Is Google Chrome a Trojan horse?

While internet giant Google has continued to offer popular tools such as Google Maps, Google Docs, Google News and Picasa, some are questioning the group’s invasion of privacy.

The latest in the firing line is web browser Chrome, which some say is providing Google private information about users that should not be revealed.

Jeff Chester, the executive director the Centre for Digital Democracy, told The Age he is concerned about Google’s use of collecting data through internet searches, which are then kept by the company.

“The way Google has fashioned Chrome, it’s a digital Trojan horse to collect even more masses of consumer data for Google’s digital advertising business.”

A Consumer Watchdog letter claimed it had “serious privacy concerns” about the browser. “The company is literally having this unnoticed conversation with itself about you and your information,” Consumer Watchdog president Jamie Court says.

But Brian Rakowski, product manager for Chrome, says no user should have fears over their privacy.

“There was some concern that, given a very naive way of how browsers work, you may think, ‘now I’m using a Google browser, Google must know everything on their servers about me’,” he says. “But we’re really (collecting) the bare minimum we can to provide that service.”