^[15][16] A notable component that is not open source is the built-in Adobe Flash Player.