17 ms·

Disable Google Chrome Sign In and Sync

359 points by fomojola 8y ago

bigiain 8y ago
While it's interesting to see ways to inhibit Chrome's new behaviour, getting into a privacy fight with your browser supplier seems to be a losing strategy...
- ashleyn 8y ago
  Yes, it's only a matter of time until Chrome removes this flag, just like they removed developer support for disabling the autofill in web forms.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - Semaphor 8y ago
    Oh wow, so that is why I had so many problems recently with using forms that supplied some kind of autofill themselves. I wondered why that problem didn't happen with FF (which I switched to).
MihailBurduja 8y ago
Get over it
mikl 8y ago
Great, another creepy thing in Chrome we have to disable. Like Google Software Update wasn't already annoying enough. If I wasn't a web developer, and needed to use Chrome for testing, I'd have uninstalled that creepy quasi-spyware long ago.
- inetknght 8y ago
  Why is Chrome "needed"? I would imagine merely having a standards-compliant browser is the only thing you need? In which case, why not Firefox?
  - umanwizard 8y ago
    In practice it’s not unusual for behavior to differ between chrome and Firefox.
    - sixothree 8y ago
      Especially when google has been known to program their sites in a way that favors their browser..
    - inetknght 8y ago
      Sounds like a good way of saying that one or both browsers is/are not following standards
  - driverdan 8y ago
    Chrome isn't identical. For example, we found SVG images don't render properly in Chrome but do in Firefox.
- techntoke 8y ago
  As creepy as the Mozilla Maintenance Service.
Sistrixirri 8y ago
Well, Google is being Google once again.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
kipdotcom 8y ago
To disable this feature (at least for chrome 69, not sure if it will change), go to account-consistency: chrome://flags/#account-consistency and select disable.
- prdonahue 8y ago
  This no longer works in Chrome Canary (71). EDIT: to be clear you can configure the setting, but it's not respected anymore. Former Chrome engineer confirming my report here: https://twitter.com/ericlaw/status/1043861647247515649 https://twitter.com/ericlaw/status/1043861647247515649.
  - torstenvl 8y ago
    This is deeply troubling.
h2onock 8y ago
I don’t understand why people are complaining about this. If you’re concerned about privacy then why would you even use a Google product in the first place? There are other options.
- isolli 8y ago
  Chrome has become the de facto standard browser. I regularly run into websites that don't work (or don't work well) in Firefox.
  - lmedinas 8y ago
    Do yourself and the community a favor and when you see a website that doesn't work well make the Firefox Team aware of it[1]. They have a dedicated Team to check those issues. 1- https://wiki.mozilla.org/Compatibility#Contact_Us https://wiki.mozilla.org/Compatibility#Contact_Us
    - isolli 8y ago
      Thanks for the tip!
  - driverdan 8y ago
    Such as?
    - isolli 8y ago
      Notion (can't scroll down with the keyboard, only the mouse) or Intercom (customer's replies are not displayed until you reload).
  - h2onock 8y ago
    I use Firefox in excess of 10 hours every day and don’t have any problems so I find this statement very surprising. I’m not sure about Chrome being the de facto standard either and even if it is, it doesn’t mean you have to follow it.
- 8y ago
breakingcups 8y ago
There's a great way to disable this and many other user-hostile features by going to https://www.mozilla.org/ https://www.mozilla.org/ and downloading Firefox. Suddenly, you are no longer fighting your browser.
- endymi0n 8y ago
  While you're completely on the mark with this, I noticed that Google pulls the new Microsoft now that it has almost a quasi monopoly on the desktop: Most of the new, complex UIs by Google services (read: GCP Cloud Console, all of Google Marketing Platform) are slowing my Firefox to a grinding halt, often times even crashing the tab. No problems in Chrome whatsoever. It's the only thing I'm using Chrome for these days and I can't help shake the same ugly feeling than when I was forced using Internet Explorer for government websites purely because of their ActiveX plugins back in the days.
  - c16 8y ago
    I've noticed this also. Gmail or anything by Google within Firefox is painful. Very very painful.
    - lostmyoldone 8y ago
      Read in another HN comment just the other day that the slowness was because they used some obsolete only-in-chrome shadow DOM API which "polyfilled" on all other browser, which if true sounds exactly like pulling a Microsoft. I haven't verified it myself and I couldn't find a reference with a quick search, so while it sounds plausible, it would be great to havd a credible source to refer to.
      - tumetab1 8y ago
