Google Chrome Said to Bring 'Self Share' Feature to Send Tabs From Mobile to Desktop; Now Supports PiP by Default

Google Chrome is reportedly developing a feature called 'Self Share' as a new way to send tabs from an Android mobile to a desktop. A code change request has been spotted hinting at the upcoming feature that will let users push links to webpages from a smartphone to their computer, given that they are logged in from the same Google account. Additionally, another report has suggested that Chrome for Android will soon start hiding media notifications in Incognito Mode. Meanwhile, Google has announced that Chrome's picture-in-picture (PiP) mode is now live for all users on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Folks at ChromeStory noticed the code change request that reads as "Adding new feature flag for self share prototype." The flag name and description of the code say "Self share" and "Allows users to post tabs from Android devices to allow other synced computer to reopen those same". Also, the functionality is described in an informal message between developers attached to the changelog as, "I put together a quick feature flag to start working on a prototype for sharing URLs between mobile and desktop chrome."

Coming to the media notification changes, as of now, they are not hidden when using an incognito tab in Chrome for Android. However, according to an XDA Developers report, a new commit hints that it may change soon. The commit has reportedly been merged but it is available in the Google Chrome Canary channel only but is expected to roll out in future versions.

As of now, media notifications for content playback that come with the Incognito tab showcase details such as video/ audio title, URL, artist/ channel, a background image, and more. Once the changes are live, the notifications coming from Incognito windows will reportedly not have such detailed information.

Meanwhile, Google Chrome developer Francois Beaufort has announced via a post on Google+ that picture-in-picture mode is now live on Chrome for Windows, macOS, and Linux. This feature will allow users to watch videos in a floating window, on top of other windows. This essentially means you can now use other applications while still watching a video. With a new Chrome extension, Chrome picture-in-picture be used on any video on the Internet. If you are a developer, Google has provided details on how to implement the feature on the Google Developers site. The feature will soon come to Android and Chrome OS as well, Google noted.