When it comes to using the iPhone, there are several browsers to choose from, but the majority gravitate towards Chrome or Safari. It’s a competition that has heated up amid a complicated relationship between Apple and Google.
Well, Apple’s latest scaremongering ad isn’t going to make that relationship any less complicated. While it doesn’t outright tell people to stop using Chrome, it’s a pretty blatant shot at Google’s browser for the many tracking cookies it uses – claiming that Safari is a “browser that’s actually private”.
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Why now?
Currently, 30% of iPhone users use Chrome as their default browser, and Google wants to increase that to 50%, according to a report by The Information. That would equate to another 300 million iOS devices, and at a time when keeping people loyal to apps is the most direct route to revenue, Apple doesn’t want to lose that overwhelming influence over iPhone browser usage.
So the company seems to have come up with a plan to pray for its competition’s two key usage problems:
- Chrome’s hunger for tracking cookies: You’ve seen it all over the internet – those pop-ups that ask if you accept third-party cookies. Once you go into Chrome’s privacy settings, you’ll probably be overwhelmed by the thousands of sites that track your location on the Internet. Even worse, they look poised to exist until 2025, according to Google Privacy Sandbox Report.
- Incognito mode is not private: It’s one of several different Chrome features that the Mountain View company says is privacy-friendly, but its actions are a little different. For example, Google promises security in its “incognito” mode, but then had to admit that this privacy shield isn’t really that private in $5 billion class action lawsuit.
These are things Safari removes from the get-go – including preventing cross-site tracking by default and hiding your IP address (provided you have an iCloud+ account on the latter). This makes it fertile ground for Apple to advertise and stoke fears about its main competition.
Google’s answer
We’ve reached out to Google for a response to this latest ad campaign, and the response doesn’t necessarily address the issues rather directly implied here by Apple.
A Google spokesperson told Tom’s Guide that: “Chrome is designed to keep your data safe by default and to ensure that users can control when and how their data is used in Chrome to personalize their browsing experience on the web. We believe users should always be in control, which is why we’ve built easy-to-use privacy and security settings right into Chrome.”
Are people really going to ditch Chrome?
The iPhone browser war is more Apple losing than Google winning, and the Cupertino team is hitting hard on Chrome’s weak point here. And from the perspective of someone who has worked in advertising, this dystopian setting is a pretty effective way to get the message across.
Current Chrome users are not necessarily blind to these cookies, but may have come to terms with them and the resulting risk. However, new iPhone users and those who aren’t necessarily aware of how much Chrome is learning about you may scare them off and switch.
We’ll reach out to Google for their comment and reach out to security experts for more context. Stay on the line.
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