9 ms·

Google Chrome privacy worse than you think

26 points by coderrr 18y ago

pqs 18y ago
Just don't log into google and remove cookies each time you restart the browser (I guess you can configure this, I don't have windows, so I couldn't try). If you have a dynamic IP you should be quite safe. But I'm not an expert at all.
- coderrr 18y ago
  you can actually just turn the feature off in the options
yan 18y ago
The difference between other vendors here is that you can just remove that feature from the source and distribute it to people who care. It is BSD licensed after all.
- coderrr 18y ago
  true, you can also turn it off in the options
Ravenlock 18y ago
I would assume this also happens every time I search on Google with ANY browser, if I also happen to be logged into GMail from the same computer at that time. The auto-complete there, I imagine, works the same way as it does in Chrome. Not going to let it keep me from using either one, though obviously (this is the... 4th? OMG Chrome security! post on YC in 2 days) it's going to be a hot button issue for awhile.
- coderrr 18y ago
  The difference is you don't type in www.somedirtypornsite.com into the google.com search box. You type it into the location bar. This is the first time a browser is auto searching from the location bar.
  - pqs 18y ago
    Many people use google's main site as a location bar. I've seen this quite often, even among people working in science and holding a PhD. It's not only my granny. After writing this comment I saw another comment http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=294070 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=294070 of a person that says he does this. So it must be quite common.
    - coderrr 18y ago
      If you are typing a url into google.com's search box the expectation already exists that google.com will have this data. If you are typing a url into your browser's location bar, you aren't going to assume google.com will have it.
      - pqs 18y ago
        Google is changing this game.
scott_s 18y ago
I often use Google instead of typing in a URL because it requires less typing anyway, so this changes nothing for me.
invisible 18y ago
This is a repost from the same topic as this: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=293947 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=293947 Perhaps the dumbest thing of all is bloggers don't actually read up before posting blogs like this particular one. One of the developers debunked the idea, he listed when the browser communicates with Google ( here: http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/google-chrome-communication/ http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/google-chrome-communication/ ), and he insisted that they hold no rights in a public blog post that can be cited by any two-bit lawyer from the way-back-machine. Scandalous of them, huh?
- coderrr 18y ago
  This isn't a repost of the EULA article and has nothing to do with who holds the rights to content. It only has a little in common with Matt's post. Matt mentions that Chrome will communicate with the search engine when typing in the location bar, but he does not discuss any of the implications of that. Perhaps the dumbest thing of all is commenters who don't actually read up before posting comments like this particular one.
  - invisible 18y ago
    My mistake - but I think I have less responsibility as a commenter than a blogger should have as reporting a supposed truth and then circulating that. I saw the topic looked similar, read the first two paragraphs and thought it was going to be another dialog about how 'bad' the policies are. I wasn't too far off after re-reading it: There is a freaking setting to turn this off. It might be the default setting, but there are a lot of bad default things: Internet Explorer, for example.
    - coderrr 18y ago
      So is your argument that bad default things are ok if there is a setting to turn them off? or: That since there are a lot of bad default things already we shouldn't write/care about any new ones?
      - 18y ago
run4yourlives 18y ago
meh. I suppose if this level of hyper-privacy is required by the user, you shouldn't be using any google product, or MS product, or Apple product. Me, I couldn't care less if google knows that I visited awsomenekkidpics.com or whatever.
- coderrr 18y ago
  naked kid pics huh? i hope for your sake they don't know about that one :P
  - run4yourlives 18y ago
    hehe... good one. Memories of www.molestationnursery.com and www.therapistfinder.com...
    - boredguy8 18y ago
      expertsexchange was my favorite.
sabat 18y ago
Blogga please.

26 points by coderrr 18y ago

pqs 18y ago

Just don't log into google and remove cookies each time you restart the browser (I guess you can configure this, I don't have windows, so I couldn't try). If you have a dynamic IP you should be quite safe. But I'm not an expert at all.

coderrr 18y ago
you can actually just turn the feature off in the options

yan 18y ago

The difference between other vendors here is that you can just remove that feature from the source and distribute it to people who care. It is BSD licensed after all.

coderrr 18y ago
true, you can also turn it off in the options

Ravenlock 18y ago

I would assume this also happens every time I search on Google with ANY browser, if I also happen to be logged into GMail from the same computer at that time. The auto-complete there, I imagine, works the same way as it does in Chrome. Not going to let it keep me from using either one, though obviously (this is the... 4th? OMG Chrome security! post on YC in 2 days) it's going to be a hot button issue for awhile.

coderrr 18y ago
The difference is you don't type in www.somedirtypornsite.com into the google.com search box. You type it into the location bar. This is the first time a browser is auto searching from the location bar.
- pqs 18y ago
  Many people use google's main site as a location bar. I've seen this quite often, even among people working in science and holding a PhD. It's not only my granny. After writing this comment I saw another comment http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=294070 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=294070 of a person that says he does this. So it must be quite common.
  - coderrr 18y ago
    If you are typing a url into google.com's search box the expectation already exists that google.com will have this data. If you are typing a url into your browser's location bar, you aren't going to assume google.com will have it.
    - pqs 18y ago
      Google is changing this game.

scott_s 18y ago

I often use Google instead of typing in a URL because it requires less typing anyway, so this changes nothing for me.

invisible 18y ago

This is a repost from the same topic as this: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=293947 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=293947 Perhaps the dumbest thing of all is bloggers don't actually read up before posting blogs like this particular one. One of the developers debunked the idea, he listed when the browser communicates with Google ( here: http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/google-chrome-communication/ http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/google-chrome-communication/ ), and he insisted that they hold no rights in a public blog post that can be cited by any two-bit lawyer from the way-back-machine. Scandalous of them, huh?

coderrr 18y ago
This isn't a repost of the EULA article and has nothing to do with who holds the rights to content. It only has a little in common with Matt's post. Matt mentions that Chrome will communicate with the search engine when typing in the location bar, but he does not discuss any of the implications of that. Perhaps the dumbest thing of all is commenters who don't actually read up before posting comments like this particular one.
- invisible 18y ago
  My mistake - but I think I have less responsibility as a commenter than a blogger should have as reporting a supposed truth and then circulating that. I saw the topic looked similar, read the first two paragraphs and thought it was going to be another dialog about how 'bad' the policies are. I wasn't too far off after re-reading it: There is a freaking setting to turn this off. It might be the default setting, but there are a lot of bad default things: Internet Explorer, for example.
  - coderrr 18y ago
    So is your argument that bad default things are ok if there is a setting to turn them off? or: That since there are a lot of bad default things already we shouldn't write/care about any new ones?
    - 18y ago

run4yourlives 18y ago

meh. I suppose if this level of hyper-privacy is required by the user, you shouldn't be using any google product, or MS product, or Apple product. Me, I couldn't care less if google knows that I visited awsomenekkidpics.com or whatever.

coderrr 18y ago
naked kid pics huh? i hope for your sake they don't know about that one :P
- run4yourlives 18y ago
  hehe... good one. Memories of www.molestationnursery.com and www.therapistfinder.com...
  - boredguy8 18y ago
    expertsexchange was my favorite.

sabat 18y ago

Blogga please.