Soon, the side panel on Google Chrome’s desktop will be able to work with Manifest V3 extensions that want to show an interface. For those who don’t know, Manifest V3 (or Manifest Version 3) is the name of the latest version of the Chrome extension platform. This feature is now possible thanks to the Chrome Side Panel API, which lets users have permanent experiences that help them navigate the web.
Chrome Beta 114 now has the Side Panel API, which can be used by Manifest V3 extensions. The Chrome developers page says, “The Side Panel API lets extensions show their own UI (user interface) in the side panel, allowing for persistent experiences that improve the user’s browsing trip.”
Users can open side panels by clicking the button next to the address bar, selecting it from the drop-down menu, or even pressing a shortcut key. According to the report, other Google experiences that use side panels will soon include Lens, Journeys, the user interface for changing how a browser looks, and Reading Mode.
Google has said that starting in the first quarter of 2024, it will move 1% of Chrome users to Privacy Sandbox and stop giving them third-party cookies. Anthony Chavez, the vice president of Privacy Sandbox, says that the move will help developers test the suitability and effectiveness of their products in the real world without using third-party cookies.
The company has also started to roll out the beta version of the Magic Compose feature, which uses artificial intelligence to help people write text messages. But the beta version is now only available in English on Android phones in the US to people who are at least 18 years old.
