Google Chrome Tests Visible Global Privacy Control Toggle in Canary
Google is testing a visible toggle for Global Privacy Control (GPC) inside Chrome Canary. The control lets users send a single request asking websites not to sell or share personal data and not to use it for targeted advertising.
When the toggle is enabled, the browser automatically adds the Sec-GPC: 1 header to outgoing web requests and exposes the corresponding value through the navigator.globalPrivacyControl JavaScript property. In jurisdictions with compatible legislation, such as California’s CCPA, this signal can be treated as a formal “Do Not Sell or Share” opt-out.
The new switch appears in the privacy section of Chrome Canary, primarily on Android. Experimental flags also exist for Windows, macOS, Linux, and ChromeOS, although the desktop user interface is not yet fully implemented.
During testing, researchers discovered that two separate flags must be activated: one to display the toggle and another (Force Global Privacy Control Signal) to actually transmit Sec-GPC: 1. Simply enabling the visible button is insufficient.
Even after full activation, GPC remains a request rather than an enforceable command. Websites determine their own response, and real-world impact depends on both technical support for the standard and the legal requirements of each region.
The feature is not yet present in the stable version of Google Chrome and its final behavior may still change before wider release.
Related articles
CookieTin Extension Manages Partitioned Cookies Across Firefox, Chrome and Edge
Developer Perruer2 has released CookieTin, an open-source browser extension that fully supports partitioned cookies under Firefox Total Cookie Protection and Chrome CHIPS. The tool addresses limitations in older managers like Cookie Quick Manager by correctly retrieving and deleting cookies stored with partitionKey values. It works across Firefox, Chrome and Edge using a single Manifest V3 codebase written in TypeScript and Preact. Key features include accurate cookies.txt export compatible with curl and yt-dlp, protected cookies that survive explicit deletion, and pre-save validation of browser rules for __Host- prefixes and SameSite attributes. E2E tests using Puppeteer verify handling of HttpOnly, partitioned and container cookies in all three browsers.
Kaspersky Premium for macOS Gains App Uninstall Feature to Remove Residual Files
Kaspersky Premium now includes an App Uninstall tool for macOS that locates and deletes leftover files such as caches, cookies, settings, and logs after applications are removed. The feature also identifies duplicate copies of programs and lets users remove all instances or select specific ones while preserving shared components used by other software. Survey data from Kaspersky shows that only 44 percent of macOS users delete unused applications, even though 56 percent regularly clear browser data and 54 percent remove unwanted media files. Residual files can contain sensitive information including account tokens, passwords, IP addresses, event logs, and personal documents, creating privacy risks especially when a device is sold or accessed by unauthorized parties. Deleted files can be restored from the trash or directly within Kaspersky Premium before the application session ends. The company also warns that malicious programs are frequently disguised as legitimate macOS cleaning utilities.
Bypassing VPN Detection on iPhone: Detailed Methods to Avoid App Blocks
Many iPhone users encounter apps that detect and block active VPN connections even after switching servers or protocols. The detection often occurs locally on the device by inspecting network interfaces rather than relying solely on external IP addresses. This guide explains how apps identify VPN tunnels through iOS network data and provides practical workarounds including moving the VPN to a router, configuring per-app exclusions, and using web versions of services. It also covers why protocol obfuscation and port changes fail to hide local VPN activity from applications. Additional troubleshooting addresses automatic VPN profiles, ad blockers, and iCloud Private Relay interference. The article emphasizes that no universal toggle exists in iOS to hide an active VPN from all apps.
New Obfuscation Method Dissolves Personal Data Records in Layer of Plausible Variants
A Russian information security researcher has proposed a data protection technique that renders stolen personal records unusable even after full compromise. The approach mixes real data such as phone numbers, emails, passports, addresses, INN and SNILS with vast numbers of semantically valid alternatives. Attackers receive nearly complete information including a 361-character message containing PIN codes and word order, yet lack the secret vector space and reconstruction algorithm required to identify the correct record. Without these components, brute-force attempts produce millions of plausible results with no architectural method to verify accuracy. The method is presented as an alternative to traditional encryption when data must remain accessible yet protected against extraction. A public sandbox is available for testing the approach.