Does Chrome send keystrokes or browsing history to Google?

Discussion in 'other software & services' started by marko7, Nov 10, 2015.

  1. marko7

    marko7 Registered Member

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    I like Firefox generally, but I just feel Chrome is considerably faster and lighter in many areas (for example, Firefox takes about 10 full seconds to launch on my machine). That being the case, I would like to use Chrome and not worry that everything I type (on sites other than Google itself) will be sent to Google, or that my browsing/download history will be sent to Google. I have uBlock installed in Chrome, as well as Google's Interest Based Ads Opt Out and Doubleclick Opt Out extensions.

    Now I've read the Chrome Privacy Policy and everything, but is Google really adhering to that policy? Or is it secretly sending out some additional privacy-invading data (like for example, this text that I'm typing right now) to Google? And I know it's hard to really know the answer, but if there's place where someone might know or might have done some research on that subject, it's here. :)
     
  2. Minimalist

    Minimalist Registered Member

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    I doubt that they log everything you type in the browser. Chrome is based on open source Chromium so they would have to add this functionality in close sourced part of browser.
    It would also generate a lot of traffic to their servers that would probably get noticed by researchers.
    For now I don't think they need to implement keyloging in their browser. They can get enough data other ways. OTOH who knows what future brings.
     
    Last edited: Nov 10, 2015
  3. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    My advice is, use Opera or Vivaldi, who both use the same Blink engine just like Chrome. But I agree with Mimimalist, it would surprise me if they did do some heavy spying. But then again, perhaps I shouldn't be surprised, if you look at the Win 10 fiasco.
     
  4. The Red Moon

    The Red Moon Registered Member

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    There are options in the chrome privacy section which allows the user to uncheck any suggestive services .i dont believe that chrome performs any form of spying or monitoring.Their privacy whitepaper is perfectly clear on what data is collected.As for tracking,all browsers track you in some form.
     
  5. wat0114

    wat0114 Registered Member

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    There is a Whitepaper that describes the Privacy features in Chrome, many of which, as mentioned earlier in this thread, can be disabled.
     
  6. marko7

    marko7 Registered Member

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    Yes, that is what I had read before posting, but the question is whether Google is adhering to that whitepaper or are they covertly gathering data from users...

    Come to think of it, I might as well use Chromium, which is completely open source. That way I would get both the speed and the privacy, right?
     
  7. MisterB

    MisterB Registered Member

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    Google is not known for being secretive about its tracking and other ways it comprises privacy. It is part of the deal for using their services and they are pretty transparent about what they do and don't do. Covert is not their strategy. Chrome is set up for use as a client for Google services. Opera blink is a much better choice for privacy and is functionally almost the same.
     
  8. Nanobot

    Nanobot Registered Member

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  9. AutoCascade

    AutoCascade Registered Member

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    Chrome will sync your history if you sign into a google account and don't uncheck history sync under advanced sync settings even with Chromium.

    There are a couple of chrome extensions called 'no history' that stop history from being kept at all but they still need the sync setting off.
     
  10. SirDrexl

    SirDrexl Registered Member

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    It's good of you to point that out, but I would think that anyone who is concerned about data collection wouldn't even dream about signing in to the browser with a Google account.

    BTW, if you have a Pro version of Windows you can disable history being saved with Group Policy: http://www.chromium.org/administrators/policy-templates
     
  11. AutoCascade

    AutoCascade Registered Member

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    I was just putting out some info for the op and I don't run windows. It's wonderful that you didn't need that info.
     
  12. The Red Moon

    The Red Moon Registered Member

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    I have briefly tried chrome but i find it very sparse in terms of customising.My fan was heaving with it installed.Yes its fast but it looks very empty and i like to dress my browser up a bit.
    I am using pale moon which can match the speed of chrome without all the privacy nonsense.
     
  13. MisterB

    MisterB Registered Member

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    I've been setting up some Linux systems and have been installing Chromium on them. Chromium is a good option if you want Chrome but don't want Google. It is almost identical to Chrome but doesn't have proprietary code. No Google update with it either which is one of the things I remove from a Chrome installation. The Google Update folder can be simply deleted in the Chrome program directory. Chrome will work fine without it but won't automatically update.

    Opera Blink has removed the option to disable sync in the flags menu in the last two versions. I was getting to like it until this. I don't like it when options are removed in a new version. Now I'm exploring other Chromium variants.
     
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