A study has shown that Google Chrome suffers from a serious privacy problem not found in other browsers.
A new report has once again raised questions about the privacy of Google Chrome, highlighting a significant shortcoming compared to alternatives like Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Brave. The problem centers on a little-known but crucial technology: the browser's digital fingerprint.
According to the study, Chrome offers virtually no native protection against this type of tracking, a technology that allows for the unique identification of each online user. Unlike traditional cookies, device fingerprinting technology gathers information such as the operating system, graphics processing unit (GPU), processor, and even installed fonts, creating a fingerprint that is difficult to avoid.
The results don't reflect well on Chrome. In a recent comparison, it received one of the worst privacy ratings, even surpassing Edge in negative aspects. In contrast, Firefox achieved a more balanced rating, while Brave emerged as one of the most user-friendly options.
The report strongly criticizes the lack of protection in key Chrome APIs, such as Canvas and WebGL, which can be used to create this digital footprint without the user's knowledge. This means that websites and online services can access a large amount of unique device data.
This is a serious problem. As browsers have evolved into comprehensive platforms capable of storing passwords, synchronizing data, and managing sessions, they have also become major repositories of sensitive information. Unlike malware, this type of tracking doesn't usually raise suspicion because it's part of the browser's normal operation.
Meanwhile, other browsers have taken more decisive action. Firefox allows users to enable advanced anti-tracking features from its internal settings, while Brave integrates systems that randomly modify collected data to prevent tracking. Edge offers tracking prevention tools that limit these types of techniques.
This raises questions about Google's privacy strategy. Despite the company's previous promises of improvements, the study concluded that Chrome users are, in fact, still more vulnerable than users of other browsers.