Google Chrome Will Support Dark Mode in macOS Mojave by Early 2019

[sracer]

It creeps the hell out of me. I saw an ad the other day for something my wife was searching for on her own Mac. I don't like it. Using the web shouldn't mean you automatically abdicate any right to not be tracked across sites. I run uBlock Origins now, but will probably keep evolving that decision based on what's available.

And if Safari is pissing off these creeps, that seems like a great sign to me:
https://www.adweek.com/digital/ever...e-for-blocking-cookies-in-the-safari-browser/

I've been running ad blockers and tracking blockers for years so I haven't experienced that kind of "stalker" behavior.

As for web tracking in general, the web browser isn't the only point for which we are tracked. Nearly every website has trackers on them (that are not necessarily cookie-related). The ISP also tracks.

Many who are concerned about tracking think that by simply using a browser other than Chrome and a search engine other than Google then they are safe from tracking.... far from it.

 

[nburwell]

I was a big time user of Chrome for years. I recently transition backed to Safari across all of my Apple devices. The only time I use Chrome is on my work PC because I hate Internet Explorer with a passion.

 

[justperry]

This doesn't do squat if it doesn't affect webpages themselves. I'd rather continue to use extensions like Dark Reader which actually makes webpages go into dark mode. And for the love of god please google fix the atrocious bookmarks system and pinch to zoom on touchscreens.

Moot point for me anyhow as I won't touch Chrome due to Googles atrocious privacy issues.

See my post #69

Is that a problem? If so, what is the problem?

Yes it is, there's no need to explain, it's obvious.

 

[fishkorp]

Is this in the latest nightly Canary? The list of flags in chrome://flags doesn't show it (unless it's named something not obvious). If it's even hidden from there, anyone have the Terminal command to turn it on? Thanks.


*edit*

/Applications/Chromium.app/Contents/MacOS/Chromium --force-dark-mode

(Or path to Canary if running Canary)

 

[imageWIS]

Because you can't watch Youtube in 4k with Safari.

But you can only watch 1080p Netflix with Safari.

 

[ignatius345]

I've been running ad blockers and tracking blockers for years so I haven't experienced that kind of "stalker" behavior.

As for web tracking in general, the web browser isn't the only point for which we are tracked. Nearly every website has trackers on them (that are not necessarily cookie-related). The ISP also tracks.

Many who are concerned about tracking think that by simply using a browser other than Chrome and a search engine other than Google then they are safe from tracking.... far from it.

Oh, you have 100% been tracked and are being tracked right now. Whether it crosses the threshold of "creepy" is of course a personal thing. Very many of the ads you see are sold "programmatically", which means there are real-time bidding ("RTB") auctions taking place behind the scenes where marketers bid to serve each ad position on the page to you. Your cookies play into that in a big way, of course, but browser fingerprinting is also very real. The tech is incredibly fast and sophisticated, and there are many billions of dollars in play.

We're all giving up privacy just by participating in the modern economy, but that doesn't mean you can't throw a little sand into the machine's gears. Of course, staying off Chrome isn't enough, and all of this is an arms race. Short of using some Tor dark web browser or just going offline, I don't honestly know how one avoids tracking entirely. But staying off Chrome feels like low-hanging fruit to me.

And again, the fact that advertisers cried foul when Safari introduced cross-site tracker blocking -- that makes me want to gravitate toward Safari.
[doublepost=1544459458][/doublepost]

Think you got your tinfoil hat on too tight. Besides, I use it cause it “just works”. Can’t say the same about Safari.

Ah, the good old all-purpose tinfoil hat argument: "if you're worried about something I'm not worried about, you are an insane person."

 

[BaracksPhallusPalace]

Chrome & Google are both garbage that collect and sell your metadata. If you like Chromium based browsers, use Brave or Vivaldi.

 

[Perene]

I noticed an issue when dark mode is activated in browsers:
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...os-mojave-to-ios.2142400/page-2#post-26621186

The issue described happens in my PC (Windows...) and in Safari for iOS.

