Which changes in Chrome 144 matter for web scraping? There are a few updates that can influence how pages behave when you are automating a browser.
Browser
Geolocation Tag
Chrome now supports the <geolocation> HTML element, which provides a browser-controlled, user-activated
way to request location data. This is the declarative equivalent to the JavaScript imperative
navigator.geolocation.
I created an HTML file to test this feature. As you might expect, the browser requires your permission to access your location.
When you click on the <geolocation> button you’ll get a popup asking for permission.
That didn’t work for me. After I cancelled it though I got another popup.
That did the trick.
If you have browser automations that rely on location information then you may need to locate and click a
<geolocation> element. See this for a detailed
specification of the <geolocation> element.
Temporal API in JavaScript
The Temporal API is now supported, bringing modern date and time types which complement the existing
Date API. For the purposes of web scraping this might change how newer sites format and handle
dates and times generated via JavaScript. The safest approach is to normalise dates and times into your
own data model rather than simply trusting whatever the site emits.
Gating of High Entropy Browser and Platform Data
The getHighEntropyValues() method of the NavigatorUAData interface allows a site to ask the
browser for more detailed device and browser information, beyond the basic, low-detail hints
available from navigator.userAgentData.
Chrome now allows a document to restrict access to getHighEntropyValues() for embedded documents.
Some anti-bot and fingerprinting systems run checks in an <iframe>. If the top level document opts
out of getHighEntropyValues() then those checks will receive less data.
This is a positive move for privacy, but may affect whether or not anti-bot challenges are activated by automated browsers.
DevTools
MCP Server Auto-Connect
An updated version of the DevTools MCP Server enables auto-connect, which allows you to connect via MCP to a running Chrome session. This means that you can now open a site in Chrome, reproduce a specific state and then attach MCP to the same browser instance, allowing you to inspect network traffic, DOM state and console output without losing context. More details here.
Summary
Chrome 144 does not have any major changes that impact web scraping. The new <geolocation> element is the biggest practical change for automated workflows.
Updates for previous versions: 143.