Google Browser Sync is a software application released as freeware

Freeware

Freeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee, but usually with one or more restricted usage rights. Freeware is in contrast to commercial software, which is typically sold for profit, but might be distributed for a business or commercial purpose in the...

 from Google

Google

Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...

. It debuted in Google Labs

Google Labs

Google Labs was a page created by Google to demonstrate and test new Google projects. Google calls Google Labs,Google also uses an invitation-only phase for trusted testers to test projects including Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Wave and many of these have their own "labs" webpages for...

 on 8 June 2006, and as of June 2008 has been discontinued. It allows users of Mozilla Firefox

Mozilla Firefox

Mozilla Firefox is a free and open source web browser descended from the Mozilla Application Suite and managed by Mozilla Corporation. , Firefox is the second most widely used browser, with approximately 25% of worldwide usage share of web browsers...

 up to versions 2.x to synchronize their web browser

Web browser

A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...

 settings across multiple computer

Computer

A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...

s via the Internet

Internet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

. It is not compatible with Firefox 3.0 (and Google will not make it compatible, see below). Browser Sync is built into Google Chrome

Google Chrome

Google Chrome is a web browser developed by Google that uses the WebKit layout engine. It was first released as a beta version for Microsoft Windows on September 2, 2008, and the public stable release was on December 11, 2008. The name is derived from the graphical user interface frame, or...

.

Google Browser Sync requires a Google account, in which the user's cookies

HTTP cookie

A cookie, also known as an HTTP cookie, web cookie, or browser cookie, is used for an origin website to send state information to a user's browser and for the browser to return the state information to the origin site...

, saved passwords, bookmarks, browsing history, tabs, and open windows can be stored. The data is optionally encrypted

Encryption

In cryptography, encryption is the process of transforming information using an algorithm to make it unreadable to anyone except those possessing special knowledge, usually referred to as a key. The result of the process is encrypted information...

 using an alphanumerical PIN

Personal identification number

A personal identification number is a secret numeric password shared between a user and a system that can be used to authenticate the user to the system. Typically, the user is required to provide a non-confidential user identifier or token and a confidential PIN to gain access to the system...

, which theoretically prevents even Google from reading the data. Passwords and cookies are always encrypted and can only be accessed by the user.

Google Browser Sync and Firefox 3

Google Browser Sync has been discontinued, and the download has been replaced with the following text:

Google Browser Sync is no longer available for download. Instead, to get similar functionality, we suggest using Mozilla Weave

Mozilla Weave

Firefox Sync, originally branded Mozilla Weave, allows users to partially synchronize bookmarks, browsing history, preferences, passwords, filled forms, and last 25 opened tabs across multiple computers....

, Google Toolbar for Firefox, or Foxmarks

Foxmarks

Xmarks, formerly Foxmarks, was a San Francisco-based company which produces an add-on to web browsers, which is also entitled Xmarks. The company was founded in 2006 by Mitch Kapor and was acquired by LastPass in December 2010.-Overview:...

. Support for current Google Browser Sync users will continue through 2008.
We've also posted the code to Google Code in hopes that someone will use it to develop something cool.

That being so, it will not be updated for Firefox 3. However, the code has been made available to the public.

External links

• Google Browser Sync website
• Google Firefox Extensions Discussion Group - Mentioned in the Google Browser Sync FAQ, but otherwise hard to find
• Download previous version of Firefox that supports Google Browser Sync -