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Sunday, December 22, 2024  
19 Jumada Al-Akhirah 1446  

Google can track you even if you are browsing in Incognito mode

The tech giant in December 2023 settled a $5 billion consumer privacy lawsuit
Photo - AFP
Photo - AFP

Google has updated the disclaimer shown in Chrome browser’s Incognito mode according to which data will still be collected by websites and Google while browsing in this mode, Engadget reported on Wednesday.

The move came after the tech giant was accused of tracking users’ activities even when they were in Incognito mode.

As first reported by MSPowerUser, the updated disclaimer, spotted in Chrome’s experimental Canary channel, now clarifies that while others using the same device will not see the user’s activity, it does not change the way how websites collect data.

“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 disclaimer reads.

Google in December 2023 agreed to settle a lawsuit claiming it secretly tracked the internet use of millions of people who thought they were doing their browsing privately, Reuters reported.

US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, put a scheduled February 5, 2024 trial in the proposed class action on hold, after lawyers for Google and for consumers said they had reached a preliminary settlement.

Filed in 2020, the lawsuit covered “millions” of Google users since June 1, 2016, and sought at least $5,000 in damages per user for violations of federal wire-tapping and California privacy laws.

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