While the Internet has radically transformed the way we live, connect, interact and learn, and while it has empowered us with unlimited means and resources for growth and prosperity, but this has come with a high price: our privacy. In a digitally focused world where dependence on the net and more particularly on social media websites is becoming bigger and bigger, our personal info become commodities in the hands of corporate giants. As someone has eloquently stated it ‘if you’re not paying for something, you’re not the customer; you’re the product being sold.’ You have probably seen the recent Facebook data scandal and how a political consulting firm (Cambridge Analytica) has accessed private data of millions of Facebook users. If anything, this proves that in the virtual world privacy is almost becoming a ‘myth’. The optimistic side of this is that we can, at least, control and monitor part of what we share and with whom we share it.
The purpose of today’s post is to introduce you to some useful Chrome features that can help ‘enhance’ your privacy while browsing the web. You will get to learn how to clear your browsing data, how to view and delete your saved passwords and autofil entries, how to stop Chrome from collecting your passwords, how to block sites permissions and cookies, and how to check the security of websites. All of the tips and instructions below are take from Chrome Help.
- ‘On your computer, open Chrome.
- At the top right, click More
- Click More tools
Clear browsing data.
- Choose a time range, like last hour or all time.
- Select the types of information you want to remove.
- Click Clear browsing data.’
- ‘On your computer, open Chrome.
- At the top right, click More
Settings.
- At the bottom, click Advanced.
- Under “Passwords and forms,” click Manage passwords.
- Under “Saved passwords,” to the right of the website, click More
Details.
- To the right of the password, click Preview
.’
- ‘On your computer, open Chrome.
- At the top right, click More
Settings.
- At the bottom, click Advanced.
- Under “Password and forms,” click Manage passwords.
- Turn the setting off.’
- ‘On your computer, open Chrome.
- At the top right, click More
Settings.
- At the bottom, click Advanced.
- Under “Passwords and forms,” click Manage passwords.
- Under “Saved passwords,” to the right of the website, click More
Remove.’
- ‘On your computer, open Chrome.
- At the top right, click More
Settings.
- At the bottom, click Advanced.
- Under “Privacy and security,” click Content settings.
- Click Cookies.
- Next to “Block,” “Clear on exit,” or “Allow,” click Add.
- Enter the web address.
- To create an exception for an entire domain, insert [*.] before the domain name. For example, [*.]google.com will match drive.google.com and calendar.google.com.
- You can also put an IP address or a web address that doesn’t start with http://.
- Click Add.’
- On your computer, open Chrome.
- At the top right, click More
Settings.
- At the bottom, click Advanced.
- Under “Privacy and security,” click Content settings.
- Click the permission you want to update.
- ‘On your computer, open Chrome .
- Go to a website.
- To the left of the web address, click the icon you see: Lock
, Info
, or Dangerous
.
- Click Site settings.
- Change a permission setting. Your changes will automatically save.’
Secure : ‘Information you send or get through the site is private.Even if you see this icon, always be careful when sharing private information. Look at the address bar to make sure you’re on the site you want to visit.’
Info or Not secure : ‘The site isn’t using a private connection. Someone might be able to see or change the information you send or get through this site. ‘
Not secure or Dangerous: It is suggested that you don’t ‘ enter any private or personal information on this page. If possible, don’t use the site.’
First appeared here