Chromebooks have a good reputation for being low-maintenance computers with solid security and privacy. By and large, this is true. It’s why we trust them for use by children and college students, or why some companies like to issue them to employees who only need a basic computer.
However, there’s no such thing as perfect privacy and even Chromebooks have their pitfalls.
Location access by apps and services
Until quite recently, ChromeOS didn’t have a lot of granularity when it comes to controlling whether an app knows your location or not. Unlike Android, your options were pretty much to turn off location services, or let everyone use them. This isn’t an issue on the latest ChromeOS version, as you can see here from the location settings section of Settings on my Chromebook Plus.
If you have a Chromebook that’s out of support, you should check whether its location services are on or not, but even if the global setting is off, it might not affect individual apps. You’ll have to look for a location setting in those apps, and even then there’s no guarantee location tracking for that app is actually blocked.
If you have the latest version of ChromeOS, then you do have the power to control location services on a per-app basis, but you need to go through your list of apps and ensure they’re all set the way you like.
8 Tips to Keep Your Chromebook Secure
Arm yourself with these essential Chromebook security practices to keep your data safe from prying eyes.
Device visibility in Nearby Share / Quick Share
Nearby or Quick Share is a wonderful feature similar to Apple’s AirDrop that lets you easily send files between Chromebooks, Android phones, and anything else that supports the standard. However, just like AirDrop, there are privacy concerns when it comes to your visibility settings.
Default visibility may be set to “Contacts”—which is safe enough—but “everyone” is a bad idea unless you have some reason not to add someone to your contacts before exchanging files. In fact, while I was writing this, I noticed that my Chromebook Plus doesn’t even have the “Everyone” setting anymore, now only showing “Contacts”,”My devices”, and “Hidden”.
In my case, “My devices” was the default and I actually think that’s the best setting for most people. On paper “My contacts” might seem safe, but there are an enormous number of people listed in my contacts from years of Gmail interactions. So it doesn’t feel very safe at all, and I don’t know when I’ll have time to audit that list using the “Manage Contacts” option.
8 Chromebook Misconceptions That Are Completely False
Don’t fall for these common Chromebook myths!
Background Sync and Google account data collection
As much as Chromebooks are marketed as secure and private, there’s a baseline level of data collection that happens the moment you log into your Google account. Which, on a Chromebook, isn’t really optional. Web & App Activity, Location History, YouTube tracking, device data syncing, and more are happening on your Chromebook. Even if you’re not explicitly aware of it.
Unfortunately, it’s not possible to disable all data collection by Google on your Chromebook. However, you can disable some stuff by going to “Send diagnostic and usage data” as well as “Get content recommendations”, which are both under “Privacy controls” in the Privacy and Security section of Settings.
Apart from toggling these options off, the per-app permissions I already mentioned are relevant too. Disable anything that relates to tracking you, unless you want it for a specific reason.
Features that leave sensors active
Some Chromebooks (not mine, sadly) have a feature where the camera watches you and will automatically lock the computer when you leave. This is pretty handy for students or people who are just forgetful about locking their computers when they leave for lunch or to go to the bathroom. However, if you can manage to remember to lock your Chromebook manually (Search/Launcher/Everything button + L), then it’s much better for your privacy to disable this feature. If your Chromebook webcam has a privacy shutter, go ahead and engage that too, while you’re at it.
Likewise, on some Chromebooks, you can activate the “Hey Google” feature to access Google Assistant with your voice. However, I think that on a laptop device where you have a key that brings up a universal menu for quick access, there’s no need to have your microphone on all the time. At least, it feels less necessary compared to a smartphone that you might often be using hands-free.
Permission creep
The last easy trap to fall into is permission creep. You can’t just audit your app and OS permissions once on your Chromebook and then assume it’s all good in perpetuity. Every time an app updates, or you install a new app, or there’s been a ChromeOS update, it’s a good idea to check if apps have the right access.
If an app without a need for your camera or microphone has those permissions, take them away. If they somehow come back, consider removing the app. Either way, privacy and security isn’t something you do, it’s how you live and starting with the Chromebook in front of you is a fine way to get into that mindspace.
6/10
- Operating System
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ChromeOS
- CPU
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Intel Core i3-1315U 6-Core 1.2GHz
- GPU
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Intel UHD Graphics
- RAM
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8 GB
