At the Chrome Dev Summit 2020 today, Google announced that it will change the way extensions access data and how extension permissions work in 2021.
As early as January 18 of this year, the day before Chrome 88 is released, Google will require every extension to publicly display its privacy protections and limit what developers can do with the data they collect.
chrome,Google Chrome
With more than 1 billion users, Chrome is not only a browser but also a major platform. the Chrome Web Store has more than 250,000 extensions and themes, and 4 million Chrome extensions are downloaded every day. These privacy changes will affect not only users and developers, but also businesses from startups that create extensions to those that rely on internal and external use of extensions.
The first change is that starting next year, Chrome users will be able to decide which websites extensions can access when they browse the web. Once an extension has been granted access to a site’s data, the option to save the settings will be available. By 2021, Chrome users will still be able to grant extension permissions for all websites they visit, but this will not be the default permission.
Chrome extension privacy practices
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Google already introduced the second change last month, which is that the details page for each extension in the Chrome online store will display information about the data collected by the extension in clear and easy-to-understand language. The company has also updated its user data privacy policy to include how extension developers use the data they collect. Details are as follows:
Ensure that the use or transfer of user data to bulk sell user data is for the primary benefit of the user and is consistent with the stated purpose of the extension.
The use or transfer of User Data for personalized advertising purposes is prohibited.
It is prohibited to use or transfer User Data for the purpose of obtaining credit or any form of loan qualification to a data broker or other information distributor.
Reaffirms that the sale of user data is never permitted.
Beginning January 18, the list of extensions in the Chrome Online Store will show whether developers have demonstrated that their extensions meet the above requirements.
Disabling potentially harmful Chrome extensions
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This is part of a larger effort by Google to improve the security and privacy of extensions. In May of this year, Google added a new security check feature to the release of Chrome 83. The feature prompts users to:
Whether passwords set to be remembered by Chrome have been compromised
Whether Google’s secure browsing service has been turned off
Whether the version of Chrome in use is up to date
Whether a malicious extension is installed.
Since then, Google says the number of malicious extensions disabled by Chrome to protect users has increased by 81 percent.
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