Chromebooks have a good reputation as low-maintenance computers with strong security and privacy. By and large this is true. That's why we trust them to be used by children and college students, or why some companies like to issue them to employees who only need a simple computer.
However, there is no such thing as perfect privacy, and even Chromebooks have their pitfalls.
Access your location using apps and services
Until recently, ChromeOS lacked granularity when it came to controlling whether an app knew your location or not. Unlike Android, you could either turn off location services or allow everyone to use them. This is not an issue in the latest version of ChromeOS, as you can see here in the location settings section of my Chromebook Plus settings.
If you have Chromebooks no longer supportedyou should check if its location services are turned on, but even if the global setting is turned off, it may not affect individual apps. You'll have to look up the location settings in those apps, and even then, there's no guarantee that location tracking for that app is actually blocked.
If you have the latest version of ChromeOS, you have the ability to manage location services on a per-app basis, but you'll need to go through your list of apps and make sure they're all set up the way you like.
Device visibility in the Nearby Share and Quick Share functions
Nearby, or Quick Share, is a great feature similar to Apple's AirDrop that makes it easy to send files between Chromebooks, Android phones, and anything else that supports the standard. However, as with AirDrop, there are privacy concerns when setting visibility.
By default, visibility can be set to “Contacts”, which is safe enough, but “everyone” is a bad idea unless you have some reason not to add someone to your contacts before sharing files. In fact, as I was writing this, I noticed that my Chromebook Plus doesn't even have an “Everyone” setting anymore, now only showing “Contacts”, “My Devices” and “Hidden”.
In my case, “My Devices” was the default, and I think that's the best option for most people. My Contacts may seem safe on paper, but my contacts list a huge number of people from years of interacting with Gmail. So it's not secure at all and I don't know when I'll have time to check this list using the Manage Contacts option.
Background synchronization and collection of Google account data
How many Chromebooks are sold? as safe and confidential as possibleThere is a basic level of data collection that occurs the moment you sign in to your Google account. Which is optional on a Chromebook. Web and app activity, location history, YouTube tracking, device data syncing, and more happen on your Chromebook. Even if you are clearly not aware of it.
Unfortunately, there is no way to disable Google's collection of all data on your Chromebook. However, you can turn off some features by selecting “Send diagnostic and usage data” and “Get content recommendations” found under the “Privacy Controls” section of the “Privacy & Security” section of Settings.
Besides disabling these options, the per-app permissions I already mentioned are also relevant. Turn off anything that has to do with tracking you unless you want it for a specific reason.
Functions that keep sensors active
Some Chromebooks (unfortunately not mine) have a feature that allows the camera to watch you and automatically lock your computer when you're gone. This is very convenient for students or people who simply forget to close their computers when they go to lunch or to the toilet. However, if you can remember to manually lock your Chromebook (Search/Launch/All button + L), then it's much better for your privacy to disable this feature. If your Chromebook webcam has a privacy curtain, turn that on while you're there.
Likewise, on some Chromebooks, you can enable the “Hey Google” feature to access Google Assistant using your voice. However, I think that on a laptop where you have a key that brings up a universal menu for quick access, there is no need to keep the microphone on all the time. At the very least, it seems less necessary compared to a smartphone that you use hands-free a lot.
Creep resolution
The last easy trap to fall into is unauthorized permitting. You can't just check your app and OS permissions once on your Chromebook and then assume everything is fine forever. Every time an application is updated, or you install a new application, or a ChromeOS updateIt is recommended to check whether applications have permissions.
If an app that doesn't need a camera or microphone has those permissions, take them away. If they somehow return, consider deleting the app. Either way, privacy and security aren't what you do, they're how you live, and starting with a Chromebook in front of you is a great way to get into that headspace.
6/10
- operating system
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ChromeOS
- CPU
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Intel Core i3-1315U 6-core 1.2 GHz
- GPU
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Intel UHD Graphics
- RAM
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8 GB
