Google Now Announces Chrome Update to Allow Users to Unsubscribe from Forced Automatic Connections



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Image: Google

At the beginning of the week, the latest version of Google's Chrome browser has been controversial because it's too easy for users to log in without realizing they're doing it. Google now says it will make some changes to fix the problem.

The latest Chrome update is in the wild since September 5th, and many people have not even noticed the change to the login process. But several developers recently drew attention to the fact that when you sign in to one of Google's products, like Gmail, you are now automatically signed in to the Chrome browser with your Google Account. If you are logged in, you should now see your user icon in the upper right corner of the browser.

People were worried that this automatic sign-on means Google's sync feature was also enabled. Sync downloads the history of your browser, favorites, passwords and other data on Google. Some people like it because it allows you to carry that data between devices, while others do not want to share that data with Google. It turned out that Sync was still an opt-in feature after adding the automatic login feature, but changing the connection made some people nervous. If you're disconnected from Chrome, your browsing activity is only stored on your local computer. Being deceived to identify with Google still bothered many people.

On Tuesday, Zach Koch, Chrome Product Manager, published a blog in which he said Google had listened to user feedback and decided to add an option to disable automatic login with the next Chrome update. This is what Koch said:

Although we believe that the consistency of connection will help many of our users, we are adding a control that allows users to disable the web connection with the browser connection, which allows users to better control their experience. . For users who disable this feature, connecting to a Google website will not connect them to Chrome.

For Google, this is to mitigate incidents when multiple users share a device and unintentionally browse another person's Chrome connection. For the critics of the move, this represents another erosion of user choice. Although Google adds a simple option to change settings, many users are not even aware of it. We contacted Google to ask if users would be notified of the option when Chrome 70 was released in October, but we did not receive an immediate response.

You can actually disable the automatic login now if you want, using a workaround. Just copy and paste this text into the address bar of your browser: chrome: // flags / # consistency of accounts. You should see an option to disable a setting called "Identity Consistency Between the Browser and the Cookie Jar." Once you have done that, restart the browser and you are ready. This obscure method is an experimental flag that can change at any time. The new parameter must be standard and easily navigable.

[Google via The Verge]
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