The latest story doing the rounds on tech sites is based on the results of a “study” by a company called Digitain to ascertain levels of browser privacy.
According to the Digitain report, Google Chrome is by far the least private browser… well, no sh*t Sherlock. In the study, rankings for browsers were evaluated on how they handled privacy, anti-fingerprinting, tracker and data blocking, connection, and navigation security. Here then are the results (scores are out of 100, and the lower the score, the better):
- ChatGPT Atlas – 99
- Google Chrome -76
- Vivaldi – 75
- Microsoft Edge – 63
- Opera – 58
- Ungoogled – 55
- Mozilla Firefox – 50
- Apple Safari – 49
- DuckDuckGo – 44
- Tor – 40
As it happens, I tend to agree with the rankings. However, that is based on experience plus common sense. I certainly wouldn’t need a “study” to tell me that Chrome is the least private of the mainstream browsers. And we’ve already reported on the dangers of the new AI Browsers (such as ChatGPT Atlas): Beware AI Browsers!
Even though I tend to agree with the rankings, I have two serious concerns over the authenticity of Digitain’s study and its findings:
- It’s been widely acknowledged that Brave is the most privacy-focused of the mainstream browsers, and any study of this type that omits Brave is surely lacking in credibility
- I’d never heard of Digitain, so I looked it up, fully expecting to see a security company or maybe an online privacy consultancy. But no… Digitain actually specializes in sports betting and gaming platform technology. Consequently, I have serious doubts about Digitain’s qualifications to perform any such study
In the end, as I mentioned earlier, any experienced user could easily come up with very similar rankings, and without the need for a so-called study.
BOTTOM LINE:
This story is more of the same clickbait from tech sites, stating the obvious while dressing it up as some sort of startling revelation.
As an aside, it amuses me no end that Chrome is widely recognized as the least private of the mainstream browsers yet continues to dominate market share. Go figure!
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