Google Chrome to remove detailed cookie and site data controls

A month ago I ran into an obscure Google Chrome bug on macOS that caused the "All cookies and site data" page in Chrome settings ... Articlesindex GoogleChrometoremovedetailedcookieandsitedatacontrols September32021byJeffJohnson Supportthisblog:StopTheMadness,TweaksforTwitter,LinkUnshortener,PayPal.Me AmonthagoIranintoanobscureGoogleChromebugonmacOSthatcausedthe"Allcookiesandsitedata"pageinChromesettings(chrome://settings/siteData)toloadveryslowly.YoucanseethispageifyouopenPreferences,select"Privacyandsecurity","Cookiesandothersitedata",andthen"Seeallcookiesandsitedata".IfiledabugreportwithChromium'sissuetracker.Sincethen,somemembersoftheChromiumteamhavebeentryingtotrackdownthecauseofthebug,anormalandboringprocess.However,thisweekIgotanupdateontheissuethatwasshockingtome: weareplanningondeprecatingthatpageandmakingchrome://settings/content/alltheplacetomanagestorage Youcanseewhythisisabigchangeifwecomparethetwopages.First,here'sascreenshotofthecurrentpagechrome://settings/siteData Ifyouclickthedisclosuretriangleforoneoftheentries,youseedetailedinformationabouttheeachcookieandeachkindofsitedata.Therearealso"X"buttonstodeleteeachcookieorsitedatastorageindividually. Nowlet'slookatascreenshotofthenewpagechrome://settings/content/all Ifyouclickthedisclosuretriangleforoneoftheentries,yousee…well,basicallynothingaboutthesitedata.Andtherearenodeletebuttonsforindividualcookies.Theonlybuttonis"Cleardata",anallornothingoption. It'sdifficulttodetermineGoogle'smotivationforthischange.Inmybugreportthere'sareferencetoanotherissueConsolidatedSiteStoragecontrolsimplementationbug,whichisnotmuchmorethanareferencetosomegitcommits.Itsfirstcommentis"ImplementationbugforIssue1238756".ButIssue1238756seemstobeprivateandinaccessibletome.AsfarasIknow,there'sbeennopublicdiscussionofthischange,andGoogleemployeesmayhaveaccidentallyleakedtheinformationtomeinmyinnocuousbugreport. Inmyopinion,thischangeisveryunwelcome.Ittakesawayalotofinformationandcontrolfromtheuser.Forwhatbenefit?IhopetospurapublicdebateaboutitandgivesomepushbacktoGooglebeforetheymaketoomuch"progress"onthechangeinChrome. Bytheway,beforeanyonerunsoffandyells"SwitchtoSafari"orsomethinglikethat,keepinmindthatSafariisactuallyinaworsestateanddoesn'thavedetailedcookieandsiteinformationatall. Appletoooftentakestheapproachofhidingimportantcontrolsandinformationfromusers.It'sunfortunatethatGoogleintendstogodownthatpathtoo. Addendum Letmeaddressafewcommentsalreadyappearingontheorangesite: ThisinformationcanbeseenwiththewebinspectorinbothChromeandSafari.Yes,butthecrucialdifferenceisthatyouhavetonavigatetoanindividualsiteinabrowserwindowinordertoseethesitedatainthewebinspector.WhereasinthePreferences,youcangettothesitedata,foreverywebsite,withouthavingtoloadthesites.Andremember,theveryactofloadingasitecanmakethesitedatachange,sothere'san"observereffect"ifyoutrytoexamineordeleteitinthewebinspector. "Seemsreasonable.Ifyouwantdetailedinformationaboutthecontentsofindividualcookiesthat'swhatdevelopertoolsarefor.Asimple"cleardata"buttonseemsfarmoreusablefornormalusers."Ifyoulookatmyfirstscreenshot,there'sa"trash"buttonthatdeletesallthesite'sdata,soit'salreadyusablefornormalusers.Youdon'tseemoredetailedinformationunlessyouusethedisclosurewidget. Supportthisblog:StopTheMadness,TweaksforTwitter,LinkUnshortener,PayPal.Me Articlesindex