Chrome has two built-in tools that most Chromebook owners never open: Safety Check, which scans for weak passwords, risky extensions, and outdated settings, and Privacy Guide, which walks you through your tracking and cookie settings one step at a time. Both live inside Chrome’s settings and take a couple of minutes to run.
Quick answer: Open Chrome, go to Settings > Privacy and security. Click Safety Check and press “Check now” to scan your passwords, extensions, and Safe Browsing status. Click Privacy Guide to step through cookie, history, and ad privacy settings with plain-language explanations at each step.
What Safety Check Actually Looks At
- Saved passwords — flags any that were exposed in a data breach or are weak/reused.
- Safe Browsing status — confirms whether Chrome is actively warning you about dangerous sites.
- Chrome updates — tells you if you’re on the latest version.
- Extensions — flags installed extensions that have been removed from the Chrome Web Store or flagged as malicious.
How to Run Safety Check
- Open Chrome.
- Click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner.
- Select Settings.
- Click Privacy and security in the left menu.
- Click Safety Check, then Check now.
- Review each result. If it flags weak or breached passwords, click through to update them using Google Password Manager.
- If it flags a risky extension, click Remove next to it, or review it manually in Chrome’s extension manager.
How to Run Privacy Guide
- Open Chrome Settings > Privacy and security.
- Click Privacy Guide.
- Step through each screen — it covers Safe Browsing level (Standard vs Enhanced), history sync, cookie settings (block third-party cookies or not), and ad privacy controls (topics, site-suggested ads, ad measurement).
- Pick the option that matches your comfort level at each step. There’s no wrong answer — Privacy Guide just explains what each setting actually does before you choose.
- At the end, you’ll see a summary of the choices you made. You can rerun the guide any time to change your mind.
Most people get real value out of two settings in particular: switching Safe Browsing to Enhanced (it checks URLs in real time against Google’s threat list, catching newer phishing sites faster) and blocking third-party cookies, which cuts down on cross-site tracking without breaking most sites.
Still Concerned About Privacy or Security?
- Suspect a compromised account: change your Google Account password immediately and review your Password Manager for other exposed logins.
- Managed Chromebook (school or work): some Safety Check and Privacy Guide options may be locked or hidden by an admin policy — that’s normal on managed devices, not a bug.
- Want more control over what syncs: see our guide on syncing settings across devices to review exactly what’s being shared.
- Worried about a specific extension: remove anything you don’t recognize — see our full guide on managing Chrome extensions.
FAQ
Does Safety Check cost anything?
No. Both Safety Check and Privacy Guide are free, built into Chrome, and don’t require any additional sign-up.
How often should I run Safety Check?
Chrome runs some checks automatically in the background, but it’s worth manually rerunning Safety Check every few months, or right after a large password breach makes the news.
Will Enhanced Safe Browsing slow down my Chromebook?
No noticeable slowdown. It sends URLs to Google for a real-time check, which uses a small amount of data but doesn’t affect performance.
Can I undo the choices I made in Privacy Guide?
Yes. Every setting Privacy Guide touches is a normal Chrome setting — you can change any of them individually afterward, or just rerun the guide from the start.
