Thread by @JaMtoka

“Research has shown that up to 52 companies can theoretically observe up to 91% of the average user’s web browsing history,” a senior Chrome engineer told a recent Internet Engineering Task Force call, “and 600 companies can observe at least 50%.” — Forbes

Google is “hiding and buying time to regroup,” Brave says, “to consolidate its control over web tracking.”

This isn’t as easy as just ditching Chrome of course, Google’s browser and its search engine are not the same thing. Google “has trackers installed on 75% of the top million websites,” several times as many as Facebook, which is the next worst.

Similarly, just look at the recent reports suggesting Google will pay Apple some $15 billion this year to be the default search engine on its devices.

The issue with Chrome is that the browser and search engine and trackers all originate from the same source. If your browser is a privacy gamekeeper and those trackers are data poachers, then you probably don’t want them all sporting the same logos.

As usual, any company that wants to ‘improve your privacy,’ but makes billions from digital media and needs your data to be effective, is deeply problematic.”

Chrome is one of Google’s primary platforms for user data profiling—although you can add Maps, Mail, Android, YouTube and its multiple other platforms, apps and services into the mix.

And so, while the browser market is belatedly starting to put user privacy first, Google can only do so if it can find an alternative way to sell those ads.

“If you use Chrome, you give up your privacy. There isn’t going to be something that’s privacy-preserving, but yet still services advertisers. They need to know stuff about you.” — Kate O'Flaherty

If you’re an Apple user, Safari is a much better option—preventing cross-site tracking by default, a more usable and extensive private browsing mode, a browser from a tech giant not an advertising giant.

Apple’s Private Relay is also a huge step forwards for your privacy, breaking the identity chain between your device and the sites you visit. Albeit teething problems mean this will only be beta come iOS 15’s launch.

If you’re on a non-Apple platform, then Brave, Mozilla and DuckDuckGo all offer better, more private options. And while you can use Chrome in Incognito Mode, notwithstanding recent legal travails, you should be aware of its limitations.

It is not a good alternative to a browser that’s more private by design.

There’s a perfect illustration of this when you contrast the privacy label for Chrome with other leading browsers on Apple’s App Store. Chrome is starkly out of step with the others, both for the data it collects and the fact it all links back to user identities.

Yes, Google needs to find a way to present your data to its paying customers—advertisers, if its surveillance business model is to survive. But you don’t. forbes.com/sites/zakdoffm…