69 votes

Google Chrome ships a default, hidden extension that allows code on *.google.com access to private APIs, including your current CPU usage

Posted by bl4kers
Tags: google, browsers, privacy, chrome, cpu, author.simon willison, short read
https://simonwillison.net/2024/Jul/9/hangout_servicesthunkjs/

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Title
hangout_services/thunk.js
Word count
240 words

10 comments

  1. [5]
    Sassanix
    Link
    Firefox is the people's browser, crafted by a community for the benefit of users. On the other hand, Chrome is built by Google, primarily to generate profit and serve its shareholders. The irony...

    Firefox is the people's browser, crafted by a community for the benefit of users. On the other hand, Chrome is built by Google, primarily to generate profit and serve its shareholders. The irony is that Mozilla Firefox's biggest financial supporter is also its main competitor: Google. Thus, Firefox's largest source of funding comes from the very company it strives to compete against.

    57 votes
    1. [4]
      Levantus
      Link Parent
      Ah the old “not a monopoly” fund. There are a few other browsers striving to break in but I don’t know if they can overcome the forces that be and break into the mainstream the way Firefox almost...

      Ah the old “not a monopoly” fund. There are a few other browsers striving to break in but I don’t know if they can overcome the forces that be and break into the mainstream the way Firefox almost sorta has (Arc Browser, Ladybird, etc.).

      26 votes
      1. [3]
        bl4kers
        Link Parent
        I've been using Arc for over a year now. They used to ship exciting stuff almost every week and fix bugs, but now that seems to have fallen off pretty hard. I guess they've shifted most of their...

        I've been using Arc for over a year now. They used to ship exciting stuff almost every week and fix bugs, but now that seems to have fallen off pretty hard. I guess they've shifted most of their resources towards "AI" features and their search product. I don't know anyone that wants a "browser that browses for you" and yet they seem convinced it's a good idea

        11 votes
        1. devalexwhite
          Link Parent
          Yeah, I've tried their "search for you" and while it's a cool party trick (especially the voice feature), it's not something I've ever reached for when I actually want to look up information. I...

          Yeah, I've tried their "search for you" and while it's a cool party trick (especially the voice feature), it's not something I've ever reached for when I actually want to look up information. I think it's a mixture of me not trusting AI results, and wanting to evaluate multiple sources myself for the best fit to my question (like a traditional search results screen allows you to do).

          4 votes
        2. Weldawadyathink
          Link Parent
          Do you use Arc exclusively on macOS? I used to, and I sorta agreed with your take, but I recently got arc for windows on my work computer (had to get my IT department to upgrade me to windows 11)....

          Do you use Arc exclusively on macOS? I used to, and I sorta agreed with your take, but I recently got arc for windows on my work computer (had to get my IT department to upgrade me to windows 11). I think all of their non-AI work is currently going into getting arc for windows up to par with arc for Mac. If that’s true, and they don’t change their strategy once they are on par, we can expect arc for Mac and windows to start getting better once they have parity. For example, until a few weeks ago, arc for windows didn’t have control-f search on page, or a way to edit the current url. I had to copy the url to notepad, edit it, and copy that into a new tab. Both of those have since been fixed, but there are other minor annoyances they are working on.

          2 votes
  3. [4]
    skybrian
    Link
    I'm curious about how it's used. Someone could probably write a browser extension to figure it out.

    I'm curious about how it's used. Someone could probably write a browser extension to figure it out.

    6 votes
    1. [3]
      Deely
      Link Parent
      You can check discussion on HN (link in comment above), most probably telemetry for video call quality.

      You can check discussion on HN (link in comment above), most probably telemetry for video call quality.

      4 votes
      1. [2]
        dreamless_patio
        Link Parent
        "Pretending you said something conversational, [...]" "After your infelicitous contribution, you were politely invited to consider [...]" God bless, I think I'll let someone else finish reading...

        "Pretending you said something conversational, [...]" "After your infelicitous contribution, you were politely invited to consider [...]"

        God bless, I think I'll let someone else finish reading those comments.

        9 votes
        1. Deely
          Link Parent
          Yeah. Honestly its very hard to read comments on HN. Every comment is "you are wrong because <some fact/idea/opinion>". And downvotes because fact or opinion is unpopular.

          Yeah. Honestly its very hard to read comments on HN. Every comment is "you are wrong because <some fact/idea/opinion>". And downvotes because fact or opinion is unpopular.

          7 votes