"Study Ranks the Privacy of Major Browsers"

Doug Leith, a computer scientist at Trinity College Dublin, recently published a study titled "Web Browser Privacy: What Do Browsers Say When They Phone Home?". The study compares the privacy provided by Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Brave, Edge, and Yandex. Leith conducted the study by examining the browsers' exchange of data, including unique identifiers and details related to typed URLs with backend servers. Data such as identifiers tied to device hardware, details of sites visited through the autocomplete function, hashed MAC addresses, and more, could be used to track users. Device identifiers raise the most concern as users cannot easily change or reset them. The examination resulted in Microsoft Edge and Yandex receiving the lowest privacy rating, and Brave getting the highest ranking. Chrome, Firefox, and Safari received a medium ranking. This article continues to discuss the transmission of unique identifiers to backend servers, browser syncing, how browsers ranked regarding privacy, and how officials have responded to the findings of this study. 

Ars Technica reports "Study Ranks the Privacy of Major Browsers"