Telephone Issues

Google Chrome Privacy Protector

Some Internet users are reluctant to use Google’s web browser Google Chrome due to privacy concerns. These concerns are not just based on thin air but on the fact that data is transmitted between the Google browser and Google servers. Part of what is send is also being used by other web browsers like error reporting that is sending error and crash information to the developers. Part of it on the other hand is unique to Google Chrome, especially the unique Client ID.

A unique Client ID is assigned to every installation of Google Chrome which theoretically makes it possible to create user profiles and identify users.

But what exactly is the Client ID for? The privacy policy of the Google Chrome browser states:

The client ID is used for the user metrics service. This is an opt-in service that lets users send usage statistics to Google so that we can learn how Google Chrome is being used for the sake of making improvements. It helps us answer questions like, “Are people using the back button?” and “How common is it that people click the back button repeatedly?” Users can always update their preference about sending usage statistics.

The Client ID is therefor not needed to run the Google Chrome web browser. It is also likely that the majority of Google Chrome users is not making use of the metrics service.

Chrome users have two options to deal with the Client ID: They can switch to a compiled version of Google Chrome that does not come with a unique Client ID (see SRWare Iron) or by using a program like Google Chrome Anonymizer which removes the Client ID from the program.

Another program that was recently reviewed over at Life Rocks 2.0 is the Google Chrome Privacy Protector.

chrome-privacy-protector

The program will scan the computer system for a Google Chrome installation and display whether the Client ID of the web browser has been anonymized yet. A click on the Remove unique ID now button will do that if it has not been done already. All instances of Google Chrome need to be closed for that operation.

Chrome Privacy Protector is available at the developer’s website where it can be downloaded for all Windows operating systems.