Google Chrome, the popular web browser, holds a 65 percent market share. 2 billion people use Chrome every day. Such reputations, yet Chrome has below standard for user’s privacy. Should you use Chrome or switch to some other browser, Let’s find out more about the User Privacy that Chrome offers-
Is Chrome Too Powerful?
Google has integrated several products and services for users. Gmail and Google search are the two most popular services out there for quite a long time. Using Chrome offers a better user experience across devices for all of the Google services. It’s an all-in-one solution for everyone. As people enjoy intuitiveness, Google collects huge user data via Chrome. For this reason, in particular, Privacy experts prefer options when it comes to Chrome.
Speaking of collecting user data, Google’s Chrome app can trace your location, collect your searches, and look through your browsing histories. You might see a privacy advertisement by Google but Google itself compromises your data. Even though people choose Chrome just because of the easy access to Google services via Chrome.
Chrome needs to handle browsing data like every other browser to serve users better. However, Chrome goes a little far. The browser handles your data and transfers a lot of it to Google, Says Rowenna Fielding, founder, and director of Miss IG Geek, a privacy consultancy.
“If you’re using Chrome to browse the internet, even in private mode, Google is watching everything you do online, all the time.”
– Director of Privacy Consultancy, Miss IG Geek
As Google collects your information, a representation of your personality, interests, hobbies, weaknesses and other sensitive data are stored without your acknowledgment.
How Do You Compromise Your Privacy with Chrome?
Syncing Google accounts with Chrome allows Google to collect more information about you from different devices and services you use. Google even collects your last location, social media presence, and interactions with others. Thus you can’t get the privacy of any sort if you’re using Chrome. Google has the user privacy of Chrome but seems only some formal words after all.
Yes, you can say Chrome has more user-friendly features than other browsers. Chrome is powerful and significantly faster like every other browser. Chrome has a wider range of extensions for several apps. Being a product of Google, Chrome gets lots of features that other Google products offer better than any other browsers. Everything you get from Chrome is by sacrificing your privacy.
Not to mention, Browsers with Chromium engines do the same. Microsoft Edge runs on the chromium engine so if you’re thinking Edge to be a Chrome alternative, you’re digging the same hole.
Google’s Defense for Chrome
In defense, Google says user data aren’t tracked by developers for any purposes other than checking the authenticity of a user whether someone is a fraud or spamming. Google claims privacy and security have always been the core advantages Chrome offers to users.
Spokeswoman of Google said, “Chrome has safe browsing where users are protected from phishing and malware. The company pointed out that for keeping users safe, they needed usage data. The data aren’t accessible to anyone but used to enhance security.
Chrome offers helpful options to keep data sync and user can control what to sync or not says Google while praising Chrome. Even Google is allowing users to limit their data tracking soon with the release of Android 12, announced by Google very recently.
Refutation to Google’s Defense
Google’s defense wasn’t promising enough. Market dominance and ad-driven ecosystem, Google, needs resources to keep advertisers on the platform. To the eyes of advertisers, Google is a reliable platform where most appropriate clients can be targeted. If you give ads on Google, you know how much customization is possible while sorting audiences for the advertisement. Where do you think that data comes from?
In theory, Google has everything under control and any data collected is used for further service enhancements only. In reality, Google is handing over your data to app developers for showing relevant ads and features you might like. Thus Google has become a very trusted and useful entity to several leading economic institutions.
Suggestions You Might Need
There are some easy ways you can limit the tracking. For example, you can avoid chrome syncing your data across devices. Therefore, Chrome won’t be able to track your entire data across all your devices and know everything you do online. You can turn off third-party cookies. As a result, other websites won’t track your surfing data for their sites and store it for further use. You can avoid signing in to Google if not required to use any Google products.
The downside to all these, you will be experiencing fewer functionalities offered by Google. Several Google features need a signed-in for user authentication.
Wrapping Up
The solution to secure yourself from a browser is to ditch the browser. There’re plenty of feature-enriched browsers out there. You can trust Firefox, Brave, DuckDuckGo, Tor, and so on. Everyone has the dignity to live with privacy. Don’t sacrifice it for some apps or services only.
Comment below if you feel secure about the User Privacy of Chrome. Share your thoughts with us. Tell us what you want us to cover next. We will be happy to hear from our Friends!
– Xplnrs
