Oh, Google (Premium)

Suddenly and without warning, Chrome is forcing users who sign in to Google's services to sign-in to the browser as well.

Oh, Google.

Google Chrome is a product I use and recommend. Its support for web apps, first on Windows and Chrome OS, and more recently on Mac and Linux as well, is unsurpassed. And it allows us to use Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) and other web apps as native-ish applications side-by-side with the truly native applications on each platform.

To date, criticisms of Chrome have ranged from the specific---resource usage---to the vague---"I just don't like Google or the way it collects personal data"----but we've never seen anything quite like this.

There were always good reasons to sign-in to Chrome. When you do so, your bookmarks, passwords, and settings roam to your other PCs---or Macs or Chromebooks---and to your phone. On Android, Chrome-based passwords are shared with apps, which is also amazing, and another key benefit of sticking with the Google ecosystem.

And then this happened.

Chrome 69, the latest version of Google's web browser, was an auspicious release, and the first to include a full Material Design Refresh user experience makeover, plus Action Center integration on Windows 10, and other new features.

But Chrome 69 also comes with a hidden new payload that didn't show up in the release notes: Whenever you sign-in to any Google service---Google Search, Gmail, whatever---you will also be signed-in to the browser as well.

To be clear, most people want this, and they are already signed-in to the browser. In fact, signing-in to the browser is the first thing I do after I install Chrome on each of the PCs I use or review. For this reason, I wasn't immediately aware that this quiet sign-in passthrough was happening.

But it is. And as people began noticing this change, Google has found itself at the center of yet another controversy. One that it should have anticipated. And perhaps could have defused by explaining what was happening clearly and proactively.

The issue, of course, is that Google probably can't explain this clearly. That is, I can't think of a customer-focused reason for making this change. And I can easily think of reasons why this behavior would upset users. Enough for them to move to a new browser.

Google's sneaky breach of trust is inexcusable. And while I'm not a conspiracy theorist when it comes to Google's suspected and admitted privacy violations---the firm recently admitted to Congress that it allows third-party advertisers to reach Gmail-based email messages---and the ways in which they may or may not impact me and other users, this is concerning. Very concerning.

We live in an age of knee-jerk outrage and indignation, and I'm sure you won't be able to search very far to find some high-profile idiots proclaiming that they're leaving Google Chrome immediately because of this. There are also some thoughtful arguments about doing so, like this Medium post by Ma...