Google Sued As Users Can Still Be Tracked While On Incognito Mode

For many, Google’s Incognito mode is a real life-saver. And lest you’re taking it with a pinch of salt, just read what the many satisfied ‘customers’ of the private web browser have to say about it!

“I used to be secretive,” said RoyalRegaliaxXx. “Real secretive. But Incognito mode has helped me become a more open person, without having to reveal my true identity. Thumbs up!”

“It channels my darkest, deepest desires,” chirped Gunslinger999. “Now I can die in peace without having to worry about the deletion of my search history. Yay.”

“15/10 would bang it,” said SoulBlitz. “I mean, use it.”

And indeed, I frequently use Google’s Incognito mode myself too. Being the owner of a less-than-impressive laptop, Incognito mode saves me the trouble of having to delete Internet cookies and history on a routine basis just to preserve my device’s running speed, thereby leaving me more time to go about work in an absolutely efficient manner.

“Lies,” commented BossIsHereAndHe’sCheckingOnYou. “Your work rate’s so slow even my ah ma can type faster than you. And also, Incognito mode isn’t as private as you think.”

What do you mean?

“Check the following topic out.”

Google Sued As Users Can Still Be Tracked While On Incognito Mode

According to Reuters, Google is currently facing a $5 billion lawsuit over its famed Incognito mode…

And how the ‘private’ web browser was actually tracking users all along.

Filed in the federal court in San Jose, California, the lawsuit accuses the Internet giant of amassing information of what people do online, despite claiming incognito mode is private.

The complaint also alleges that the company gathers data through Google Analytics, Google Ad Manager, and various mobile apps to learn about users’ closest contacts, hobbies, dieting habits and even the “most intimate and potentially embarrassing things” they search for online.

Google “cannot continue to engage in the covert and unauthorized data collection from virtually every American with a computer or phone,” the lawsuit argues. According to the report, the complaint seeks compensation of at least $5,000 per user, for violations of federal wiretapping and California privacy laws.

With millions of people believed to have used the private mode since 1 June 2016, the total sum may equate to at least $5 billion.

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But Google’s not going down without a fight.

“As we clearly state each time you open a new incognito tab, websites might be able to collect information about your browsing activity,” Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda told Reuters.

He added that the company intends to defend itself in court.

This is not the first time Google’s facing such accusations: the Internet giant was previously called out for supposedly “personalising search results in Incognito mode” by rival DuckDuckGo.

Skeptics and researchers have also long been warning users about the pervasive tracking methods practised by companies like Google and Facebook.

“[M]any sites and apps include code from other parties of which users are typically unaware,” researchers from Microsoft, Carnegie Mellon University, and University of Pennsylvania wrote in a study published in 2019.

“Such ‘third-party’ code can allow companies to monitor the actions of users without their knowledge or consent and build detailed profiles of their habits and interests.”

And So… Now What?

Well for starters, you’ll be ill-advised to place all your faith in Google’s Incognito mode from henceforth.

As the Internet giant conceded, “websites might be able to collect information about your browsing activity every time”, which means that all your deepest, darkest fantasies aren’t as exclusive as you might have once thought.

“But that means…” Reader Grey started.

Yes, it means that genuinely private Internet access might be out of reach… for now. Though of course, one would hope that the day would come…

When freedom on the Net… is real.