I’m wondering how long it will be before Google will abandon further development on the Chrome browser and it’s underlying Blink rendering engine?
A major purpose of Chrome for Google is to report lots of data to Google about the user and where the user goes. In an increasingly privacy minded world I don’t see how Google is going to be allowed by regulators to continue that behavior. And if they can’t keep collecting data on you, I don’t see any incentive for Google to continue to pour resources into the browser.
Likewise Blink, Chrome’s rendering engine. Sure Blink is open sourced, but don’t be fooled, the driving development and leadership is coming from Google. If Google quits sponsoring Blink, development, code fixes, tweaks and the like will slow and this will effect not only Chrome but also downstream browsers that also use Blink (because it’s open source) such as MS Edge, Brave, Vivaldi and a host of others. I can’t help but think that all the downstream browsers have at least thought about this worry and maybe talked about it in private.
It’s not just privacy, it’s also about monopoly - how deeply Google has embedded themselves into every aspect of the consumer being online in 2019. Chrome is just a part of this which includes: Android, Google Search, Google ads and cookies, Gmail, Calendar, Youtube - all being dominate in their sectors and all reporting on you back to Google. I just can’t see EU or even US regulators allowing this all to remain under Google’s control and I think Google may be forced to expend Chrome and Blink at some point.
