Chrome 76 hits the stable channel on July 30. This latest release brings some serious changes to the web. Flash is now disabled by default, and websites won’t be able to detect whether you’re using incognito mode.
Flash Is Disabled by Default
Google Chrome now blocks Adobe Flash by default on all websites. You can re-enable Flash, but you can only use Flash in click-to-play mode. You’ll also see a warning that Chrome won’t support the Flash Player after December 2020.
Adobe will also stop supporting Flash starting in 2021, so it’s a sensible move for Google. Until then, you can still use Flash—but Google is making it extra annoying to encourage websites to upgrade and move away from Flash.
Websites Can’t Detect Incognito Mode
Sites could detect you’re in incognito mode by making a FIleSystem API request, which is disabled in incognito mode. Some websites use this trick to block visitors who are in incognito mode, as incognito mode is a common way of bypassing paywalls on the web. But Google is closing this loophole.
For example, some news sites like The New York Times limit the number of articles you read and block you from reading in incognito mode to prevent you from getting around that. Websites will no longer be able to detect and block incognito mode specifically.
Google says it’s fine with websites offering a limited number of articles, but recommends they require readers to log in. Blocking incognito mode is off the table, and Google won’t let it happen.
Some researchers have already found a way around the block, so the game of cat and mouse is well underway. But Google will keep on stamping out loopholes.
Chrome Incognito mode has been detectable for years, due to the FileSystem API implementation. As of Chrome 76, this is fixed.
Apologies to the “detect private mode” scripts out there. 💐 pic.twitter.com/3LWFXQyy7wRead the remaining 21 paragraphs
