Google is adding a step-by-step privacy guide to Chrome

Google announced on Wednesday that it is adding a new “step-by-step guide” to privacy and security settings in Chrome, where you can view many of the available controls. The new guide will include separate pages about some settings, with description of what will happen when the feature is turned on. There will also be “things to keep in mind” notes. For example: enabling history sync will store URLs you visit in your Google Account.

The Chrome Desktop Privacy Guide will “begin gradually rolling out” to all Chrome v.100 desktop users “in the coming weeks,” according to a Google blog post. To access the guide, click the three-dot menu icon in the upper right corner of your browser, click Settings, and then click the Privacy & Security tab. When it becomes available, a Privacy Guide should appear there.

Google is also introducing new user security rules for apps. From November 1, 2022, Google Play apps will not be available for search and installation unless they support newer versions of Android.

“The rationale for this is simple. Users of the latest devices, or those with the latest Android updates, expect to realize the full potential of all the privacy and security features that Android has to offer. Expanding our requirements will protect users from installing old software that may not have these protections,” said Krish Vitaldevara, Director of Product, Android and Play Trust and Safety, at Google.

Apps will only disappear from Google Play if your device is running a more recent version of Android than the app’s API level. For example, if your phone is running Android 12 and the app uses the Android 9 API, you won’t be able to download it. But if the app has already been downloaded from the Play Store, you can download it again without restrictions.

Currently newly published apps are allowed to Google Play store only if they support at least a 1 year old API level. The company has reassured that the vast majority of apps already meet the new standards. Google notifies developers in advance so they can update the API.

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Google is adding a step-by-step privacy guide to Chrome

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