As described by the previous link some websites don't work properly with it. And so far only Firefox (in iOS) has true dark mode.

 

[ignatius345]

Chrome & Google are both garbage that collect and sell your metadata. If you like Chromium based browsers, use Brave or Vivaldi.

Speaking of Brave, anybody have any experience with the Brave Attention Token thing? I think the idea is to come up with a way besides information-brokering to monetize web content. I don't know much more about it than that, but I'm curious about the idea.

 

[campyguy]

Simple, delete that crap Facebook, job done.
Hmmm
Here's what one said:

Dark Reader is great at what it does, but be aware of permissions issue: As reported by Dark Reader in the Extensions preference pane, it requires full access to webpage contents ("Can read sensitive information from webpages, including passwords, phone numbers, and credit cards on all webpages") and browsing history ("Can see when you visit all webpages"). This should be disclosed prior to purchase.​

Got it. That's why I have a web surfing-only Standard user account which contains only epichrome SSBs specific to certain sites that I frequent - including this one, and I don't sign in with any other account information other than that site's login credentials that don't get used anywhere else. Chrome is installed in that separate Standard user account's Application folder only, which also is not signed in with any credentials. And I use a separate user account for any financial dealings. And email aliases. No cross-linking. No social media accounts. Different user names. 1Password, not used in any user accounts but for the "finance/banking" user account. Quicken/Quickbooks installed in the "finance/banking" user account's Applications folder. Et cetera, ad nauseam. I sandbox the bejesus out of all of my activities...

 

[shareef777]

Oh, you have 100% been tracked and are being tracked right now. Whether it crosses the threshold of "creepy" is of course a personal thing. Very many of the ads you see are sold "programmatically", which means there are real-time bidding ("RTB") auctions taking place behind the scenes where marketers bid to serve each ad position on the page to you. Your cookies play into that in a big way, of course, but browser fingerprinting is also very real. The tech is incredibly fast and sophisticated, and there are many billions of dollars in play.

We're all giving up privacy just by participating in the modern economy, but that doesn't mean you can't throw a little sand into the machine's gears. Of course, staying off Chrome isn't enough, and all of this is an arms race. Short of using some Tor dark web browser or just going offline, I don't honestly know how one avoids tracking entirely. But staying off Chrome feels like low-hanging fruit to me.

And again, the fact that advertisers cried foul when Safari introduced cross-site tracker blocking -- that makes me want to gravitate toward Safari.
[doublepost=1544459458][/doublepost]
Ah, the good old all-purpose tinfoil hat argument: "if you're worried about something I'm not worried about, you are an insane person."

Didn't mean to imply you were insane. Just that as much as I'd love to use Safari only, it simply doesn't work or load websites properly all the time. Where-as every site I visited that loads in Safari loads in Chrome, I can't say the same the other way around. Besides that's not how things work on the internet. The browser is not the one tracking you, it's the sites/servers you visit, and they're doing that regardless of the browser you use. Only way to stop that is to disable cookies, javascript, and basically make your browser worthless for visiting practically the entire internet.

 

[ignatius345]

Didn't mean to imply you were insane. Just that as much as I'd love to use Safari only, it simply doesn't work or load websites properly all the time. Where-as every site I visited that loads in Safari loads in Chrome, I can't say the same the other way around. Besides that's not how things work on the internet. The browser is not the one tracking you, it's the sites/servers you visit, and they're doing that regardless of the browser you use. Only way to stop that is to disable cookies, javascript, and basically make your browser worthless for visiting practically the entire internet.

I keep Chrome around for the same reason, but I use it as a backup. The browser may not exactly be "doing the tracking" but it's a part of the equation for sure. Like I posted before, if the ad tech industry is all up in arms about Safari's blocking cross-site tracking, I'd rather use Safari personally. And I don't think you have to be some unabomber type to want to decrease the amount of data marketers are able to casually hoover up about you.

 

[MoreRumors?]

