Chromebooks/ChromeOS

[PhysicsIsAwesome]

ChromeOS is leagues ahead in security compared to other widely used desktop OS's. It's especially the only one with meaningfully confined third-party privacy. It let's you use isolated Linux environments and most Android apps.

I wonder how its first-party privacy (Google and vendor) is, if all privacy settings have been adjusted as privately as possible. I couldn't find any meaningful study, whitepaper or MITM analysis about this topic. Does anyone have more information?

It would be great if someone could do a MITM analysis to check which telemetry is sent in the described case. Then we could discuss, if the benefits of ChromeOS outweighed the downsides.

[eylenburg]

lmao Chrome OS is probably the WORST privacy choice you can make. Made by the worst privacy offender (Google); completely locked down (e.g. can't even use it without logging in to a Google account, unlike Android; forced to use Chrome which is the worst browser in terms of privacy... the list goes on.

Some people say (wrongly imho) that privacy is useless without security. That might be true if you have a high threat level like government hackers - but even then "secure" platforms can be hacked, e.g. Pegasus spyware for iOS, and you can be 100% sure that a company like Google would give your data to US authorities and other "approved" governments. But even philosophically, what's the point of having security without privacy? This website is called Privacyguides after all.

[eylenburg]

Ok, so you say you can't have true privacy without perfect security. That doesn't change the fact that security alone does not mean a device is private. With any Google product it is 100% guaranteed that your data doesn't remain private. Telemetry is only a small part of privacy.

[eylenburg]

Yes, but that is an edge case. My guess is that 95% of people reading websites like Privacyguides are interested in keeping their data safe from surveillance capitalists (e.g. Big Tech, advertisers) and their government. Even for the scenario of the Ukrainian journalist I find it hard to believe that e.g. Chrome OS cannot be hacked. Even other "super secure" systems such as iOS and Android have been hacked with commercially sold software such as Pegasus (that can even use zero-click exploits so no user interaction needed). All that security is mostly just theatre. And what about the other case, a journalist who wants to release information against the US government - which side do you think Google will pick?

[flexagoon]

95% of people

Pegasus

Pegasus is definitely NOT in the threat model of 95% of people

[eylenburg]

Thats what I mean. 95% of people in search for privacy just want their data to be safe from advertisers etc, so chrome OS is a no go.

For the most extreme 1%, the ones that might be targeted by government hacking etc but somehow dont care about Google (member of the PRISM program btw), almost nothing will be safe enough. Maybe iOS now with their lockdown mode? Idk

[PhysicsIsAwesome]

Pls don't let this go into a fight about Google or generalizations and stick to facts about Chrome OS.

Thats what I mean. 95% of people in search for privacy just want their data to be safe from advertisers etc, so chrome OS is a no go.

What data will Google get, if someone uses Chrome OS with settings adjusted?

[samuel-lucas6]

I would definitely not recommend buying a Chromebook. My first laptop was a Chromebook, and it became unsupported to the point that it wasn't even possible to watch Amazon Prime in the browser without setting up a dated crouton, which requires going into developer mode and having this annoying screen pop up every time you boot.

The older devices, which are the cheapest (the main appeal), should be avoided for this reason and the dreadful performance. Then the more expensive devices should be avoided because they're a rip off compared to the flexibility and longer life you'll get from other laptops.

As for ChromeOS, I've never interacted with the newer versions because I couldn't update, but the version I had was frankly garbage for anything beyond basic web browsing, and even that wasn't fast. I'm sure it's a much better experience now on the higher end Chromebooks, but that doesn't justify their price and still won't be as flexible as running Windows, Linux, or macOS.

[PhysicsIsAwesome]

Recent Chromebooks get 8 years of updates, which should be enough for most users. I don't know if Crouton still works, but there is an official feature: Linux for Chrome OS, called Crostini. It brings the Linux shell and other apps to it in verified mode and has multi-layered security. You don't need developer mode for Crostini and it's well integrated.

[samuel-lucas6]

Yes, that's a much needed improvement. However, I would still maintain that the price of the better Chromebooks makes no sense and that you have greater flexibility with the other OSes. You're better off saving for a decent laptop than buying a cheap Chromebook as well.

[ghost]

Pretty sure this is suppose to be PRIVACY guides. While ChromeOS might be secure, it offers no privacy to it's users.
There can't be privacy without security but it's not true the other way around and ChromeOS is a prime example of that.

[dngray]

I'm not sure what this would contain. ChromeOS is pretty locked down, so you really can only change what Google permits you to change.

If someone can suggest some features that could be written into a guide, then I'd be interested in seeing a thread https://discuss.privacyguides.net/c/site-development/guide-suggestions