The Incognito mode in Google Chrome is one of the widely used features in the browser app. By the usual definition, it represents a secret window inside the browser where the search history and browsing data aren’t stored and are deleted the moment you exit it.
It is better for privacy-concerned people. However, in a recent update, Google has reportedly made some changes to the Incognito mode of Chrome after they were made a face a legal lawsuit concerning the Incognito mode.
What’s changed in the Chrome Incognito mode by Google?
Back in the year 202o, a legal lawsuit was filed against Google over its Chrome browser’s incognito mode. The lawsuit was originally filed in the northern district of California. The lawsuit challenges the behemoth against its claims and for allegedly tracking, storing, and identifying user data from the Incognito mode, which goes against the usual definition.
The legal suit was led by Florida citizen William Byatt and California residents Chasom Brown and Maria Nguyen, who claimed that Google had broken wiretap regulations. They asserted that websites that used Ad Manager or Google Analytics collected data from browsers operating in Incognito mode, including IP addresses, device information, and content of web pages. Google was also accused in the case of tying users’ personal browsing history to their preexisting profiles.
The brand first tried to dismiss the lawsuit by claiming that they already displayed a warning regarding this during the start of Incognito mode. However, the legal body later dismissed this claim by Google. The brand later came down to negotiation rather than continuing the legal battle against the lawsuit filer.
Google agreed to pay a whopping $5 billion to settle the legal battle. Not only this, they also added a change to the warning message of the Incognito mode. Previously, the warning messages used to read as “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.”
First spotted by the MSPowerUser, the latest version of Google Chrome has an updated warning message in the Incognito mode which now reads as “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.”
The updated warning message now clearly conveys information on what kind of data will be collected from the users and what will not, providing a clear message.
Leave a Reply