The Chrome app for Android now allows you to preview a web page before committing to clicking on a link, 9to5Google reports. The feature appears to have been activated through a server-side update to version 89 of the browser and can be accessed by holding down a link and tapping on “Watch page”. It seems to be for Android only for now.
It is a small but useful feature, if you want to quickly check the contents of a web page without leaving the current page entirely. Perhaps it is to get the gist of an article by reading its first paragraphs, or because you are still vigilant not to be fooled by Rick in 2021.
The feature has been included in other browsers for some time. On iOS, both Safari and Edge already preview a web page when you press and hold a link and, by default, do not require the additional step of selecting “Preview page” from a menu.
Chrome support for link previews on Android has been in development for some time and was detected during development in December 2018 by XDA Developers. Now, however, it appears to be available to everyone without having to be manually enabled.