Chrome is the only one that I like. I tried Safari, Firefox and Edge which I am okay with it. I do like the option of using dark mode.

 

[dogslobber]

Can’t wait to run Microsoft Edge on my Mac. I miss the old days when we could run Mac IE for our pleasure.

 

[persuasiveghost]

Since we're on this subject, does anyone else have chrome freezing issues? I use Chrome for some development learning and I'm just used to it. It freezes incessantly:

-Regardless of how many tabs I have open.
-I'm on 10.14.2 with dark mode.
-I've had this issue on my 2017 MB pro and now my 2018.
-Happens if Im sync'd to my Google account or not.
-I've reinstalled Chrome, deleted Default folder under Library
-Erased all Google related cache on the MB and in the browser.
-I've flushed my DNS cache.
-I have absolutely no extensions and I've turned the plugins option off.
- I reinstalled the OS on my 2017 to no avail.
- Google Chrome helper pops up 6-8 times in activity monitor and sometimes takes up more memory than Chrome itself. (I have the 32gb option)
-I also noticed the helper pop up when trying Vivaldi.
-I tried it with and without Flash installed.

I've scoured the interwebz, Google & Apple forums, and even Stackoverflow - with no luck. So, if any of you masters of the Apple have an idea...pleaseeeeee let me know

​

 

[ipponrg]

I keep Chrome around for the same reason, but I use it as a backup. The browser may not exactly be "doing the tracking" but it's a part of the equation for sure. Like I posted before, if the ad tech industry is all up in arms about Safari's blocking cross-site tracking, I'd rather use Safari personally. And I don't think you have to be some unabomber type to want to decrease the amount of data marketers are able to casually hoover up about you.

Like the previous poster said, if you’re paranoid, just disable JavaScript. Easy and done. It’s the tracking pixels or VPAID/Vast ads that you need to block.

All browsers nowadays can block cross site tracking either via plugins or settings. Your article cherrypicks Safari for some weird reason when Safari is such a small percentage of global users. I am dubious that advertisers truly care about Safari when most of the world is on Chrome/IE.

 

[Jyby]

Science Rules!

 

[spinedoc77]

Simple, delete that crap Facebook, job done.




Hmmm
Here's what one said:





While at the same time selling yourself to Google, why can't people understand this.




Plenty of free alternatives, for instance gasmask or what about pi-hole, or even add them to your host file which is located in /Private/etc/hosts.
So, you have no point.

Interesting, thanks for the food for thought. I may just go back to Microsoft's high contrast themes which is absolutely the BEST dark mode out of ANYONE, I'm just too lazy to flip it on and off. It's a shame because Dark Reader is phenomenal, I wonder if the dev has ever commented on privacy.

Edit: Interesting reading through his comments, looks like he wants us to rely on his honesty..hmmm http://www.gadgeteur.com/2018/11/26/dark-reader-for-safari-aliaksandr-shutau/

https://news.ycombinator.com/vote?id=18600307&how=up&goto=item?id=18599200
alexanderby 7 days ago [-]
Firefox add-ons pass full source code review before the submission after the Stylish incident. Safari extensions also pass manual review, Apple asks developer to send an ID card photo. Not sure about Chrome, you have to simply trust me, the code is not obfuscated and you can always locate the files and see what the extension does in your browser. Google recently announced some security changes https://blog.chromium.org/2018/10/trustworthy-chrome-extensi...
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18599200

 

[ignatius345]

Like the previous poster said, if you’re paranoid

Not "paranoia", mate. Just concern for privacy. Paranoia refers to people obsessing over non-existant things. Are you naïve enough to actually believe marketers don't follow you from site to site?

just disable JavaScript. Easy and done. It’s the tracking pixels or VPAID/Vast ads that you need to block.

Yeah except I still want the web to, you know, actually function.

All browsers nowadays can block cross site tracking either via plugins or settings. Your article cherrypicks Safari for some weird reason when Safari is such a small percentage of global users. I am dubious that advertisers truly care about Safari when most of the world is on Chrome/IE.

