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Published (click to see context) on 27/09/2022 by Morgan Bazalgette • 1 minute

FYI

Dear Funny people on the internet

There has been some confusion about the coming changes to chrome, their impact, and on what to do. Here is a handy introduction.

1. What is happening

Popular web browser Chrome and the open source project it stems from, Chromium (both developed by Google), will soon change the way add-ons/extensions can interact with the browser. In short, extensions will be much less capable. This includes the ability of ad- and tracker blockers to block ads and trackers.

1.1 Why is this happening

The old way in which extensions could interact with the browser has been one of the main attack vectors on users from malicious extensions.

At the same time, Google is an advertisement and tracking company, so the conflict in interest is obvious. Providing a browser that is inherently less capable in blocking trackers and advertisement is profitable for them.

2. Why you should care

Besides being an annoyance, ads work. Even if you think they don't. Global advertising spendings are moving towards 1 trillion US-dollars per year, for reference.

Your privacy is important! Tracking goes much further than you probably think. Your browsing-, location-, usage-, app-, and medical-history (if you use certain medical apps) are tracked. Not only should you not accept this level of intrusion, it can, has and will be used maliciously. Examples include political misinformation campaigns and police investigations due to period cycle information.