Chromium vs. Chrome: Automatic Updates on Windows and macOS

While Google Chrome and Chromium share the same underlying source code, they handle software updates completely differently on Windows and macOS. Google Chrome includes a built-in management system that silently downloads and installs security patches and feature updates in the background. Conversely, the open-source Chromium browser lacks a native auto-updater entirely, requiring users on Windows and macOS to manually download new builds or rely on third-party package managers to keep their browser secure and up to date.

Google Chrome: Automated Background Updates

Google Chrome is designed to be maintenance-free for the average user. It achieves this by bundling a dedicated update utility alongside the browser installation on both Windows and macOS.

  • On Windows: Chrome installs a background service called Google Update (based on Google's open-source Omaha project). This service registers itself in the Windows Task Scheduler and runs periodically in the background, even when the Chrome browser is completely closed. It checks Google's servers for new versions, downloads them silently, and applies the update the next time the user restarts the browser.
  • On macOS: Chrome utilizes a similar background utility known as Google Software Update. It installs LaunchAgents and LaunchDaemons that run silently in the background of the macOS environment. Just like the Windows counterpart, it fetches and pre-installs updates automatically without requiring user intervention, applying the changes upon the next browser relaunch.

In both operating systems, users can manually trigger an update check by navigating to the "About Chrome" page in the settings menu, which forces the background service to look for an immediate patch.

Chromium: Manual Updates and Third-Party Tools

Chromium is the open-source project that powers Chrome, primarily aimed at developers and advanced users. Because Google does not package Chromium for general consumer release, the browser does not include the Google Update or Google Software Update utilities.

  • No Background Services: Installing Chromium on Windows or macOS only installs the browser application itself. No scheduled tasks, background services, or launch daemons are added to the operating system.
  • No "About" Page Updater: Going to the "About Chromium" page will only display the current version number; it will not check for or fetch new updates.

To update Chromium on Windows and macOS, users must rely on alternative methods:

  1. Manual Installation: Users must regularly visit the official Chromium continuous build repositories, download the latest installer or archive file (.zip for Windows, .dmg for macOS), and manually overwrite their existing installation.
  2. Package Managers: Technical users often bypass manual downloads by using command-line package managers. On macOS, users can install and update Chromium via Homebrew (brew upgrade chromium). On Windows, users can utilize Winget or Chocolatey to fetch the latest builds via the command prompt.
  3. Third-Party Updaters: Because of the lack of native support, the open-source community has created third-party wrapper tools—such as ChrLauncher on Windows—that run in the background to mimic Chrome’s automatic update behavior by fetching the latest Chromium builds automatically.

The Security Impact

The difference in update handling directly impacts user security. Because web browsers are a primary target for exploits, Google releases security patches frequently. Google Chrome users on Windows and macOS receive these patches automatically within days of their release. Chromium users, however, are left vulnerable to newly discovered exploits unless they actively maintain a strict schedule of manual updates or configure third-party automation tools.