Apple flags security concerns in Google Chrome, Advises users to switch for safety

Apple is in uncharacteristically candid territory. In a warning aimed at iPhone and Mac users alike, Apple has told customers using its devices to think twice about using Google Chrome or even the Google app. The warning, which has reemerged in recent weeks, concerns privacy and a particular type of ad-tracking that many believed was already well in hand.

Apple’s warning and reasoning

The problem at hand involves fingerprinting – a technique used by advertisers to identify specific users from a large pool, essentially allowing them to build unique user profiles based on information associated with a device. Apple says that while a cookie might be relatively easy to disable, fingerprinting presents no simple opt-out option for users who don’t want their data to be used to target ads.

Apple is concerned because its rival Chrome – as well as the Google app, which offers a browser – permits fingerprinting, and claims that its Safari browser does not. Safari is designed to offer a “simplified version” of a device’s identifying characteristics, making many devices appear identical in the eyes of trackers. The upshot, Apple argues, is that fingerprinting is harder.

But there’s more to the argument. Apple also claims that Safari is better equipped to resist other kinds of tracking and invasion of privacy – such as more robust private-browsing features and AI-powered tracking prevention, as well as “prevention measures for [web] sites or apps that try to infer your location.” Apple says Google’s Chrome lags in these areas.

Apple also addresses a criticism head-on. Many people use Chrome in the first place because of its integration with Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, which can be an important part of the workflow for some. But Apple notes that Safari supports these services already, so there’s not necessarily a cost to switching.

As for what’s new: Google initially announced a shift away from some tracking techniques

The warning is new in the sense that it’s being reiterated. Google’s Chrome had initially committed to rolling back certain tracking features, only to reverse course not long after. It was that rollback on Google’s part – particularly when it came to fingerprinting and cookie-tracking – that prodded Apple to reissue warnings.

Apple is, however, merely revisiting an argument it was already making earlier this year. Privacy and third-party tracking have been bubbling issues around web browsers for some time, especially those operating on iOS and macOS. But Apple’s public warning about Chrome and the Google app marks a new point in the privacy wars.

So what are users to do? Well, that depends on how much privacy matters to you. Apple is clear in its warning: If you don’t want to be tracked across the web and care about privacy, Safari is a safer bet, at least according to Apple. But the choice is ultimately yours. Chrome has the benefit of being familiar across devices, as well as greater integration with Google’s array of online services.

If privacy is a big concern for you – or you want to reduce your exposure to the kind of surreptitious fingerprinting that Apple is warning against – making the switch to Safari (or another privacy-focused browser) may be a good move. If not, at least you’re now better informed about the trade-offs.