They’re back. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Mozilla’s Firefox lost some users with the debut of Google’s Chrome browser, but they are returning. Just three weeks after its launch, Chrome is seen as not so polished and is losing some users, according to Net Applications, an Internet tracking company.
Net Applications tracked 40,000 sites and found that Chrome made up .77 percent of the browsers visiting the sites, down from .85 percent last week. And down substantially from 1.4 percent in the first week of its release, according to Nielsen Online.
Chrome’s numbers, like those of Mozilla’s Firefox and Apple’s Safari, increase after working hours and then fall as employees hit their desks the next day.
When Chrome debuted on Sept. 2, Google described it as a browser that “combines a minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the Web faster, safer and easier.”
Web browsers, which were developed before there was a demand for video and music content, are evolving. Google wanted to be part of that evolution and set out to give users a faster and secure browser, but instead was hit with concerns from privacy advocates.
Just days after its launch, privacy advocates were warning users about Chrome. They said keystrokes were being collected with the browser’s auto-suggest feature.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Electronics Privacy Information Center cited Chrome’s Omnibox, which collects and stores user data on its servers. One way around that is by turning off the auto-suggest feature or using a search engine other than Google.
To address the situation, Google began anonymizing its data on Sept. 12. But Google may need to do more to make Chrome shine.
A report Tuesday from Net Applications showed Internet Explorer commanded 72.15 percent of the browser market, Firefox followed with nearly 20 percent, and…