Google Fixing Chrome API To Prevent Incognito Mode Detection (bleepingcomputer.com)

AmiMoJo writes: When browsing the web with Google Chrome, some sites are using a method to determine if a visitor is in a regular browsing session or in incognito mode. As this can be considered a breach of privacy, Google will be changing how a particular API works so that web sites can no longer utilize this technique.

Chrome supports the FileSystem API, which allows sites to create a virtual file system that lives within the sandbox of the browser. This allows sites that utilize large assets, such as online games, to download these assets to a virtual file system so that they do not have to download them each time they are needed. Currently the FileSystem API is not available in incognito sessions, because it leaves files behind and could be considered a privacy risk. Currently the API doesn't work in incognito mode, offering sites a way to check for it. In a Chrome Gerrit post started this week and updated earlier this morning, Google has stated that they are changing the FileSystem API so that it can be used in incognito mode, without the risks to privacy.

Comments

Does not compute

[AmiMoJo]

This story makes no sense. Slashdot assures me that Google is evil and hates privacy, yet here they are doing something to improve privacy.

It makes about as much sense as that time they tried to ban ad-blocking by introducing a new high performance ad-blocking API built right into the browser, and then listened to feedback and decided to keep the old one around for good measure, even though they hate ad-blockers and live for ads.

Can someone explain this latest move, preferably with an outlandish conspiracy theory about how Google is secretly taking over the entire internet and all this privacy/ad-blocking stuff is just to drive all rivals out of business so they can get to the anti-trust break-up stage as quickly as possible.