Update: The flag is now available in the Canary channel. However, the feed is not working yet.

Before anyone accuses me of clickbait, the title reflects my confusion about this upcoming feature. Truly.

Remember the option to follow websites using Google Chrome on Android? Google might be bringing this feature to the desktop version of Chrome. It is quite possible that Google will bring the Discover feed as well to the side panel.

Chrome Flag in Question

As usual, all this starts with an experimental Chrome flag I spotted in Chromium Gerrit today.

Feed in the sidepanel: Enables the following feed in the sidepanel.

Why am I confused?

Well, there are a couple of “feeds” in Google’s world. There is RSS feed, and then there is the Follow button I already mentioned. The third candidate is the Discover feed from the Google app and Chrome new tab page on Android.

It will be tricky to incorporate an RSS feed reader into the side panel. So, let’s rule that out for now.

Next is the Follow option from Chrome for Android. One of the code commits from the same developer mentions the following URL:

https://www.google.com/feed-api/following

I could not verify if this is the API that powers the Follow button on Chrome. However, it is a possibility.

The next possibility is the Discover feed. The Chrome flag does not mention “discover” anywhere. However, I could find this code change request from the same developer.

(Did you notice his last name?)

Now you tell me, which feed is he talking about in the Chrome flag?

There is only one way to find out. Wait for the flag to show up in the Canary version of Chrome and test it out. That’s what I am planning to do.

In the meantime, let me know what you think this “feed” could be in the comment box below.

Source: Chromium Gerrit.