Some time ago, Google Chrome users thought that their searches were safe from prying eyes in the famous Incognito mode. Nothing could be further from the truth. While Google prepares to face a class action lawsuit for privacy violation, the company has taken the opportunity to update its policies. Now, Google will warn users that their searches may still be tracked even when using Incognito mode.
The Incognito mode is essentially a private browsing mode offered by Chrome. When activated, our search history is not saved. Neither are cookies or any type of information entered (emails, passwords, accounts, etc).
The truth is that, although these private search modes prevent the storage of certain data, they do not prevent websites (including Google itself) from tracking the activity of their users. The new warning has already been seen in Google Chrome Canary and would serve to clarify these issues.
This warning reads as follows: “You have entered Incognito mode. Other people using this device will not see your activity, so you can browse more privately. This does not change the fact that the websites you visit and their services, including Google, collect data.”
The current one is a bit different: “Now you can browse privately without other users of this device seeing your activity”. The changes made already suggest that incognito mode is not as private as Google advertised it in the first place.
The Silicon Valley company was sued in 2020 by a group of users who claimed that Incognito mode collected data from their devices. Finally, Google reached an agreement with the affected parties, pending the resolution of the lawsuit next February.
Source: mspoweruser.com
