How to Privacy Audit Your Chrome Browser in 10 Minutes

You don't need hours to make Chrome more private. Ten minutes and the steps below cover the settings that matter most. Open Chrome's Settings (three-dot menu → Settings) and work through them in order.

Minute 1: run Safety Check

Go to Privacy and security → Safety Check. It looks for Chrome updates, leaked saved passwords, harmful extensions and site permissions you haven't used in a while. Fix anything it flags.

Minutes 2-3: cookies and site data

• Under Privacy and security → Third-party cookies, choose to block third-party cookies.
• Consider turning on deleting site data when you close all windows, if you don't mind signing in again.

Minutes 3-5: site permissions

Go to Privacy and security → Site settings. Check which sites can use your:

• Location
• Camera and microphone
• Notifications (a common source of spam)
• Clipboard

Remove any you don't recognize or no longer use.

Minutes 5-7: extensions

Open chrome://extensions. Remove anything you don't use. For the rest, click Details and check Site access; change "On all sites" to "On click" or specific sites where possible. See checking an extension before trusting it.

Minute 7: secure connections

• Under Privacy and security → Security, turn on Always use secure connections so Chrome warns before loading unencrypted pages.
• Turn on Use secure DNS, which encrypts the lookups your browser makes for website addresses.

Minutes 8-9: your Google account

• In Settings → You and Google → Sync and Google services, review what's synced and turn off "Make searches and browsing better" if you don't want visited addresses sent to Google.
• At myactivity.google.com, check Web & App Activity, which can include your Chrome history, and set auto-delete.
• At myadcenter.google.com, turn off personalized ads if you prefer.

Minute 10: check for IP leaks

If you use a VPN, WebRTC can reveal your real IP address. Run a leak test, and use WebRTC Privacy Shield to stop it. See WebRTC leak tests.

Going further

Ghost Browser makes random background visits, so the interest profile built from your browsing is less accurate. Repeat this check every few months. For a fuller list, see the complete Chrome privacy checklist.