        Some kind of reference https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18053935 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18053935
      - the_duke 8y ago
Havoc 8y ago
So long and thanks for all the fish google
jacksmith21006 8y ago
I suspect Google did this in preparation of Ledger more than any other.
jasonjayr 8y ago
If they remove the flag, can you disable the service by black-holing an IP, URL, or DNS entry?
- bayindirh 8y ago
  Then, they will run the service behind a crucial Google address / web page. Then what?
- RobertRoberts 8y ago
  I would also like to know if there is some kind of network blocking that could be employed. But likely everything goes through google.com ...
lioeters 8y ago
I was surprised and angered by the sudden appearance of this automatic sign-in and sync. Between the time that it was activated silently and when I disabled it, I have a nagging suspicion that Google hoovered up my browsing history, bookmarks, passwords, etc. in the guise of "sync". While I couldn't find any evidence, whatever little trust I had left in Chrome is now gone.
- flipp3r 8y ago
  > I have a nagging suspicion that Google hoovered up my browsing history, bookmarks, passwords, etc. in the guise of "sync". It does save some state even when you erase all your history. You can log into GMail, then go to your history and click to erase all history, after which the history settings page will scroll down (to hide the fact you're still logged into this sync thing?), and then when you go to GMail you're logged in again, effectively making Google bypass you clearing your cookies.
- teddyfrozevelt 8y ago
  This automatic link does not automatically enable Chrome Sync[1]. You can see and delete Chrome Sync data here: https://myaccount.google.com/dashboard https://myaccount.google.com/dashboard [1]https://twitter.com/__apf__/status/1044110733108101120 https://twitter.com/__apf__/status/1044110733108101120
newscracker 8y ago
Thanks, but no thanks. Ditch Chrome and don’t worry about ugly hacks to remember or bookmark or ask about in the future when they no longer work. Life is too short to put up with such nonsense. There are better alternatives [1] available. P.S.: When you uninstall Chrome on certain platforms, it’ll open your default browser and direct you to a feedback page. Be honest and tell them why, and that you wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. [1]: https://www.firefox.com https://www.firefox.com
- reacharavindh 8y ago
  I'll add one more to your side note. Please tell your particularly non technical friends and relatives to avoid Google like plague if they care about privacy. Show them how - give a link to Firefox, Privacy badger. A relative of mine who paid $7/month for a VPN service because he cared about his privacy from ISP, but was using Google Chrome and Gmail for sensitive personal Email. Fewer people from the non-engineering world know/understand what we assume is common sense. When you get a chance please don't hesitate to tell people of better choices.
  - Tallain 8y ago
    Do you have any recommendations for a good alternative to Gmail? I've already made the switch away from Chrome, but for some reason my mind blanks on email -- I can only think of Yahoo or Hotmail
    - sidko 8y ago
      Protonmail.
    - reacharavindh 8y ago
      My alternative is not free :-( I use FastMail and pay for mine and my wife's accounts. It may not be for everybody, but it is one choice, and I'm a happy customer. It is by far a "No bullshit" email service. They do one thing, and very well. It's simple, fast and reliable.
imchillyb 8y ago
NSLs are a bitch.
gardaani 8y ago
If I go to https://groups.google.com https://groups.google.com using my Android phone and Chrome 69 and press the sign out link, it won't sign me out. Next time I go to groups.google.com, I'm still logged in. What is the point showing the sign out link if it doesn't do anything? Thanks Google. Firefox on Android properly signs me out. One more reason why I don't use Android as my primary phone. I just don't trust Google.
- techntoke 8y ago
  I heard Firefox OS is awesome.
ausjke 8y ago
Further convinced to go back to FF, darn it after an update and a reboot one hour ago, ctrl+space no longer works with chrome(which worked in the last few years) but it works the same way with anything else, yesterday it's that youtube brought my PC to grinding halt when it's used with crhome(firefox works fine), what's going on Google???
Froyoh 8y ago
Why doesn't anyone here like using Chrome? I like how all of my info is in one place and always synced across all of my devices. Passwords, addresses, payment info, etc.
paulie_a 8y ago
Disable the most useful features in chrome. No thanks.
emodendroket 8y ago
What's the point of inconveniencing yourself in all these ways when there are fifty other ways people can track all your browsing activity anyway? It just doesn't seem worth the trouble.
g8oz 8y ago
