I believe that no information about user actions and behaviors should be recorded by a browser. It does not benefit the user in any way, only Google and advertisers.
Also we should remember that data needs to be stored first before it is aggregated. What happens with information about each single event?
Reviewing aggregated user behavior data is how good UIs get built. It helps us to identify pain points, confusing or misrepresented user paths, poor hierarchy or site structure, poorly indicated calls to action, and many other valuable metrics.
Every positive user experience you've ever had online has been derived from countless hours of studying user behavior, and the larger the source the better it gets.
Also note that aggregated user data is typically anonymous, but there is a lot to be said for keeping it identifiable. Some of the best tools for debugging customer support issues start by recording your clicks so a developer can see exactly what caused an issue, rather than guessing and hoping.
Those things are much more appropriately addressed by targeted usability testing (eg in lab studies) where participants are aware of, accept, and are compensated for being monitored.
Not by mass surveillance.
The perspective expressed, basically that anything is acceptable as a means to optimise "user experience" (most likely so more money can be extracted) verges on unethical and immoral, if the bigger issues of group and individual privacy rights are considered.
Nevertheless, as a web developer you are most likely only gathering stats from your particular web site, which is a different kettle of fish to browsers gathering and aggregating data across many sites.
I'm a web developer, where can I obtain that "aggregated, non-personally identifiable information"? I'm not a publisher or advertiser, just a web developer, possible working in small company.
Really? The browser-maker learning what features people use vs. don't, or what features are fast vs. slow on actual user machines, doesn't benefit the user by getting them a better browser over time?
I would like it if the statistics from Chrome in particular, were sent to Chromium-project servers rather than Google servers, though. Even if only Google's derivative of Chromium is collecting the stats, the Chromium-project staff are who will (theoretically) make the best use of the information so collected; and so it'd be much better for them (as a non-profit org) to steward that data, rather than it ending up owned by Google.
(Yes, yes, a majority of the Chromium-project staff are Google employees; that doesn't change how changing the data's ownership would change what Google thinks it has a right to do with it.)
Lots of Chromium engineers would like to do that too.
It's hard because if (due to a bug) something were not correctly aggregated and anonymized, then their private data would leak to the public.
They are also worried about the non-tech press going through the metrics and making misguided headlines like "Google says 66 percent of Chrome users have been targeted by russian malware, and even more in the USA!"
To add on the user benefit, I am a mobile engineer and we pay a lot of attention to things like what features people use and performances (smoothness).
Again, I don't feel like I am invading anybody's privacy when I look at what all my users are doing in order to help decide what to prioritize.
Also we should remember that data needs to be stored first before it is aggregated. What happens with information about each single event?