GOOGLE Chrome users are being warned to change the browser as soon as possible amid fears highly sensitive data is being harvested.
Phone data is reportedly at risk of being passed on without users even realizing it, claims a cyber-security expert.
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Forbes reports this latest Big Tech privacy nightmare could give users a reason to delete Chrome from their phones.
It comes as Facebook is being accused of mining peoples’ critical private data using accelerometer data as a means to pinpoint locations and quietly trail app users and monitor activities.
But Forbes cybersecurity writer Zak Doffman warned: “While Facebook was collecting this information for itself, Chrome is happy to collect it for others — essentially enabling a free-for-all when it comes to hugely sensitive information about your every activity, your every behaviour.”
Research, he said, had exposed how the browser allows mobile websites to tap into device sensors.
Apple disables motion sensor access as a default.
But Google not only allows access, but it also tells users this is a “recommended” setting to keep enabled, Mr Doffman said.
On Android, Chrome can be disabled by changing the browser, Mr Doffman said.
Last month Google Chrome users were warned of “multiple high-level hacks of [the] browser” for the second time this week, reports say.
The tech giant advised its 2.6billion users to be aware in a new blog post, revealing four “high” rated vulnerabilities – days after discovering Chrome’s 12th and 13th “zero-day” exploits, reported Forbes.
A Google spokesperson to The Sun: “We intentionally limit the resolution of motion sensors in Chrome, and since 2019 we’ve had controls that allow users to block websites from accessing a device’s motion sensors altogether.
“We take user security and privacy seriously, and we’re always working on new ways to improve security and privacy in Chrome.”
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