For Windows and Mac Chromium builds without Google Sync I recommend: https://chromium.woolyss.com/ https://chromium.woolyss.com/ From the site: "Welcome on this auto-updated website to easily download latest stable version or good build of Chromium web browser. All is free and open-source." Don't download the default installer. Instead scroll to the build that says "No Sync". Chromium of course is the Google sponsored open source project that Chrome is based on. It has the dev tools of Chrome which I prefer to those of Firefox.
jasonkester 8y ago
Keep in mind that while everybody here is all outraged about this, nobody else is. Because the experience is so nice. It's the reason why I can search for "prefecture Melun" on my laptop, then jump in the car, open up maps on my phone, Start typing "1" and watch it suggest "12 rue de Gambas, Melun 77320", which happens to be the address of the Melun prefecture. That sort of thing happens for me every day, and i think it's kinda cool. Google knows this stuff about my life and will suggest it at useful times. If I open maps on the day I have a flight, ferry, or hotel reservation, it'll just assume I want to navigate there (because it read one of my emails) and suggest it for me. So yeah, I guess I should be outraged and worry that they'll start targeting me for ads or ratting me out to the NSA or something. But thus far they haven't. It's just that they can offer all this cool stuff if they connect your devices. And in 2018 that involves using a database. Personally, that does not concern me all that much.
- sajithdilshan 8y ago
  100% agree with you. This is one of the main reasons why I switched to Chrome. I can understand that some people value their privacy, but for those cases why don't just use a browser like Firefox.
  - daveFNbuck 8y ago
    I'm pretty sure most people switched to Chrome because it was a better browser, not because they wanted Google to have more information about their browsing habits. Note that all the examples you're agreeing with are about logged-in experiences with Google products and have nothing to do with being signed in to Chrome.
- hackujin 8y ago
  Nobody is outraged? You obviously weren't around last night when my girlfriend found out that Google photos was automatically uploading all our nudes off her phone without her knowing about it. Pissed off would be a massive understatement for how she really felt about it. I've already been immediately disabling Google Photos on my own phone because of this for years. I've already been using Chromium instead of Chrome for both my Windows and OS X computers. Now I will be making a real effort to switch to Firefox. It's over. Chrome is the new IE6. Go fuck yourselves Google. You are trash to me now.
talkingtab 8y ago
I tried to install Chromium but don't know how to install my extensions. So the this seems like the best solution for now although I am working to rehabilitate Firefox. Thank you for doing this.
- techntoke 8y ago
  You install extensions the same way with Chromium. I don't understand how this could be hard to figure out.
  - alyandon 8y ago
    It can be more difficult than you might think. About a year ago I installed the chromium package provided by Debian and went to install my favorite set of extensions and kept getting a weird error about not being allowed to install them. Turns out that the Debian package maintainer had decided to build Chromium with a patch that disabled installing extensions unless you pass in a flag on the command line to chromium to re-enable the feature. I found this out not because it was properly documented but instead from a bug report on the Debian bug tracker. Of course, FireFox on Debian hasn't been similarly modified to disallow installing extensions from AMO.
    - techntoke 8y ago
      Sounds like poor packaging from Debian. I haven't had any issues on Arch with the following package: https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/chromium-vaapi-bin/ https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/chromium-vaapi-bin/
throw7 8y ago
Is this true for chromium also?
- dredmorbius 8y ago
  Yes.
d1zzy 8y ago
Oh wow, so if you just log in into a Google Account it automatically activates Google Sync without any prompts and starts uploading browser history data and other no-Google properties related browser data? That's pretty nasty. I can understand that for most people this feature is very useful and it's fine to have it, just not fine to enable it by default without even a prompt or something asking users if they want to enable it (say the first time it detects a login to a Google property). Especially with all the governmental focus on Google right now I'm surprised this would get rolled out worldwide. I never noticed it but it seems it's not being used when using incognito mode (I only browse in private mode, either Chrome or Firefox) so I wasn't aware such a thing is happening in the normal browser mode...
