Chrome 156 reached the stable channel on October 20, 2026, and its biggest long-term change is one you cannot see. Chromium has rebuilt IndexedDB, the built-in database that web apps use to save data on your device, on top of SQLite. Nothing looks different on screen, but the layer that holds offline drafts, cached messages and app settings is being swapped out, and the engineers behind it say the goal is fewer broken databases rather than raw speed. The release also adds a CSS random() function and a diagnostic tool for video calls.
TL;DR: Chrome 156 is live on desktop and rolling out to Android over the next few days. The headline change is that new IndexedDB data now lives in SQLite instead of LevelDB, aimed at reliability. Existing databases are not migrated yet. Developers also get CSS random(), a WebRTC logging API and a fenced frame removal step.
What Chrome 156 changes under the hood
Every Chromium browser keeps offline data for web apps in IndexedDB, the same place a web email client parks an unsent draft so it survives a dropped connection. Until now that store sat on a mix of LevelDB and flat files. According to the Chrome Status release notes for version 156, the backend now runs on SQLite, and the web API that developers call stays exactly the same.
The catch is scope. Chrome Status says the change applies to new data stores only, so databases already on your drive are not affected in this step.
In a Chromium developer thread about the earlier Incognito rollout, engineer Evan Stade described the goal as better reliability, with a smaller expected gain in speed. He also said moving existing on-disk data would be a separate step with a higher risk of data loss. That caution is the right instinct for a database most people have never heard of, and it fits a rollout that starts with new data only.
Chrome 156 rollout on desktop and Android
Google’s Chrome Releases blog lists separate posts for each platform, and the version numbers differ slightly between them.
| Platform | Version | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Windows and Mac | 156.0.8078.47 or 156.0.8078.48 | Stable since October 20, 2026 |
| Linux | 156.0.8078.47 | Stable since October 20, 2026 |
| Android | 156.0.8078.47 | Reaching Google Play over the next few days |
The figures come from the Chrome Releases posts for the desktop build and the Android build. Your phone may therefore trail your laptop by a day or two.
To check a computer, open the Chrome menu, choose Help, then About Google Chrome. A laptop that has stayed open for days often has the update downloaded and waiting behind a Relaunch button. Security details for each build are published in those Chrome Releases posts, and the Chrome 155 update from earlier this month is a reminder of why updating promptly matters.
New CSS tools that reach real web pages
The Chrome Status release notes for version 156 lists four CSS additions. The random() function generates random numbers inside a range, so a designer can vary spacing or color without writing JavaScript.
A new navigation pseudo-class selects the link, button or form element that started a navigation and keeps it selected while the next page loads. In practice that lets a site highlight the thing you just tapped instead of leaving you staring at an unchanged page.
Two layout changes round it out. Overflow can now combine scroll with clip, such as overflow: scroll clip, so sticky elements can follow different ancestors on each axis. A new scroll-snap-type keyword called pair makes a container snap to the same element on both axes.
None of this changes how Chrome looks today. It changes what web developers can build without extra code, which tends to show up on pages months later.
A WebRTC logging tool and a fenced frame removal
Chrome 156 adds a WebRTC Diagnostic Logging API. It lets authorized web apps collect diagnostic data about a video or voice call for local debugging and, with user consent, share it with the browser vendor. In the Intent to Ship discussion, the feature is described as a desktop launch controlled by the enterprise policy WebRtcDiagnosticLogCollectionAllowedForOrigins, and it is disabled on Android WebView.
If a work video tool ever asks to send call logs, this is the mechanism behind the request. The consent step is the part to watch.
Chrome Status also records a removal in progress. In version 156 the fenced frame element and the window.fence APIs become stubs, and calls to window.fence do nothing. Full removal is planned for Chrome 157 stable if no regressions appear.
What to do about Chrome 156 this week
Most people need only one action: let Chrome update and relaunch when it is convenient. Nothing in the version 156 notes requires changing a setting, and the storage change happens without a prompt.
Developers have more to check. Anyone who builds on IndexedDB should test against the new backend, since Chrome Status marks the web API as unchanged but the storage layer underneath is not. Browser vendors are also busy elsewhere this month, as our Firefox 158 security fixes coverage shows.
The next thing to watch is the on-disk migration. When existing databases start moving to SQLite, that is when this quiet change becomes a real one.
