Google Chrome’s Incognito mode isn’t necessarily as private as it might sound, but for years, users could be forgiven for thinking otherwise. Ahead of a pending $5 billion class action lawsuit settlement, Google is beginning to clarify its data usage policies to highlight the ways it and others may still monitor your internet activity—even while in Incognito.
As first spotted by MSPowerUser earlier this week, Google has quietly updated Incognito’s start page in Chrome’s developer channel, Canary. Many Chrome changes are first tested through Canary, implying a public Incognito update is likely forthcoming. Incognito’s public disclaimer for users currently reads:
Now you can browse privately, and other people who use this device won’t see your activity. However, downloads, bookmarks, and reading list items will be saved.
Switching to the private browsing tab while in Canary, however, now offers the following message:
Others who use this device won’t see your activity, so you can browse more privately. This won’t change how data is collected by websites you visit and the services they use, including Google. Downloads, bookmarks, and reading list items will be saved.
According to both versions of the start page explainer, websites are still capable of tracking your activity, and your data may remain accessible to your employers, schools, internet service providers, and other third parties.
[Related: Cookies are finally dying. But what comes next?]
A class action lawsuit representing millions of users first filed in 2020 alleged Chrome analytics, cookies, and apps allowed Google’s parent company, Alphabet, to amass an “unaccountable trove of information.” This data potentially included “potentially embarrassing things” from users who believed Incognito offered a more comprehensive private internet browsing. In August 2023, a US District Judge tossed Google’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which was then…
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