- teddyfrozevelt 8y ago
  > if you just log in into a Google Account it automatically activates Google Sync without any prompts and starts uploading browser history data and other no-Google properties related browser data? No, it does not. https://twitter.com/__apf__/status/1044110733108101120 https://twitter.com/__apf__/status/1044110733108101120
netwanderer2 8y ago
Google should be very careful with these aggressive tactics. They are quickly losing many users. There are other options available nowadays, including browser like Brave. I personally have switched back to Firefox. I still like Google but they are falling into the same old trap of not listening to their users. The moment they let that escalated and there are other viable options then the game is over.
- xvector 8y ago
  > They are quickly losing many users. While I'd also like to think this, the reality is that any number of users they've lost would be negligible at best.
  - netwanderer2 8y ago
    For now yes, but the tech world has showed us similar lessons before. I bet Blackberry and Nokia executives said the same thing when Apple introduced the first iPhone. MySpace was very confident when they deemed Facebook number of users was negligible as well. Unfortunately privacy issues are only getting bigger in the future. That's why I said Google should be very careful not to tread down the same path. Only those who learned lessons from the past will survive. I love Google so I hope they won't get too comfortable with data mining activities and lose track of keeping their users who are the real data sources.
LeoNatan25 8y ago
> As much as I might like Chrome (and Google) Why would you? Brokering data in a borderline illegal or immoral way is their business model.
LiterallyDoge 8y ago
I think the biggest point here is one of respect to the customer. The fact that I lost all of my settings when I simply logged out my persona is clearly disrespectful of the customer. With so many good options, why use Google?
Lazeb 8y ago
Once again another reminder that the need for open source alternatives with minimal to no logging is shown to be a greater necessity in an age where these companies know us better than the government. We can continue to pretend these companies are non-partisan and won't use the data collected for political influence, everyone here is obviously impervious to such influences, but the bigger concern is its influence on public perception.
- katslime 8y ago
  I think people would rather trade their security for convenience, which in the first place is why Chrome is so popular, with its inbuilt tie-in to Google services. Sure, you could provide an open-source browser that's security focused, but what makes it compelling to the end-user to switch away from Chrome? I don't think many laymen particularly care about this situation.
jacksmith21006 8y ago
Suspect this is in prep for Ledger. You need local lot in and not just cloud.
s3r3nity 8y ago
I don't think it's coincidental that this controversy arose at the same time Google is pushing their new "Signals" product in Google Analytics, which leverages customer sign-in data? (Just noticed this today.) https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/7532985?hl=en&utm_id=ad&authuser=1 https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/7532985?hl=en&ut...
gepeto42 8y ago
I found that the easiest way to do it on Mac is to download the Chrome Enterprise bundle, edit the .plist and convert it to a profile with McxToProfile, to get something like this: https://twitter.com/gepeto42/status/1043587638568079360 https://twitter.com/gepeto42/status/1043587638568079360
- driverdan 8y ago
  The easiest way is to switch to another browser.
thinkingemote 8y ago
Linux users. Put: { "SyncDisabled": true, "RestrictSigninToPattern": ".*@example.com" } in a file called disable_sync.json (for example) and place in the following location: Chrome: /etc/opt/chrome/policies/managed/disable_sync.json Chromium: /etc/chromium-browser/policies/managed/disable_sync.json
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- pmontra 8y ago
  It worked on Chrome Version 69.0.3497.100 (Official Build) (64-bit) on Ubuntu 16.04 but it didn't work with Chromium Version 69.0.3497.81 (Official Build) Chromium kept signing me into my Google account.
  - thinkingemote 8y ago
    You'll need to close down and restart Chromium after each change I think for these. Some policies don't require restarts.
zoltaan 8y ago
Best way of disabling Google Chrome sign in and sync: Uninstall Chrome.
whyagaindavid 8y ago
If you are on linux please see: https://utcc.utoronto.ca/~cks/space/blog/web/ChromeWalkingAway?showcomments#comments https://utcc.utoronto.ca/~cks/space/blog/web/ChromeWalkingAw...
xfitm3 8y ago
You can set a strong sync password in Chrome. Of course, your Google search history etc is still available to other apps.

