It's time to ditch Chrome | WIRED UK

As well as collecting your data, Chrome also gives Google a huge ... “Some of those changes are good, including the move to make HTTPS ... SkiptomaincontentLongReadsBusinessCultureGearScienceSecurityVideoSearchEventsJobsConsultingDespiteapoorreputationforprivacy,Google’sChromebrowsercontinuestodominate.Thewebbrowserhasaround65percentmarketshareandtwobillionpeopleareregularlyusingit.Itsclosestcompetitor,Apple’sSafari,lagsfarbehindwithunder20percentmarketshare.That’salotofpower,evenbeforeyouconsiderChrome’sdatacollectionpractices. IsGoogletoobigandpowerful,anddoyouneedtoditchChromeforgood?Privacyexpertssayyes.ChromeistightlyintegratedwithGoogle’sdatagatheringinfrastructure,includingservicessuchasGooglesearchandGmail–anditsmarketdominancegivesitthepowertohelpsetnewstandardsacrosstheweb.ChromeisoneofGoogle’smostpowerfuldata-gatheringtools.GoogleiscurrentlyunderfirefromprivacycampaignersincludingrivalbrowsermakersandregulatorsforchangesinChromethatwillspelltheendofthird-partycookies,thetrackersthatfollowyouasyoubrowse.AlthoughtherearenosolidplansforEuropeyet,Googleisplanningtoreplacecookieswithitsown‘privacypreserving’trackingtechcalledFLoC,whichcriticssaywillgivethefirmevenmorepowerattheexpenseofitscompetitorsduetothesheerscaleofChrome’suserbase.Chrome’sheftydatacollectionpracticesareanotherreasontoditchthebrowser.AccordingtoApple’siOSprivacylabels,Google’sChromeappcancollectdataincludingyourlocation,searchandbrowsinghistory,useridentifiersandproductinteractiondatafor“personalisation”purposes.GooglesaysthisgivesyoutheabilitytoenablefeaturessuchastheoptiontosaveyourbookmarksandpasswordstoyourGoogleAccount.ButunlikerivalsSafari,Microsoft’sEdgeandFirefox,Chromelinksthisdatatodevicesandindividuals.AlthoughChromelegitimatelyneedstohandlebrowsingdata,itcansiphonoffalargeamountofinformationaboutyouractivitiesandtransmitittoGoogle,saysRowennaFielding,founderanddirectorofprivacyconsultancyMissIGGeek.“Ifyou’reusingChrometobrowsetheinternet,eveninprivatemode,Googleiswatchingeverythingyoudoonline,allthetime.ThisallowsGoogletobuildupadetailedandsophisticatedpictureaboutyourpersonality,interests,vulnerabilitiesandtriggers.”WhenyousyncyourGoogleaccountstoChrome,thedataslurpingdoesn’tstopthere.InformationfromotherGoogle-ownedproductsincludingitsemailserviceGmailandGooglesearchcanbecombinedtoformascarilyaccuratepicture.ChromedatacanbeaddedtoyourgeolocationhistoryfromGoogleMaps,themetadatafromyourGmailusage,yoursocialgraph–whoyouinteractwith,bothonandoffline–theappsyouuseonyourAndroidphone,andtheproductsyoubuywithGooglePay.“Thatcreatesaveryclearpictureofwhoyouareandhowyouliveyourlife,”Fieldingsays.MostPopularScientistsHaveDiscoveredaNewSetofBloodGroupsByChrisBaraniuk17ActuallyGoodDealsintheAmazonPrimeEarlyAccessSaleByAdamSpeightEurope’sPlantoBeatSiliconValleyatItsOwnGameByStephenArmstrongWhyIt’stheAgeoftheInvestor-EntrepreneurByStephenArmstrongAswellasgatheringinformationaboutyouronlineandofflinepurchases,datafromGooglePaycanbeused“inthesamewayasdatafromotherGoogleservices,”saysFielding.“Thisisnotjustwhatyoubuy,butalsoyourlocation,devicecontactsandinformation,andthelinksthosedetailsprovidesoyoucanbeidentifiedandprofiledacrossmultipledatasets.”Google’spowergoesevenfurtherthanitsownbrowsermarketshare.CompetitorbrowserssuchasMicrosoft’sEdgearebasedonthesameengine,Chromium.“SounderthehoodtheyarestillaformofChrome”,saysSeanWright,anindependentsecurityresearcher.Google’smassivemarketsharehasallowedtheinternetgianttodevelopwebstandardssuchasAMPinGooglemobilesearch,whichpublishersmustuseinordertoappearatthetopofsearchresults.Andmorerecently,Chrome’sFLoCeffectivelygivesGooglecontrolovertheadtrackingtechthatwillreplacethird-partycookies–althoughthisisbeingdevelopedintheopenandwithfeedbackfromotherdevelopers.Google’spowerallowsittosetthedirectionoftheindustry,saysWright.“Someofthosechangesaregood,includingthemovetomakeHTTPSencryptionadefault,butothersaremoreself-serving,suchastheFLoCproposal.”GooglesaysitsAdsproductsdonotaccesssyncedChromebrowsinghistory,otherthanforpreventingspamandfraud.ThefirmoutlinesthattheiOSprivacylabelsrepresentthemaximumcategoriesofdatathatcanbegathered,andwhatisactuallycollecteddependsonthefeaturesyouuseintheapp,andhowyouconfigureyoursettings.Italsoclaimsitsopen-sourceFLoCAPIisprivacy-focusedandwillnotgiveGoogleAdsproductsspecialprivilegesoraccess.Googlesaysprivacyandsecurity“havealwaysbeencorebenefitsoftheChromebrowser”.AGooglespokespersonhighlightedtheSafeBrowsingfeaturesthatprotectagainstthreatssuchasphishingandmalware,aswellasadditionalcontrolstohelpyoumanageyourinformationinChrome.Inrecentyearsthecompanyhasintroducedmorewaysyoucancontrolyourdata.