Privacy Thieves? - How browsers get to know you

Google Chrome is the undisputed heavyweight, holding roughly 65% of the market. It’s fast, reliable and has the largest selection of extensions. The catch: Chrome is made by Google – and Google makes its money from advertising based on user data. Chrome syncs your browsing history, bookmarks and passwords with your Google account by default. If you sign in to Chrome, you’re handing Google a very detailed picture of your browsing behavior.

Mozilla Firefox is the only major browser that isn’t backed by a tech giant – it’s developed by a nonprofit foundation. Firefox blocks third-party tracking cookies by default and offers solid privacy out of the box. Its market share, however, has shrunk significantly in recent years – from over 30% to the single digits today. That has nothing to do with quality and everything to do with Google using its market power to promote Chrome on every platform imaginable.

Microsoft Edge has been the default browser on Windows since Windows 10 and has been built on the same Chromium engine as Chrome since 2020. Technically, that makes it just as fast and compatible. Microsoft has equipped Edge with some useful features, including a built-in PDF reader and vertical tabs. On the privacy front, Edge is a bit more restrained than Chrome but still collects telemetry data for Microsoft. And Microsoft isn’t exactly subtle about pushing Edge on Windows users.