Google Chrome is a web browser developed by Google. It was first released in 2008 for Microsoft Windows, built with free software components from Apple WebKit and Mozilla Firefox.[16] Versions were later released for Linux, macOS, iOS, and also for Android, where it is the default browser.[17] The browser is also the main component of ChromeOS, where it serves as the platform for web applications.
Most of Chrome's source code comes from Google's free and open-source software project Chromium, but Chrome is licensed as proprietary freeware.[15] WebKit was the original rendering engine, but Google eventually forked it to create the Blink engine;[18] all Chrome variants except iOS used Blink as of 2017.[19]
As of April 2024, StatCounter estimates that Chrome has a 65% worldwide browser market share (after peaking at 72.38% in November 2018) on personal computers (PC),[20] is most used on tablets (having surpassed Safari), and is also dominant on smartphones.[21][22] With a market share of 65% across all platforms combined, Chrome is the most used web browser in the world today.[23]