October 3, 2023
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has urged users to reevaluate their Google Chrome settings within the Privacy Sandbox, a suite of technologies designed for advertising, analytics, anti-spam, and anti-tracking.
According to EFF, this is an attempt to regain control of their online habits or consider alternatives like Mozilla Firefox or Apple Safari. It goes ahead to argue that the system is still tracking users and not truly protecting their privacy.
Among the contentious elements of the Privacy Sandbox is “Topics,” an API that delivers ads based on users’ web browsing histories. This feature, according to EFF, appears to track user interests, potentially infringing upon privacy. The EFF’s security and privacy activist, Thorin Klosowski, argues that despite improvements, the Privacy Sandbox is still a form of tracking, albeit controlled by one entity.
Google on its own end, defends its Privacy Sandbox as an advancement in user privacy and experience. They emphasize the importance of responsible data use and privacy-enhancing technologies.
The sources for this piece include an article in TheRegister.
