Chrome 152 keeps Google's data after a full wipe

Chrome 152 keeps a google.com entry in its site-data list after a full wipe, a fresh search, and a restart, according to Jeff Johnson's test published September 5. The browser's "delete site data on close" setting exists to make that outcome impossible, on any domain, once the last window shuts.

Johnson's steps were plain: clear all site data, run one Google search, close every Chrome window, then check chrome://settings/content/all. The entry for google.com is still listed. It survives a full browser restart, even with the delete-on-close toggle on, in Chrome 152.0.7977.83 for macOS, per Johnson's test.

Johnson says he caught a similar exemption for Google six years ago, and Google fixed it. He reads this one as a QA failure rather than a deliberate carve-out. He'd still rather have an explanation than be right about that.

The writeup doesn't say whether Windows or Linux builds behave the same way. It doesn't say if the exemption is specific to build 152.0.7977.83, or if other Google domains get the same pass. It doesn't say if Google has responded.