359 points by fomojola 8y ago

While it's interesting to see ways to inhibit Chrome's new behaviour, getting into a privacy fight with your browser supplier seems to be a losing strategy...

ashleyn 8y ago
Yes, it's only a matter of time until Chrome removes this flag, just like they removed developer support for disabling the autofill in web forms.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- Semaphor 8y ago
  Oh wow, so that is why I had so many problems recently with using forms that supplied some kind of autofill themselves. I wondered why that problem didn't happen with FF (which I switched to).

MihailBurduja 8y ago

Get over it

mikl 8y ago

Great, another creepy thing in Chrome we have to disable. Like Google Software Update wasn't already annoying enough. If I wasn't a web developer, and needed to use Chrome for testing, I'd have uninstalled that creepy quasi-spyware long ago.

inetknght 8y ago
Why is Chrome "needed"? I would imagine merely having a standards-compliant browser is the only thing you need? In which case, why not Firefox?
- umanwizard 8y ago
  In practice it’s not unusual for behavior to differ between chrome and Firefox.
  - sixothree 8y ago
    Especially when google has been known to program their sites in a way that favors their browser..
  - inetknght 8y ago
    Sounds like a good way of saying that one or both browsers is/are not following standards
- driverdan 8y ago
  Chrome isn't identical. For example, we found SVG images don't render properly in Chrome but do in Firefox.
techntoke 8y ago
As creepy as the Mozilla Maintenance Service.

Sistrixirri 8y ago

Well, Google is being Google once again.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

kipdotcom 8y ago

To disable this feature (at least for chrome 69, not sure if it will change), go to account-consistency: chrome://flags/#account-consistency and select disable.

prdonahue 8y ago
This no longer works in Chrome Canary (71). EDIT: to be clear you can configure the setting, but it's not respected anymore. Former Chrome engineer confirming my report here: https://twitter.com/ericlaw/status/1043861647247515649 https://twitter.com/ericlaw/status/1043861647247515649.
- torstenvl 8y ago
  This is deeply troubling.

h2onock 8y ago

I don’t understand why people are complaining about this. If you’re concerned about privacy then why would you even use a Google product in the first place? There are other options.

isolli 8y ago
Chrome has become the de facto standard browser. I regularly run into websites that don't work (or don't work well) in Firefox.
- lmedinas 8y ago
  Do yourself and the community a favor and when you see a website that doesn't work well make the Firefox Team aware of it[1]. They have a dedicated Team to check those issues. 1- https://wiki.mozilla.org/Compatibility#Contact_Us https://wiki.mozilla.org/Compatibility#Contact_Us
  - isolli 8y ago
    Thanks for the tip!
- driverdan 8y ago
  Such as?
  - isolli 8y ago
    Notion (can't scroll down with the keyboard, only the mouse) or Intercom (customer's replies are not displayed until you reload).
- h2onock 8y ago
  I use Firefox in excess of 10 hours every day and don’t have any problems so I find this statement very surprising. I’m not sure about Chrome being the de facto standard either and even if it is, it doesn’t mean you have to follow it.
8y ago

breakingcups 8y ago

There's a great way to disable this and many other user-hostile features by going to https://www.mozilla.org/ https://www.mozilla.org/ and downloading Firefox. Suddenly, you are no longer fighting your browser.

endymi0n 8y ago
While you're completely on the mark with this, I noticed that Google pulls the new Microsoft now that it has almost a quasi monopoly on the desktop: Most of the new, complex UIs by Google services (read: GCP Cloud Console, all of Google Marketing Platform) are slowing my Firefox to a grinding halt, often times even crashing the tab. No problems in Chrome whatsoever. It's the only thing I'm using Chrome for these days and I can't help shake the same ugly feeling than when I was forced using Internet Explorer for government websites purely because of their ActiveX plugins back in the days.
- c16 8y ago
  I've noticed this also. Gmail or anything by Google within Firefox is painful. Very very painful.
  - lostmyoldone 8y ago
    Read in another HN comment just the other day that the slowness was because they used some obsolete only-in-chrome shadow DOM API which "polyfilled" on all other browser, which if true sounds exactly like pulling a Microsoft. I haven't verified it myself and I couldn't find a reference with a quick search, so while it sounds plausible, it would be great to havd a credible source to refer to.
    - tumetab1 8y ago
      Some kind of reference https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18053935 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18053935
    - the_duke 8y ago

