If you sign into any Google service on Chrome 69, like Gmail, the browser will automatically log you into Chrome, too. That prompted concern that Google was collecting browser histories via the sync feature, but Google says that’s not the case.
A tweak to the Chrome browser is prompting concern that Google is angling to suck up everyone’s browser histories.
With Chrome 69, signing into any Google service, from Gmail to YouTube, will also automatically log you into Chrome and display your account profile pic in the right-hand corner. «This is nuts,» Matthew Green, a cryptographer and professor at John Hopkins University, wrote in a blog post . «User consent matters.»
Chrome can sync your browser history across all devices, meaning your history is stored on its servers. So users were left wondering if the company was collecting browser data without permission.
Google says no. «Signing in does NOT turn on Chrome Sync,» Chrome browser manager Adrienne Porter Felt wrote in a series of tweets . «If you want to turn on Sync, it’s an additional step after you’re signed in.»
This can be done by clicking on your profile pic in the browser and signing in there.
Porter Felt explained the change was made to better alert Chrome users that their browser was still logged into a Google service when sharing their computer with someone else.
In the new version of Chrome: when you sign in or out of a Google website, Chrome UI shows your sign-in status in the top right corner. 2/ pic.twitter.com/h1ndpMPDlT
«In the past, people would sometimes sign out of the content area and think that meant they were no longer signed into Chrome, which could cause problems on a shared device,» she said. «The new UI clearly reminds you whenever you’re logged in to a Google account.»
But not everyone is buying that explanation. In his blog post, Green accused Google of deliberately crafting the new login policy to confuse and trick users into activating the Chrome sync feature. As an example, he pointed to Chrome including a new menu that invites you to sync your browsing data.
«This is a dark pattern,» he said. «Whether intentional or not, it has the effect of making it easy for people to activate sync without knowing it, or to think they’re already syncing and thus there’s no additional cost to increasing Google’s access to their data.»
Green’s fear is that over time Google will erode the barriers between «signed in and «not signed in,» without notifying the public. «Changes like this burn a lot of trust with users,» he added.
In response to the concerns, Google has updated its privacy policy. Before, it said when you signed into Chrome your personal browser data is saved on Google’s servers. Now it states the data is saved only when you sign into the browser and «sync» it with your Google account.
Porter Felt also said Google will probably tweak Chrome’s interface to better indicate when the sync feature is on or off. The change to Chrome’s sign-in process is ultimately meant to be a «login state indicator,» she added.
To learn how you can deactivate the sync feature, visit Google’s support page .