“Chromeoffershelpfuloptionstokeepyourdatainsyncacrossdevices,andyoucontrolwhatactivitygetssavedtoyourGoogleAccountifyouchoosetosignin,”thespokespersonsays.MostPopularScientistsHaveDiscoveredaNewSetofBloodGroupsByChrisBaraniuk17ActuallyGoodDealsintheAmazonPrimeEarlyAccessSaleByAdamSpeightEurope’sPlantoBeatSiliconValleyatItsOwnGameByStephenArmstrongWhyIt’stheAgeoftheInvestor-EntrepreneurByStephenArmstrongButthatdoesn’tchangethelevelofdatacollectionpossible,orthefactthatGooglehassomuchsway,simplythroughitsmarketdominanceandjoinedupad-drivenecosystem.“Whenyouareacompanythathasthemajorityshareofbrowsersandinternetsearch,yousuddenlyhaveahugeamountofpower,”saysMatthewGribben,aformerGCHQcybersecurityconsultant.“WheneverywebdeveloperandSEOexpertintheworldneedstopandertothesewhims,thefocusbecomesonmakingsitesworkwellforGoogleattheexpenseofeverythingelse.”AndaslongaspeopleuseChromeandotherservices– manyofwhichare,admittedly,moreuserfriendlythanthoseofrivals–thenGoogle’spowershowsnosignsofdiminishing.ChromeprovidesGooglewith“enormousamountsofbehaviouralanddemographicdata,controloverpeople’sbrowsingexperience,aplatformforshapingthewebtoGoogle’sownadvantage,andbrand‘capture’”,Fieldingsays.“Whenpeople’sfavouritetools,gamesandsitesonlyworkwithChrome,theyarereluctanttoswitchtoanalternative.”Intheory,competitionanddataprotectionlawsshouldprovidethetoolstokeepGooglefromgettingoutofcontrol,saysFielding.Butinpractice,“thatdoesn’tseemtobeworkingforvariousreasons–includingdisparitiesofwealthandpowerbetweenGoogleandnationalregulators”.FieldingaddsthatGoogleisalsousefultomanygovernmentsandeconomiesanditistrickytoenforcenationallawsagainstaglobalcorporation.Therearestepsyoucantaketolockdownyouraccount,suchaspreventingyourbrowsingdatabeingcollectedbynotsyncingChrome,andturningoffthird-partycookietracking.ButnotethatthemorefeaturesyouuseinChrome,themoredataGoogleneedstoensuretheycanfunctionproperly.AndasGoogle’spoweranddominancecontinuestosurge,theotheroptionistoditchChromealtogether.IfyoudodecidetoditchChrome,thereareplentyofotherfeature-richprivacybrowseroptionstoconsider,includingFirefox,BraveandDuckDuckGo,whichdon’tinvolvegivingGoogleanyofyourdata.MoregreatstoriesfromWIRED🖥️ Sign-uptoWIRED'sbusinessbriefing:GetWorkSmarterThehuntforthemastercowThisArcticmineisawarningtotheworldJapaneseofficeswereawarning.OverworkingiskillingyouGoogle'scookiebanandFLoCexplainedAllthosepubappsareaprivacynightmareLewisHamiltonopensupaboutactivismandlifebeyondF1🔊SubscribetotheWIREDPodcast.NewepisodeseveryFridayTopicsGoogleDatascienceScientistsHaveDiscoveredaNewSetofBloodGroupsThe‘Er’groupingcouldhelpdoctorsidentifyandtreatsomerarecasesofbloodincompatibility,includingbetweenpregnantmothersandfetuses.ByChrisBaraniukgear17ActuallyGoodDealsintheAmazonPrimeEarlyAccessSaleAmazon'ssecondPrimesaleof2022bringsoffersontopbrandslikeHuawei,Microsoft,Samsung,Lenovo,andmore.ByAdamSpeightbusinessEurope’sPlantoBeatSiliconValleyatItsOwnGameWIREDspokewithSkypecofounderNiklasZennströmaboutwhytheburgeoningEuropeanstartupsceneispoisedtoleadthetechnologicalrevolution.ByStephenArmstrongbusinessWhyIt’stheAgeoftheInvestor-EntrepreneurPlural'sTaavetHinrikussaysearly-stageVCfundsneedtosetafoundertocatchafounder.ByStephenArmstrongbusinessTheseArethe100HottestStartupsinEuropein2022Entrepreneursacrossthecontinentareembracingnewwaysofworking—andthere’saperceptibleshiftinwhatstartupschoosetofocuson.ByGregWilliamsbusinessHurricaneIanDestroyedTheirHomes.AlgorithmsSentThemMoneyGoogle'sAIscannedsatelliteimagerytoidentifytheworst-hitneighborhoods—helpingdirectaidtoresidents'phones.ByChrisStokel-WalkerbusinessTheHottestStartupsinLondonThefalloutfromBrexitisn’tintherearviewmirrorjustyet,buttheUKcapitalisforgingaheadregardless.ByJoãoMedeirosculture25oftheBestAmazonPrimeSeriesRightNowFromTheUndergroundRailroadtoGoodOmens,thisisourpickofthebestAmazonPrimeseries.ByWIRED