Havoc 8y ago

So long and thanks for all the fish google

jacksmith21006 8y ago

I suspect Google did this in preparation of Ledger more than any other.

jasonjayr 8y ago

If they remove the flag, can you disable the service by black-holing an IP, URL, or DNS entry?

bayindirh 8y ago
Then, they will run the service behind a crucial Google address / web page. Then what?
RobertRoberts 8y ago
I would also like to know if there is some kind of network blocking that could be employed. But likely everything goes through google.com ...

lioeters 8y ago

I was surprised and angered by the sudden appearance of this automatic sign-in and sync. Between the time that it was activated silently and when I disabled it, I have a nagging suspicion that Google hoovered up my browsing history, bookmarks, passwords, etc. in the guise of "sync". While I couldn't find any evidence, whatever little trust I had left in Chrome is now gone.

flipp3r 8y ago
> I have a nagging suspicion that Google hoovered up my browsing history, bookmarks, passwords, etc. in the guise of "sync". It does save some state even when you erase all your history. You can log into GMail, then go to your history and click to erase all history, after which the history settings page will scroll down (to hide the fact you're still logged into this sync thing?), and then when you go to GMail you're logged in again, effectively making Google bypass you clearing your cookies.
teddyfrozevelt 8y ago
This automatic link does not automatically enable Chrome Sync[1]. You can see and delete Chrome Sync data here: https://myaccount.google.com/dashboard https://myaccount.google.com/dashboard [1]https://twitter.com/__apf__/status/1044110733108101120 https://twitter.com/__apf__/status/1044110733108101120

newscracker 8y ago

Thanks, but no thanks. Ditch Chrome and don’t worry about ugly hacks to remember or bookmark or ask about in the future when they no longer work. Life is too short to put up with such nonsense. There are better alternatives [1] available. P.S.: When you uninstall Chrome on certain platforms, it’ll open your default browser and direct you to a feedback page. Be honest and tell them why, and that you wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. [1]: https://www.firefox.com https://www.firefox.com

reacharavindh 8y ago
I'll add one more to your side note. Please tell your particularly non technical friends and relatives to avoid Google like plague if they care about privacy. Show them how - give a link to Firefox, Privacy badger. A relative of mine who paid $7/month for a VPN service because he cared about his privacy from ISP, but was using Google Chrome and Gmail for sensitive personal Email. Fewer people from the non-engineering world know/understand what we assume is common sense. When you get a chance please don't hesitate to tell people of better choices.
- Tallain 8y ago
  Do you have any recommendations for a good alternative to Gmail? I've already made the switch away from Chrome, but for some reason my mind blanks on email -- I can only think of Yahoo or Hotmail
  - sidko 8y ago
    Protonmail.
  - reacharavindh 8y ago
    My alternative is not free :-( I use FastMail and pay for mine and my wife's accounts. It may not be for everybody, but it is one choice, and I'm a happy customer. It is by far a "No bullshit" email service. They do one thing, and very well. It's simple, fast and reliable.

imchillyb 8y ago

NSLs are a bitch.

gardaani 8y ago

If I go to https://groups.google.com https://groups.google.com using my Android phone and Chrome 69 and press the sign out link, it won't sign me out. Next time I go to groups.google.com, I'm still logged in. What is the point showing the sign out link if it doesn't do anything? Thanks Google. Firefox on Android properly signs me out. One more reason why I don't use Android as my primary phone. I just don't trust Google.

techntoke 8y ago
I heard Firefox OS is awesome.

ausjke 8y ago

Further convinced to go back to FF, darn it after an update and a reboot one hour ago, ctrl+space no longer works with chrome(which worked in the last few years) but it works the same way with anything else, yesterday it's that youtube brought my PC to grinding halt when it's used with crhome(firefox works fine), what's going on Google???

