Apple Warns Millions Of iPhone Users—Stop Using Google Chrome

We all know relationships can be complicated, but few are as complicated as the relationship between Apple and Google. Scary new offensive ad Google — with a clear message to its 1.4 billion users — stop using Chrome on your iPhone.

So why now? Google is moving Safari users to Chrome. It currently relies on Safari to route most search queries from iPhones — thanks to profitable financial arrangement In fact, Google is now working on a plan B. With Google in the US, this arrangement may soon be eroded by various antitrust investigations in the US and Europe. That’s why Google is now working on a plan B.

Chrome has a 30% install rate among iPhone users — and Google’s goal is to increase that to 50%, Bringing another 300 million iPhone users into its data tentApple clearly wants to prevent this from happening. Those 300 million pairs of eyes generate huge revenue online, and as search is transformed by the introduction of artificial intelligence on devices, it will become a battleground between customer retention and conversion.

That’s why you’ve probably seen Apple’s Safari privacy billboards popping up in the city you live in. What started Local Campaign in San Francisco It’s now universal. And while the ads don’t mention Chrome, they don’t need to. Nothing else matters. Between them, Safari and Chrome have the advantage. greater than 90% Huge market share in mobile devices. On iPhone, the competition is fierce.

Privacy is the weak point of Chrome. Tracking cookies remainWith plans to phase it out already on hold as Google navigates an ongoing regulatory minefield, Chrome’s near-total privacy mode is Much less private More than users assumed. In recent days we have seen Warnings Google is collecting device data from Chrome users using a hidden setting that can’t be disabled.

Apple has just upped the ante in this privacy battle with a new video ad that applies Hitchcock’s “The Birds” to smartphone privacy. It’s powerful, memorable, and its message is clear: If you don’t want to be watched online, use Safari. In simple terms, if you don’t want to be watched online, don’t use Google Chrome.

When The Birds was released in the 1960s, it was shocking and scary. Its message was that there was a threat that we couldn’t see, but that was everywhere. As one character in the film said, “Who are you? What are you? Where did you come from? I think you’re the cause of all this. I think you’re evil.”

While there are suggestions in the video that this could be aimed at Android users to lure them to the iPhone, that’s not really the point here. It’s unlikely that any user would abandon Android for a different browser, no matter how strong the ad. The goal is to keep iPhone users inside Apple’s walled garden. But even then, it may not be that simple.

The stark reality for Apple is that its users prefer to search on Google. Apple itself has reportedly found this to be better than the alternatives. This echoes Apple’s decision to abandon Google Maps a few years ago and then have to backtrack. We can assume that even if Google is dropped as the default search in Safari, users will be able to set it manually.

The question here is, will Google introduce advanced AI search features on Chrome that aren’t available anywhere else? We know that such moves have been considered but have been rejected for now. But this browser battleground is just beginning, and Safari’s 300 million users are still Apple’s for now. Stay tuned for that event…