Following harsh criticism from users and experts alike, Google has decided to disable one of the controversial features it has launched in the recent times. Chrome Sign-in was launched and made default in the Chrome recently and this feature allowed Google to make a user sign into Chrome even when they had signed into a single service like Gmail. Before, Google wanted people to sign in separately to Chrome so that they can use it for syncing services like Bookmarks and Password management. However, starting from the recent version of Chrome, this option was not available for users. Now, the company has decided to remove that.
Starting from Google Chrome 70, users will have an option to decide whether they want to sign into Chrome even when they have signed into Gmail or other Google service. That is, a browser sign-in would not allow the browser to access the data and use it for a multi-platform-level service sign-in. It should be noted that Chrome is not disabling the feature altogether. The feature, despite the harsh criticism and dislike from user community, would remain in the browser. However, users will now have an option to disable the feature if they want.
For someone who is not familiar with the whole thing, Chrome Sign-In would be happening. Defending the ethical nature of the feature, Google said that “We want to be clear that this change to sign-in does not mean Chrome sync gets turned on. Users who want data like their browsing history, passwords, and bookmarks available on other devices must take additional action, such as turning on sync.” The company adds that a feature would be introduced in Chrome 70 so that users have more control over how they are signed into accounts and the whole Chrome browser. The decision to launch such a allegedly privacy-harm feature was seen as a method to get access to more data.
