Credit: blog.chromium.org
Google dismissed concerns over its API
DeclarativeNetRequest, illustrated here
42 10 - 23 July 2019
Chrome users. The WebRequest API will
still be available in the Enterprise edition
of the browser, which businesses pay
Google to use, raising doubt over why it
has to be deprecated in the free version.
If Google’s main reason for
implementing Manifest V3 is to
safeguard (and increase) ad revenue by
making ad blockers less effective, the
company seems to be conveniently
ignoring the fact that most ad-blocking
tools do much more than merely strip
adverts from web pages. They also
intercept, modify and redirect network
requests, blocking harmful and dubious
connections, and protect your privacy
by refusing unnecessary third-party
cookies. They even disable dodgy
JavaScript and social-media buttons,
and much more. By limiting these
extensions, Google’s heavy-handed
tactics could transfer control of online
content from you to Chrome, potentially
making the web a much more annoying
and dangerous place in the process.Naturally,
many website
owners will
welcome the
news that
their visitors
will be unable
to block all
ads, but the
increased
threat to
privacy and
security,
coupled with
Chrome’s
removal of
choice, may
simply leave
users looking for a safer, more flexible
browser that isn’t affected by the
changes. In fairness to Google, the
company says DeclarativeNetRequest
and Manifest V3 are still in development,
and that it’s listening to community
feedback, but it only issued these mild
reassurances in response to a backlash
from developers.Chrome is nolonger
innovative
When was the last time Google added a
feature to Chrome that you hadn’t
already seen in another browser? For
example, Chrome 70 introduced Picture
in Picture mode for watching videos in a
floating window – two years after Opera
and Safari offered that option. Chrome
74 addedsupport for Windows 10’s‘Dark mode’, previously seen in Firefox
and Edge, while the latest version,
Chrome 75, adds a ‘reader mode’ for
simplifying web pages – just like every
other browser. You’ll need to find it first,
though, because Google has hiddenthis
handy feature on Chrome’s Experiments
page (chrome://flags). To use it once it’s
enabled, click the main ‘Customise...’
menuand choose ‘Distill page’.
The sad truth is that Chrome stopped
innovating a long time ago, and any
improvements it has introduced recently
have either been copied from other
browsers or hidden‘under the bonnet’.
Chromium, the Google-owned
open-source project on which Chrome
is based, is undoubtedly cutting-edge in
the technology it uses to deliver a fast
and reliable browsing experience.nSOME WEBSITES MAY NOT WORK
Most websites load perfectly no
matter which browser you use, but
some – especially those from Google
itself – only work in Chrome. For
example, you can’t view the onlineversion of Google Earth (earth
.google.com/web) in Firefox or Edge,
while in Vivaldi and Brave it just hangs
on the welcome page. On the other
hand, we’ve found that most Chrome
Experiments (bit.ly/chrome479) work
perfectly well in other browsers!nYOU’LL LOSE MOBILE
SYNCING
If you switch to a different
desktop browser but continue to
use Chrome on your mobile
device, you won’t be able to sync
data between the two. The
obvious answer is to install your
new browser’s app on your
phone or tablet, but in somecases – such as Vivaldi, which doesn’t
have one yet – this isn’t possible.nSLOWER SECURITY UPDATES
Google is usually quick to issue
patches for reported vulnerabilities in
Chrome, which the browser then
installs automatically. However,
Chromium doesn’t have its own
built-in auto-update mechanism, so
other browsers that are based on it
won’t necessarily receive security
fixes as soon as Google releases
them. Responsible developers will
update their browsers as quickly as
they can, but it’s still essential that
you make sure you’re running the
latest version at all times.WHYYOU SHOULDSTICKWITHCHROME
Before you ditch Chrome for a better browser, it’s worth considering what problems you might
experience by doing so. Here are some of the main onesChrome has finally added a simplified ‘reader mode’ but has
tucked this useful option away in its Experiments page