Technology
Google Incognito Mode ‘secretly scooped your data’ as $5BILLION lawsuit approved
GOOGLE is under fire for harvesting internet data of users browsing in Incognito Mode.
The search-engine giant has failed to squash a major lawsuit – and could now be forced to pay out millions.
Google allegedly tracks users’ web activity even while they use the firm’s “private” browsing mode[/caption]
Incognito Mode is a special setting on Chrome activated by users for boosted privacy.
During “private browsing”, users expect to surf the internet without their data being stored.
For instance, websites visited in Incognito Mode won’t be stored in the browser history.
And websites you log into won’t retain your session once you leave Incognito Mode.
But a class-action lawsuit in the USA warns that Google has been secretively collecting info about what you view online – even while Incognito Mode is active.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs brand Google “an unaccountable trove of information so detailed and expansive that George Orwell could never have dreamed it.”
A proposed US class action suit accuses the internet search company of illegally invading the privacy of millions of users of its Chrome web browser[/caption]
The complaint was filed against Google’s parent company Alphabet last year in the federal court in San Jose, California.
It could be worth as much as $5billion.
Alphabet made a request to have the case thrown out.
But a Californian judge has refused the request, confirming that the lawsuit can go ahead.
“The court concludes that Google did not notify users that Google engages in the alleged data collection while the user is in private browsing mode,” Judge Lucy Koh said in her ruling.
According to the filing, Google gathers data through Google Analytics, Google Ad Manager, website plug-ins and smartphone apps.
That includes the sites they visit and where they browse. Google allegedly does this regardless of whether users click on Google-supported ads.
The tactic helps Google learn about users’ friends, hobbies, favourite foods, shopping habits, and even the “most intimate and potentially embarrassing things” they search for online, the complaint said.
Google “cannot continue to engage in the covert and unauthorised data collection from virtually every American with a computer or phone,” the complaint said.
“We strongly dispute these claims and we will defend ourselves vigorously against them,” said a Google spokesperson.
“Incognito mode in Chrome gives you the choice to browse the internet without your activity being saved to your browser or device.
“As we clearly state each time you open a new incognito tab, websites might be able to collect information about your browsing activity during your session.”
What does Chrome’s Incognito Mode hide?
It’s not as secure as you think…
- Anyone on your Wi-Fi network could potentially use special spy software to view what you’re browsing, regardless of Incognito Mode.
- And your employer will be able to use similar technology to see what you’re browsing at work, too.
- It’s entirely possible that your employer logs every website you visit while at work.
- Your internet service provider (like BT, Virgin, and so on) will also be able to see what you’re doing online.
- That means the police can also get access to what you view in Incognito Mode, simply by requesting that information from your internet provider.
- The websites you’re using will also be able to track that you’re online on their page, too.
- Google will know where you’re browsing from, and what you’re looking at.
- And if you log into a website, they’ll also be able to keep track of information about you.
- So when you log into Facebook in Incognito Mode, details about what you do on the site will be recorded – just the same as if you were using it in a normal web browser.
- The key point is that Incognito Mode is not a great method of ensuring privacy, because it’s still very easy to track what you’re doing online.
- It’s only really useful for keeping websites out of your browsing history, or logging into a single website on multiple accounts in the same web browser.
Many internet users view private browsing as a safe haven from watchful eyes.
However, computer security researchers have long raised concern that Google and rivals might augment user profiles by tracking people’s identities across different browsing modes, combining data from private and ordinary internet surfing.
The complaint said the proposed class likely includes “millions” of Google users who since June 1, 2016 browsed the internet in “private” mode.
It seeks at least $5,000 (£4,000) of damages per user for violations of federal wiretapping and California privacy laws.
Boies Schiller & Flexner represents the plaintiffs Chasom Brown, Maria Nguyen and William Byatt.
The case is Brown et al v Google LLC et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 20-03664.
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