The shift from Manifest V2 to Manifest V3 (which began phasing out in 2022 and concludes in 2024-2025) crippled many ad-blockers like uBlock Origin. Some users hoard old Chrome versions to maintain full ad-blocking functionality, though this is a dangerous trade-off.
| Chrome Version | Release Date | Last macOS Supported | Key Feature Drops | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | March 2016 | OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) | Last 32-bit support on Mac | | Chrome 87 | Nov 2020 | macOS 10.13 (High Sierra) | Dropped 10.11 & 10.12 | | Chrome 109 | Jan 2023 | macOS 10.15 (Catalina) | Last version for Intel-only Macs (pre-Apple Silicon) | | Chrome 114+ | 2023+ | macOS 11 (Big Sur) + | Apple Silicon native required | google chrome old versions mac
Every official Chrome app bundle has a cryptographic signature. When Apple issues a new intermediate certificate (roughly every 2-3 years), old signatures expire. A Chrome version from 2018 will trigger a "Google Chrome.app is damaged and can’t be opened. You should move it to the Trash" error. The shift from Manifest V2 to Manifest V3
Why would anyone want to run outdated, potentially vulnerable software? The reasons range from legitimate legacy enterprise needs to digital archaeology and performance retrofitting. When Apple issues a new intermediate certificate (roughly
Many corporations and government agencies run internal web dashboards, VPN portals, or Java-based applets that were engineered for Chrome 60 or 70. These tools often break catastrophically with modern browser updates (due to deprecated APIs like NPAPI or changes to TLS handshakes). IT departments sometimes keep an old Chrome version on an isolated, air-gapped Mac to access legacy infrastructure.