Google promotes Chrome 146 to the beta channel with WebNN support, Sanitizer API, and more

The Google Chrome team recently promoted Chrome 146 to the Beta channel with WebNN support in Origin Trial.

WebNN is an upcoming World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standard. It provides a JavaScript API for running neural network inference tasks directly in your browser. Its implementation in Chromium involves a collaborative effort from Google, Intel, and Microsoft, with Edge planning to launch WebNN at roughly the same time as Chrome. Firefox and Apple have also shown interest, though their public progress remains limited.

Several advantages come with a native neural network API built directly into browsers. The most obvious one involves privacy, because you would not need to send sensitive user data off to a remote server for processing (all calculations remain on your local machine).

This also enables web applications to tap into dedicated hardware like GPUs or NPUs on your computer, making AI tasks such as image recognition or natural language processing run much faster, all without extra plugins or external server setups.

Since WebNN is in beta (for now), if you want to try out WebNN or any other new features, you will have to switch to the Beta channel. For Windows, macOS, and Linux users, simply download the Beta version from the official Chrome website; many uninstall their current Chrome version first to avoid conflicts. To check your channel, go to settings, and select "About Google Chrome"; it shows your channel next to the version number.

As for Chromebook users, switching channels "powerwashes" the device, erasing all local data, so back up anything important first.

Then, in Settings, go to "About Chrome OS," click "Additional details," then "Change channel," pick "Beta channel," and confirm with "Change channel and Powerwash." Your Chromebook handles the rest.

Other features to expect from Chrome 146 Beta include the Sanitizer API, which cleans up untrusted HTML to help prevent cross-site scripting attacks, and Scroll Triggered Animations. Developers also gain the Timeline Named Range "scroll" for animation control, and a WebGPU Compatibility mode.

Chrome 146 is expected to land in the Stable channel on February 25th.

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Posted Friday 13 February 2026 at 6:33 am AEST (my time).

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