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Google Chrome and Privacy (or not so Private)

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Just read an interesting article amongst all the buzz and hype about Google's new browser Chrome.

EFF: We're concerned about Google's Omnibox | Webware : Cool Web apps for everyone - CNET

 

It never fails to astonish me that in the interest of anti-trust to make room for competition, that the world is completely ignoring the privacy issue.

Basically what Chrome will do is automatically send keystrokes in the Omnibox back to Google, where they will store a percentage of the info (they say 2%). Another words, they will know what you are looking for, track your behaviors, and who knows what else they are adding to their store of knowledge they already have about you.

Some key points:

1. While Google states they will only be storing about 2% of the data sent, think about how prolific Google is out there and how many millions of users there are. 2% really means a lot of data.

2. Yes, you can turn this off using their Incognito mode, however, will the average user really be doing this? Here is a good analogy. Think about Adobe's Flash player. The average user of the internet (and these far outnumber the advanced users), doesn't even think twice about loading Flash. The same tenant is true in this case. The data is going to be sent without the average user's knowledge, and Google knows this. They aren't going to advertise this fact clearly, rather they will tout Omnibox as a feature.

More and more the user is not in control of their data in the world of the internet (don't get me started about control of identity). And Google is only perpetuating this trend.

One last point. I wholeheartedly agree with the comment in this article that the tolerance of the regulators is wearing thin on this issue of privacy. The next big shake up in the world of technology and the regulators is going to be Google and their blasé attitude about privacy. Keep your eyes on the EU (European Union). I predict that this is about to become a big problem for Google, along the lines of "Microsoft-sized" fines.