Froyoh 8y ago

Why doesn't anyone here like using Chrome? I like how all of my info is in one place and always synced across all of my devices. Passwords, addresses, payment info, etc.

paulie_a 8y ago

Disable the most useful features in chrome. No thanks.

emodendroket 8y ago

What's the point of inconveniencing yourself in all these ways when there are fifty other ways people can track all your browsing activity anyway? It just doesn't seem worth the trouble.

g8oz 8y ago

For Windows and Mac Chromium builds without Google Sync I recommend: https://chromium.woolyss.com/ https://chromium.woolyss.com/ From the site: "Welcome on this auto-updated website to easily download latest stable version or good build of Chromium web browser. All is free and open-source." Don't download the default installer. Instead scroll to the build that says "No Sync". Chromium of course is the Google sponsored open source project that Chrome is based on. It has the dev tools of Chrome which I prefer to those of Firefox.

jasonkester 8y ago

Keep in mind that while everybody here is all outraged about this, nobody else is. Because the experience is so nice. It's the reason why I can search for "prefecture Melun" on my laptop, then jump in the car, open up maps on my phone, Start typing "1" and watch it suggest "12 rue de Gambas, Melun 77320", which happens to be the address of the Melun prefecture. That sort of thing happens for me every day, and i think it's kinda cool. Google knows this stuff about my life and will suggest it at useful times. If I open maps on the day I have a flight, ferry, or hotel reservation, it'll just assume I want to navigate there (because it read one of my emails) and suggest it for me. So yeah, I guess I should be outraged and worry that they'll start targeting me for ads or ratting me out to the NSA or something. But thus far they haven't. It's just that they can offer all this cool stuff if they connect your devices. And in 2018 that involves using a database. Personally, that does not concern me all that much.

sajithdilshan 8y ago
100% agree with you. This is one of the main reasons why I switched to Chrome. I can understand that some people value their privacy, but for those cases why don't just use a browser like Firefox.
- daveFNbuck 8y ago
  I'm pretty sure most people switched to Chrome because it was a better browser, not because they wanted Google to have more information about their browsing habits. Note that all the examples you're agreeing with are about logged-in experiences with Google products and have nothing to do with being signed in to Chrome.
hackujin 8y ago
Nobody is outraged? You obviously weren't around last night when my girlfriend found out that Google photos was automatically uploading all our nudes off her phone without her knowing about it. Pissed off would be a massive understatement for how she really felt about it. I've already been immediately disabling Google Photos on my own phone because of this for years. I've already been using Chromium instead of Chrome for both my Windows and OS X computers. Now I will be making a real effort to switch to Firefox. It's over. Chrome is the new IE6. Go fuck yourselves Google. You are trash to me now.

talkingtab 8y ago

I tried to install Chromium but don't know how to install my extensions. So the this seems like the best solution for now although I am working to rehabilitate Firefox. Thank you for doing this.

techntoke 8y ago
You install extensions the same way with Chromium. I don't understand how this could be hard to figure out.
- alyandon 8y ago
  It can be more difficult than you might think. About a year ago I installed the chromium package provided by Debian and went to install my favorite set of extensions and kept getting a weird error about not being allowed to install them. Turns out that the Debian package maintainer had decided to build Chromium with a patch that disabled installing extensions unless you pass in a flag on the command line to chromium to re-enable the feature. I found this out not because it was properly documented but instead from a bug report on the Debian bug tracker. Of course, FireFox on Debian hasn't been similarly modified to disallow installing extensions from AMO.
  - techntoke 8y ago
    Sounds like poor packaging from Debian. I haven't had any issues on Arch with the following package: https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/chromium-vaapi-bin/ https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/chromium-vaapi-bin/

throw7 8y ago

Is this true for chromium also?

dredmorbius 8y ago
Yes.

d1zzy 8y ago

Oh wow, so if you just log in into a Google Account it automatically activates Google Sync without any prompts and starts uploading browser history data and other no-Google properties related browser data? That's pretty nasty. I can understand that for most people this feature is very useful and it's fine to have it, just not fine to enable it by default without even a prompt or something asking users if they want to enable it (say the first time it detects a login to a Google property). Especially with all the governmental focus on Google right now I'm surprised this would get rolled out worldwide. I never noticed it but it seems it's not being used when using incognito mode (I only browse in private mode, either Chrome or Firefox) so I wasn't aware such a thing is happening in the normal browser mode...

