It is increasingly difficult to stay anonymous on the Internet. From the companies that offer us the Internet (ISPs), to giants like Microsoft or Google, and even websites, they always try to keep us under control so that they can know everything about us. Little by little we are becoming aware of the importance of anonymity and privacy on the Internet, and that also makes browsers propose to implement functions and features that give us more control over our privacy.
Google Chrome is the most used web browser in the world, with almost 70% of the total market share. The amount of information that Google collects through it is immense, since this company’s main source of income is advertising. Therefore, the arrival of a feature like Privacy Sandbox It is, without a doubt, great news for all users, since, finally, we will be able to start browsing the Internet (a little) safer.
How Privacy Sandbox works
Privacy Sandbox is going to be the new function with which Google Chrome wants to allow users to have more control over data. Although at the moment it is nothing more than a name change of the current “tracking protection” function for cookies, in the future it will be the section from which we can have full control over how the browser, and the websites, can access to our data.
Right now, when we enter the “Tracking protection” section we can find several options, such as the possibility of “allow all cookies”, “block third-party cookies in incognito mode”, or “block all third-party cookies”. The new section has already changed a little, simplifying these three options into just two: “standard”, limiting the use of cookies automatically and blocking them completely in incognito mode.
On the other hand, we also have the “personalized” option, which will block all browsing cookies by default, and will also send a do not track to the websites we visit (although that label is not very useful). The rest of the options that we find in the program, such as viewing all the data and permissions of the site and personalized behaviors on the page, are identical.
How to activate it in Google Chrome
At the moment, this new function is in an experimental phase, so only Canary branch users they can use it. In addition, it is disabled by default, and must be activated by using a “flag”, so very few users will be able to use this function, at least for now.
Download Google Chrome Canary.
It is expected that by early 2024, this feature will be finished and ready to go. However, if you want to preserve your privacy until that moment arrives, we recommend that you opt for an alternative browser that does allow you to have much more control over your data and information. And the best option, right now, is none other than Firefox.