An Origin Trial is a Chrome mechanism that allows developers to test experimental web platform features on their production sites before the feature is enabled by default.
Origin Trials and WebRTC
New WebRTC features frequently go through Origin Trials before becoming standard in Chrome. Recent examples have included:
- WebRTC Encoded Transform (for E2EE and custom media processing)
- WebRTC Scalability Mode extensions
- New codec support
To participate in an Origin Trial, developers register their domain on Chrome's Origin Trials page and receive a token that enables the experimental feature for their site's users. This lets the Chrome team gather real-world feedback while limiting exposure.
Origin Trials are closely related to Field Trials (internal Chrome experiments managed by Finch). The key difference is that Origin Trials are opt-in by developers, while Field Trials are controlled by Google.