teddyfrozevelt 8y ago
> if you just log in into a Google Account it automatically activates Google Sync without any prompts and starts uploading browser history data and other no-Google properties related browser data? No, it does not. https://twitter.com/__apf__/status/1044110733108101120 https://twitter.com/__apf__/status/1044110733108101120

netwanderer2 8y ago

Google should be very careful with these aggressive tactics. They are quickly losing many users. There are other options available nowadays, including browser like Brave. I personally have switched back to Firefox. I still like Google but they are falling into the same old trap of not listening to their users. The moment they let that escalated and there are other viable options then the game is over.

xvector 8y ago
> They are quickly losing many users. While I'd also like to think this, the reality is that any number of users they've lost would be negligible at best.
- netwanderer2 8y ago
  For now yes, but the tech world has showed us similar lessons before. I bet Blackberry and Nokia executives said the same thing when Apple introduced the first iPhone. MySpace was very confident when they deemed Facebook number of users was negligible as well. Unfortunately privacy issues are only getting bigger in the future. That's why I said Google should be very careful not to tread down the same path. Only those who learned lessons from the past will survive. I love Google so I hope they won't get too comfortable with data mining activities and lose track of keeping their users who are the real data sources.

LeoNatan25 8y ago

> As much as I might like Chrome (and Google) Why would you? Brokering data in a borderline illegal or immoral way is their business model.

LiterallyDoge 8y ago

I think the biggest point here is one of respect to the customer. The fact that I lost all of my settings when I simply logged out my persona is clearly disrespectful of the customer. With so many good options, why use Google?

Lazeb 8y ago

Once again another reminder that the need for open source alternatives with minimal to no logging is shown to be a greater necessity in an age where these companies know us better than the government. We can continue to pretend these companies are non-partisan and won't use the data collected for political influence, everyone here is obviously impervious to such influences, but the bigger concern is its influence on public perception.

katslime 8y ago
I think people would rather trade their security for convenience, which in the first place is why Chrome is so popular, with its inbuilt tie-in to Google services. Sure, you could provide an open-source browser that's security focused, but what makes it compelling to the end-user to switch away from Chrome? I don't think many laymen particularly care about this situation.

jacksmith21006 8y ago

Suspect this is in prep for Ledger. You need local lot in and not just cloud.

s3r3nity 8y ago

I don't think it's coincidental that this controversy arose at the same time Google is pushing their new "Signals" product in Google Analytics, which leverages customer sign-in data? (Just noticed this today.) https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/7532985?hl=en&utm_id=ad&authuser=1 https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/7532985?hl=en&ut...

gepeto42 8y ago

I found that the easiest way to do it on Mac is to download the Chrome Enterprise bundle, edit the .plist and convert it to a profile with McxToProfile, to get something like this: https://twitter.com/gepeto42/status/1043587638568079360 https://twitter.com/gepeto42/status/1043587638568079360

driverdan 8y ago
The easiest way is to switch to another browser.

thinkingemote 8y ago

Linux users. Put: { "SyncDisabled": true, "RestrictSigninToPattern": ".*@example.com" } in a file called disable_sync.json (for example) and place in the following location: Chrome: /etc/opt/chrome/policies/managed/disable_sync.json Chromium: /etc/chromium-browser/policies/managed/disable_sync.json

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
pmontra 8y ago
It worked on Chrome Version 69.0.3497.100 (Official Build) (64-bit) on Ubuntu 16.04 but it didn't work with Chromium Version 69.0.3497.81 (Official Build) Chromium kept signing me into my Google account.
- thinkingemote 8y ago
  You'll need to close down and restart Chromium after each change I think for these. Some policies don't require restarts.

zoltaan 8y ago

Best way of disabling Google Chrome sign in and sync: Uninstall Chrome.

whyagaindavid 8y ago

If you are on linux please see: https://utcc.utoronto.ca/~cks/space/blog/web/ChromeWalkingAway?showcomments#comments https://utcc.utoronto.ca/~cks/space/blog/web/ChromeWalkingAw...

xfitm3 8y ago

You can set a strong sync password in Chrome. Of course, your Google search history etc is still available to other apps.