Chrome 69 Keeps Google's Cookies After You Clear Browser Data
- by Cathy Guerrero
- in IT&Software
- — Sep 28, 2018
Experts opine that this is an abusive privacy practice and Google does this because the browser can give user data they cannot get from their other sources. But Google isn't seeing any more or less of his data now than before, and won't unless users opt in. Now it has begun automatically logging users into Chrome sans their consent - which can lead to all your personal data getting shipped to Google's servers.
If you're a regular user of Google's services, and are logged into Chrome anyway, then this change probably won't worry you too much.
When in Basic Mode, Google doesn't have access to things which includes the cookies, browser history and passwords, and that information is kept from the company's servers. He called the Chrome sync-consent page a "dark pattern", a term describing a user interface created to deceive or mislead people. Adrienne Porter Felt, a Google engineer and manager for the Chrome browser, took to Twitter today to try and offer some context. "I have since deleted Chrome from my computer and the Gmail app from my phone". Matthew Green, a well-known cryptography expert and professor at Johns Hopkins University, pointed out in a blog post today that Google has also redesigned the Sync account interface in a way that it is not clear anymore to users when they are logged in or what button they should push to start syncing.
If you want to make sure your web browsing history is not uploaded, open up Chrome's Settings page, and underneath your user name you'll see "Sync".
Google changed its privacy policy over the weekend to reflect the fact that synchronization is only enabled if you explicitly choose it. But if that's true, then why is Google is forcefully logging people in?
According to BleepingComputer, this prevents the Chrome browser from managing the login process to Google services, theoretically separating the two. She also stressed that though users are logged in to Chrome, they must still consent to a sync before their data could be transferred to Google. Now it states the data is saved only when you sign into the browser and "sync" it with your Google account.
In that prompt, Google notifies users that the company will collect info from users' "bookmarks, passwords, history and more on all your devices..." Chrome still asks me that question-it's just that now it doesn't honor my decision. He is also a frequent critic of Facebook and Google's privacy practices.
Green told Business Insider on Monday that when it comes to the browser market as a whole, Google's new login requirements makes them an outlier. The user still has to make the conscious choice to sign in and sync their information. "You won't be signed out of your Google Account".
In one tweet, she confirmed that Google had changed the login procedures. This changed with the most recent update, our sister site ZDNet reports, citing multiple users.