Apple’s recent warning sent to all 1.46 billion iPhone owners is taking a potshot at Google.
Using the slogan “a browser that is actually private,” the tech behemoth advertised its Safari search software on billboards worldwide.
Google did admit earlier this year that it gathers data from Chrome users, so the ad isn’t entirely without merit.
Apple didn’t mention Google in the ad, but it’s widely understood that Google Chrome is now more popular than Safari on smartphones, with over two million more downloads, and Apple is not “punching down.”
People have seen the ads on billboards, public transportation, and public buildings in places as diverse as Australia and Singapore, as well as in cities like London and San Francisco.
It would appear that Apple is trying to dissuade consumers from using Google, whose Chrome browser has been the subject of much criticism for its tendency to save users’ search history and cookies. Also, it’s been reported that Google’s “incognito” browser is not so “incognito.”
Google revealed earlier this year that it collects your data if you use Google Chrome, even if you use Incognito Mode. Users may be tempted to give firms carte blanche to gather data whenever they want because personal data is so valuable to companies, and terms and conditions are so difficult to understand.
The tech giant assures customers that it is committed to protecting their personal information and gives them complete discretion over how and when Chrome uses it for personalized web surfing.
With the belief that users should always have control, Chrome now has built-in privacy and security options that are easy to use.
Following a warning that an issue might let a remote attacker insert their code into an HTML page and cause browser instability, the company’s Google Chrome 125 update had nine security holes.
Even while consumers believed they were accessing websites secretly, a class-action complaint filed in 2020 said that Google was, in fact, monitoring their online activities.
In April, Google reached a settlement that would force the tech giant to erase billions of records detailing users’ private web browsing habits and allow anonymous users to disable third-party cookies.
The settlement mandates Google to erase and fix the data it wrongfully acquired in the past on an unprecedented scale.
