The world’s most used browser is also one of the least data-friendly. Google’s Chrome browser requests much more data in certain circumstances than, for example, Safari or Firefox.
This should be evident from the labels that Apple imposes on apps in iOS, which you can consult in the App Store. Apple introduced that system a few months ago, and it forces developers to tell users how much ‘data linked to you’ is being collected by an app.
Those labels previously showed, for example, that, for example, privacy-sensitive message service Signal does not collect data that can be linked to the user. In contrast, a WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger links a whole laundry list of data so that they point back to the user.
Since this month, the labels for many of Google’s apps are also known. And this shows that the Google app collects a lot of data. Something that privacy-oriented search engine (and a competitor to Google) DuckDuckGo was happy to point out last week.
But the Chrome browser also scores poorly when you compare it to competitors such as Safari and Firefox, not to mention the DuckDuckGo browser. The problem lies in the fact that Chrome not only keeps track of your purchases, location and surfing behaviour but also links them to your device.
Therefore, what you do on the internet with the Chrome browser points back to your own person. Other browsers keep less of your sensitive information and link a lot less of that data to your device or your account.