Apple appears ready to monitor when Google pushes Chrome or its app to Safari users and observe user reactions. Below are the specifics.
Safari could soon log Google promotion activity
Since the iOS 27.2 beta 2 release, Apple has been experimenting with Safari code that can spot Google banners advertising Chrome or its app on search pages and record user interaction with them.
This doesn’t guarantee the feature will launch with the final iOS 27.2, but it shows Apple is testing a method to gauge how frequently Google markets its apps to Safari users and the resulting user responses.
The motive behind Apple’s test remains uncertain, yet the code arrives during intensified regulatory examination of competition between Safari and other browsers, including user redirection to alternatives like Chrome.
In the United Kingdom, Google has pointed to its Chrome promotion tactics on iPhones as proof of ongoing competition with Safari, while regulators have investigated whether the search deal dampens incentives for browser rivalry.
Similarly, in the European Union Apple must comply with Digital Markets Act rules on browser selection and defaults, and the European Commission has previously probed whether its Safari choice interface adhered to those requirements.
Thus, it is still unclear if Apple plans to gather and utilize this data for its own advantage or as a response to increasing regulatory focus on browser competition.
The code demonstrates that Safari can detect and record these interactions by injecting a JavaScript snippet into selected Google home and search result pages, scanning for visible promotional banners or other elements that prompt users to launch or install Chrome or the Google app.
Safari then searches for links tied to the apps, such as custom URL schemes and App Store identifiers. When a promotion is found, it logs events like banner visibility, user sign‑in status, and interaction, enabling Apple to label the action as accepted or dismissed and record the outcome.
As of iOS 27.2 beta 3 and the Safari 27.2 beta release notes, Apple has not yet made the feature publicly documented.
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