Chrome 70 Will Make Browser Sign-In Optional After Privacy Concerns

Following a major backlash due to questionable privacy settings in Google Chrome 69, Google today announced that it will make the new features optional in the upcoming Chrome 70 release.

In the blog post, Google said the Chrome 70, which is scheduled for mid-October release, would add sign-in controls in the “Privacy and Security” settings. This will allow users to delink the mandatory web-based sign-in with the browser sign-in. In simple words, users will now have a choice to avoid logging-in into the Chrome browser while logging-in into Google websites like Gmail, YouTube, etc.

Apart from that, Chrome will also include information about the sync state under the profile menu as well. This will help users in understanding more clearly whether the sync with Chrome browser is on or not.

Chrome 69 is the latest upgrade to Google Chrome. While people seem to like the new material design overhaul and the new password manager, that same cannot be said about other less-advertised changes. The auto sign-in to Chrome Browser is one of them; the new change essentially logs you into the web browser automatically, if you log in to any of the Google services.

Although, Google has confirmed, “this change to sign-in does not mean Chrome sync gets turned on.” Many users still feel the browser is somehow misusing their data. Clarifying their action, Google responded, “The new UI reminds users which Google Account is signed in. Importantly, this allows us to better help users who share a single device (for example, a family computer).”

In the Google Chrome 70 version, Google will also scrap the Chrome 69 cookies policy where it doesn’t allow you to clear “Google auth cookies” (browsing data of Google websites like Google.com). This comes after many Chrome users raised privacy concerns when Google was re-creating cookie files even after manually deleting them.