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An Antidote to Corporate Media
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510
Patrick
2026 Jan 18, 12:53pm
Patrick
2026 Jan 18, 12:53pm
I sometimes get notified of javascript errors on patrick.net, which led me to the discovery that Google Chrome always injects Google javascript onto every page you visit, without your permission or knowledge.
That javascript can spy on everything you do, alter the contents of the page, and slurp up every password you enter:
That javascript can spy on everything you do, alter the contents of the page, and slurp up every password you enter:
__gCrWeb is an internal JavaScript object (and namespace) injected directly by Google Chrome on iOS (Chrome for iPhone/iPad) into every webpage that users visit using that browser.
Chrome on iOS is built on Apple's WebKit engine (the same as Safari), not Chromium's full Blink engine, due to App Store rules.
To provide Chrome-specific features (especially autofill, password management, form filling from synced desktop Chrome data, and some other iOS-specific integrations), Google injects a small JavaScript bridge/script into the page.
This script creates a global object called __gCrWeb (the "gCr" likely stands for "Google Chrome").
The injection happens client-side in the browser — your server never sends this code, and it won't appear if you fetch the page with curl, in Safari, Firefox, desktop Chrome, or other non-iOS-Chrome browsers.
512
Patrick
2026 Jan 18, 4:22pm
Patrick
2026 Jan 18, 4:22pm
Pretty sure Brave does not do that, because I never see __gCrWeb from Brave.
I use Brave myself.
I use Brave myself.
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To view my work calendar on my phone i have to add that account, so google knows my phone now too.
Even viewing a youtube video at work i noticed that they have me logged in to youtube (which google owns). if i log out, i can't read my email...
Google is the worst thing ever to happen to privacy.