Here’s How Chrome’s New Auto-Login Puts Your Privacy At Massive Risk

Google brought in a bunch of new features in the new Chrome 69 version. While many of them were much appreciated, some didn’t go well with the users. Apparently, there is another less advertised tweak that people are not happy about.

Google has introduced an auto-login mechanism from Chrome 69. First covered by ZDNet, whenever a person logs in a Google-owned site like Gmail or YouTube, the browser will automatically log the user into the Google Chrome browser. This automatically uploads all the local browser information like browser history, passwords, bookmarks, etc., to the Google servers.

Before Chrome 69, this sync feature was already there for a long period. However, it worked independently. So users could work on Google services like Google Photos, Gmail, YouTube without logging in the Chrome Browser.

Now, the browser just automatically links all the user’s data which has received some flak from the users. This is because Google doesn’t take clear users consent before syncing to the Chrome Browser. One of the Google Chrome engineers clarified on Twitter that Google does not auto start the process without the users click.

Think of it as adding "yo FYI you're currently logged in to Gmail" in the corner of the browser window. That's what the feature does. It's different from the feature you seem to be talking about which we call sync, that has privacy implications.

— Adriana Porter Felt (@__apf__) September 22, 2018

According to some experts, the new design is very misleading and can be called “a dark pattern.” They believe the new interface has hidden that “one-click” in such a way that it is difficult to spot. As a result, sharing all the information with Google is only one click away which can happen accidently at any point in time.

Also Read: Chrome Beta 70 Brings 2-Factor Authentication Via Fingerprint Sensor To Android & Mac