"Chrome sends details about its usage to Google through both optional and non-optional user tracking mechanisms."
Tracking methods: Information sent -
When?
- Randomly generated token included in installer. Used to measure success rate of Google Chrome once at installation. - On installation
- Encoded string, according to Google, contains non-identifying information how Chrome was downloaded and its install week, and is used to measure promotional campaigns. Google provides the source code to decode this string. - On Google search query; On first launch and first use of address bar
- Unique identifier along with logs of usage metrics and crashes. - Unknown
- Text typed into the address bar - While typing
- Text typed into the address bar - Upon receiving "Server not found" response
- Details about crashes and failures - Unknown
- Information about how often Chrome is used, details about the OS and Chrome version. - Unknown
- Chrome sends the URL and IP of the host and other meta data, such as the file’s hash and binary size, to Google. - When downloading files
"Some of the tracking mechanisms can be optionally enabled and disabled through the installation interface and through the browser's options dialog. Unofficial builds, such as SRWare Iron and CoolNovo (previously known as ChromePlus), seek to remove these features from the browser altogether. The RLZ feature is not included in the Chromium browser either."
"In March 2010, Google devised a new method to collect installation statistics: the unique ID token included with Chrome is now only used for the first connection that Google Update makes to its server."
"Concern about Chrome's optional usage collection and tracking have been noted in several publications. On September 2, 2008, a CNET news item drew attention to a passage in the Terms of Service statement for the initial beta release, which seemed to grant to Google a license to all content transferred via the Chrome browser. The passage in question was inherited from the general Google terms of service. On the same day, Google responded to this criticism by stating that the language used was borrowed from other products, and removed the passage in question from the Terms of Service. Google noted that this change would "apply retroactively to all users who have downloaded Google Chrome". There was subsequent concern and confusion about whether and what information the program communicates back to Google. The company stated that usage metrics are only sent when users opt in by checking the option "help make Google Chrome better by automatically sending usage statistics and crash reports to Google" when the browser is installed."
"The optional suggestion service included in Google Chrome has been criticized because it provides the information typed into the Omnibox to the search provider before the user even hits return. This allows the search engine to provide URL suggestions, but also provides them with web usage information tied to an IP address. The feature can be selected off in the preferences-under the hood/bonnet-privacy box."
Do Not Track:
"In February 2012, Google announced that Chrome will support Do Not Track by the end of 2012."
Extensions:
"Many Chrome extensions, once installed, have access to the user's data. There are three levels of permissions that an app or extension may request. There is no approval or moderation process for the extensions submitted to the Chrome Web Store."
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