[soulofmischief]

If that were really their motive, a better strategy would be making user agent string customization a first-class feature.

[fiddlerwoaroof]

No, because approximately nobody would customize it.

[soulofmischief]

Then generalize it by default. I just can't buy that Google really has this motive when they simultaneously are introducing WEI.

[fiddlerwoaroof]

I think it’s a mistake to assume consistent intentions from a company as big as Google and a product as big as Chrome

[soulofmischief]

Yes, you shouldn't assume consistent intentions from a behemoth like Google. However, in large and fragmented companies, leadership's moral compass often faces numerous pressures, and on average will trend downward in an economic system with perverse incentives such as the one we have today.

[hedora]

They could also use the user agent: "", or omit the http header entirely.

[eru]

You can already do that with extension, can't you?

[soulofmischief]

An extension isn't first-class support, first-class means supported directly in the browser and easily discoverable.