How to Use the Chrome to Phone Extension

Send web pages from Google Chrome straight to your mobile phone

Woman holding an iPhone over a laptop

William Iven/Unsplash

by Kat Aoki
Kat Aoki has nearly 10 years worth of professional IT and troubleshooting experience. She currently writes digital content for technology companies in the U.S. and Australia.
Updated March 26, 2019

Chrome is the most widely used web browser. And thanks to its thousands of browser extensions and built-in features, you can do a lot more than just surf the web.

With Chrome, can even send links from web pages directly to your mobile phone. This means you can continue your browsing, online research, or streaming exactly where you left off — no interruptions required.

The official Chrome to Phone extension (which let PC users send links to Android phones), is no longer available. But there’s a way to get the same functionality with Google Sync. Even better, you can use Google Sync with any type of computer or smartphone.

If this sounds like a handy feature you could use, here's how to set it up.

If you search for "Chrome to Phone" on the Google Play store, you won't find it. Chrome did away with the Chrome to Phone extension back in early 2015. However, you can get the same functionality with Google Sync.

Synchronize Your Web Pages With Google Sync

Instead of using a chrome mobile extension to share web pages, you can synchronize all of your Google-related information across devices with Google Sync.

This feature lets you sync all of your Google services, including Gmail, Contacts, Calendar, and yes, Chrome. This means you can access your web browsing history and important bookmarks across all your devices.

When you turn on Google Sync, you can:

  • Access your bookmarks from any device.
  • See your browsing history and any open windows.
  • Access to the same passwords, auto-fill information, settings, and preferences across devices.

How to Set up Google Sync

Where to turn on Google Sync
 Author

  1. If you haven't already, you'll need to set up a Google Account and download Chrome to your device.

  2. Sign into your Google account.

  3. Open Chrome on your computer. Do not use Incognito mode.

  4. At the top right of your Chrome browser, click Profile.

  5. Then, click Turn on sync. Your open web pages and bookmarks are now synced to the same Google account on your smartphone. Open the Chrome app to view.

To see your open web pages, go to Recent tabs under your phone's Chrome app menu. To see all of your bookmarks, go to Bookmarks under the Chrome app menu.

What Google Sync Does for You

Once Google Sync is active and you're signed in, you'll also sign in automatically to all of your other Google products. Your information will be perfectly synchronized across all of your devices, allowing you to stay informed and up-to-date.

Unlike the old Chrome to Phone app, you won't receive any notifications after your web pages and bookmarks sync. Rather, you need to go into your Chrome app menu to view your open web pages and synced bookmarks.

If You Don't Want to Sync Anymore

If you later decide Google Sync isn't right for you, you can turn it off with the following steps:

  1. On your computer, open up your Chrome browser. Do not use Incognito mode.

  2. At the top right, click your Profile.

  3. Click where it says Syncing to in the drop-down.

  4. Under People, click Turn off sync.

A Final Word About Google Sync

Turning off sync won't affect anything. You'll still be able to view and access your browsing history and bookmarks on all of your previously synced devices. But, keep in mind that if you make any new changes (like bookmark an important Google Doc on your laptop), it won't sync to your mobile phone.

In sum, Google Sync makes sharing links and web pages across your different devices simple and easy. You can set it up with a few keystrokes, and it doesn't require you to install any additional Chrome extensions.