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I am using Ubuntu 17.04 and Chromium browser. I just noticed that in my Google account permission page, I had given full access to Ubuntu. I never did that. So I revoked it. When I did that, I noticed my Chromium browser and all my gmail tabs were signed out. When I signed in again, Ubuntu has gained full access to my account.

Therefore, I installed Google Chrome. when I did that, I resolved this problem.

I installed Chromium browser by typing in 

sudo apt-get install chromium-browser

Here is a screenshot to prove my statement.

It is ridiculous if Ubuntu has actually gained full access to my Google account. I did not authorize it and it seems very unethical of Canonical to do it. But may be this some mistake of mine. If so, I apologise for my statement. Either way, I would like to know what is the reason for this to happen with Chromium but not with Google Chrome browser.

Appreciate your valuable time.

My Chromium version Version : 58.0.3029.96 Built on Ubuntu , running on Ubuntu 17.04 (64-bit) My Google Chrome version Version 58.0.3029.110 (64-bit)

Zanna
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Denis
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    Is it possible that the chromium browser just named itself ubuntu in the dashboard there? I see no reason that Ubuntu would want access to your google account. – brndn2k May 16 '17 at 01:45
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    possible. But why would chromium browser do that? if so, can we consider it a bug? – Denis May 16 '17 at 02:00
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    Jutst wondering if this question is out of scope of this forum. – Denis May 18 '17 at 01:02
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    "I did not authorize it" Are you sure? Not even from the previous installation? It is --google- that stores the authentication you gave. Not Ubuntu. Downloading chrome might fix this but have you actually deleted chrome after you gave permissions and tried again to see if it asks for it or just accepts you once gave permission? You actually need to revoke your permission. "When I signed in again" = giving permission. – Rinzwind May 18 '17 at 09:54
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    "Ubuntu 17.04 Chromium Browser quietly provides full access to Google account" If this is true the EFF (https://www.eff.org/ ) would be -all- over this and those people are not the quiet types. They would make sure it is covered in all media. So I doubt it was "quietly". – Rinzwind May 18 '17 at 09:56
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    I doubt it as "quietly" as Rinzwind has said already. These authentication works with real person consciously giving permission. If you're uneasy with it, don't give it. That simple! – Anwar May 18 '17 at 12:25
  • I hope somebody can report this to EFF. Or how do I do that? – Denis May 18 '17 at 16:48
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    Just wanted to say that I just noticed this today on my own Google account. Pretty creepy... – phil Aug 02 '17 at 13:15
  • Yes it is. It can be dangerous too right? – Denis Aug 10 '17 at 17:39
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    I can confirm this. The same issue. By the way, the real Ubuntu connection to the Google Account shows Ubuntu icon. I have done it to check and it's different from the one used for Chromium. –  Aug 29 '17 at 20:09
  • Dear Zanna, cl-netbox, karel, Eric Carvalho, Fabby, this question was asked 7 months ago. The question you guys are pointing at was asked very recently. Is this the duplicate question you must flag? – Denis Jan 06 '18 at 07:22
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    Me too. This is weird. Even if it's just the Chrome browser, I don't see why they'd need *full* access to my Google account. Windows doesn't do this. – Abhimanyu Pallavi Sudhir Jul 14 '18 at 17:11
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    Yes. For some weird reason, the question is marked duplicate with a question that was asked later. Im thinking if some admins on are losing sense. – Denis Jul 18 '18 at 06:15
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    Put a stop to it: https://askubuntu.com/a/1132825/256054 – Lonnie Best Apr 10 '19 at 21:25

1 Answers1

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It seems you have downloaded and installed Chromium browser from the Ubuntu repos. The worst case is that it is possible that Ubuntu may have provided you with a malicious code at that point which would provide Ubuntu full access to your Google account. It is best if you can download Chromium from the Chromium project itself and then install the same on your PC.

This may also be a mistake by the Chromium team. They may have renamed their software as Ubuntu. But I do not understand why such a mistake would be done.

Either Case, if I were you, I would be very worried about what happened provided your screenshots are true.

Joe
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