There are several browser options use information, such as the webpages you’re visiting, to enhance and protect your experience on the web. All of these features (except “Automatically send usage statistics and crash reports” and “Send a ‘Do Not Track’ request with your browsing traffic”) are enabled by default. You can always choose to disable them in the Privacy settings by clicking the Chrome menu icon > Settings > Show advanced settings > Privacy.
Use a web service to help resolve navigation errors
In cases where the web address does not resolve or a connection cannot be made, you can get suggestions of alternative webpages that are similar to the one you’re trying to reach.
Information that is sent: Whenever the web address does not resolve or a connection cannot be made, the browser
Use a prediction service to help complete searches and URLs typed in the address bar
The browser can use a prediction service to show you related web searches, matches from your browsing history and popular websites as you type in the address bar.
Information that is sent: If your default search engine provides a prediction service, the browser sends the text that you type in the address bar to your default search engine in order to retrieve predicted searches and web addresses. This information is then displayed in the address bar menu
Predict network actions to improve page load performance
Browsers use the IP address to load a webpage. By looking up this information in advance, any links you click on the webpage will load faster. Websites can also use pre-rendering technology to pre-load the links that you might click next.
Information that is sent: When you visit a webpage, the browser can look up the IP addresses of all links on the webpage and pre-fetch links that you might click next.
Enable phishing and malware protection
Get an instant alert whenever the browser detects that the website you’re going to may be harmful.
Information that is sent: When you visit a webpage, Safe Browsing checks the website you’re visiting against a list of known bad websites stored on your computer. If the URL you’re visiting matches anything on the list, your browser sends a partial copy of the URL to Google to decide if you’re visiting a risky site.
Use a web service to help resolve spelling errors
This allows Chrome to use the same spell-checking technology as Google Search. To enable this feature, right-click inside the text field that you’re typing in and select Spell-checker options > Ask Google for suggestions.
Information that is sent: When this feature is enabled, Chrome will send the text that you typed to Google’s servers.
Automatically send usage statistics and crash reports
Help us prioritise the features and improvements we should work on. Permit the system to send Google information about the files, applications and services that are running whenever you experience a crash.
Information that is sent: Usage statistics contain aggregated information such as preferences, button clicks and memory usage. It does not include web page URLs or any personal information. Crash reports contain system information at the time of the crash, and may contain web page URLs or personal information, depending on what was happening at the time of the crash.
Send a ‘Do Not Track’ request with your browsing traffic
You can include a “Do Not Track” request with your browsing traffic. However, the effect depends on whether a website responds to the request and how the request is interpreted.
Content settings
The browser can store cookies and allow websites to use certain capabilities, such as plug-ins and JavaScript, to customise your browsing.
Content that is allowed: By default, the browser allows cookies, images, JavaScript, and plug-ins. Pop-ups are blocked by default. Location sharing and desktop notifications are only allowed with your specific permission.