Yeah, I don't know, they felt bugged about it enough band together and complain to Apple. And plugins? The vast majority of users don't know or care to nerd out and install plugins. But if the browser default is to prevent cross-site tracking, that matters.

Of course I'm not saying Safari is the only browser with good privacy controls -- but it's the native browser on all iOS devices. You don't think marketers care about the browser the most affluent tier of consumers use on mobile?

 

[travelsheep]

How come you haven’t updated to Mojave?

Late adopter here. Don't want to deal with software problems. Waiting to be some stable releases in. Maybe Update 3 or 4 will be ok.

 

[ipponrg]

ot "paranoia", mate. Just concern for privacy. Paranoia refers to people obsessing over non-existant things. Are you naïve enough to actually believe marketers don't follow you from site to site?

Privacy is overblown. Paranoia on these forums refer to people who don't understand how ad technology works and put a blanket system that they are getting "tracked".

Considering I work and integrate with ad providers directly including SpotXChange, Free Wheel, DFP, etc, yeah you are more than paranoid. The cookies and tracking pixels are what you need to worry the most about. You don't want to be tracked? It's quite simple.

1. Don't log into Google.
2. Disable cookies entirely.
3. Don't log into any website so cookies and pixels can be cross referenced or proxied.
4. If even more paranoid, run Incognito each and every time.
5. Still paranoid? Run Wireshark or Charles and monitor the output of your network traffic from your browser. Please share where you're getting tracked.

If you think the Google Chrome app is tracking you despite all this AND disabling tracking in its settings, feel free to go to Safari and not waste your time posting in this thread.

Yeah except I still want the web to, you know, actually function.

JavaScript at its core just like PHP is susceptible to abuse and exploits if people who code websites don't know how to block their holes. Some of the more annoying exploits actually happen on Safari. If you are complaining about privacy but have JavaScript enabled, then it's an oxymoron.

Yeah, I don't know, they felt bugged about it enough band together and complain to Apple. And plugins? The vast majority of users don't know or care to nerd out and install plugins. But if the browser default is to prevent cross-site tracking, that matters.

I guarantee you through proxying, I can still do cross-site tracking with referrals. The browser default only mitigates the default behavior, but companies/people that do cross-site tracking already have proxy servers set up so that they can continue to skirt around this if they wanted to. Obviously this comes at a cost from a server upkeep, but if they want to "identify" you, they can.

Of course I'm not saying Safari is the only browser with good privacy controls -- but it's the native browser on all iOS devices. You don't think marketers care about the browser the most affluent tier of consumers use on mobile?

Native sure. Most used on mobile? No. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_share_of_web_browsers

It's the same principle of why there are less viruses on MacOS vs Windows. Numbers. If Macs were safe from all exploits, you wouldn't have JAMF and other IT services encouraging antivirus on Macs.

 

[ignatius345]

Privacy is overblown.

I stopped reading right here. Good luck to you.

 

[ipponrg]

I stopped reading right here. Good luck to you.

Congratulations. Thanks for proving your lack of technical comprehension of how ad tracking works in the first place. Good luck in your endeavors in avoiding incognito social engineering tactics from "pro-privacy" companies.

 

[ignatius345]

Congratulations. Thanks for proving your lack of technical comprehension of how ad tracking works in the first place. Good luck in your endeavors in avoiding incognito social engineering tactics from "pro-privacy" companies.

Wow. Sounds like someone's getting a little testy and personal. You up past your bedtime, lil guy?

 

[ipponrg]

I don't need to know the ins and outs of ad tracking to know it's creepy dude. I have better things to do with my time. Now kindly eff off, yeah?

I think you got a problem, and you need to look at the mirror to see it. If you don't want to engage in a conversation because you dislike a few words, then you have free will to stop replying.

And yeah, you should know the ins and outs of ad tracking to understand when you're safe and when you're not. You might be part of the herd where not knowing makes you feel private. If you don't feel like that's worth your time, then privacy must not be as important to you as you seem to think it is.