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Google Chrome ships a default, hidden extension that allows code on *.google.com access to private APIs, including your current CPU usage (fedi.simonwillison.net)

submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by Andromxda@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/technology@lemmy.world

199 comments fedilink hide all child comments

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/23752739

https://simonwillison.net/2024/Jul/9/hangout_servicesthunkjs/

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[–] hendrik@palaver.p3x.de 7 points 4 months ago (1 children)

LibreWolf, Mull, Chromium, ...

[–] wanderingmagus@lemm.ee 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

It's apparently built into chromium

[–] hendrik@palaver.p3x.de 1 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

executing that command from the post returns the following on my Chromium:

VM68:1 Uncaught TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'sendMessage')
    at [HTML_REMOVED]:1:16
(anonymous) @ VM68:1

[–] wanderingmagus@lemm.ee 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

It turns out Google Chrome (via Chromium) includes a default extension which makes extra services available to code running on the *.google.com domains - tweeted about today by Luca Casonato, but the code has been there in the public repo since October 2013 as far as I can tell.

It looks like it's a way to let Google Hangouts (or presumably its modern predecessors) get additional information from the browser, including the current load on the user's CPU. Update: On Hacker News a Googler confirms that the Google Meet "troubleshooting" feature uses this to review CPU utilization

The code doesn't do anything on non-Google domains.

Maybe it's because you tried it on a non Google site? Idk.

[–] hendrik@palaver.p3x.de 3 points 4 months ago

Hehe, I read that sentence, tried it on google.com

But forget what I said. I have the ungoogled variant of Chromium installed. No wonder that's not in there...