Google has been sued for $5 billion in the US for tracking users in Incognito mode. The class action suit against the giant tech company comes under claims that it invades the privacy of users by tracking the activity of users browsing in ‘private mode’.
Boles Schiller Flexner filed the suit in California which likely includes ‘millions’ of users who have browsed incognito since June 1, 2016.
“Google cannot continue to engage in the covert and authorized data collection from virtually every American with a computer or phone,” the complaint said. “People everywhere are becoming more aware (and concerned) that their personal communications are being intercepted, collected, recorded, or exploited for gain by technology companies.”
According to Google chrome support page, if you use incognito mode, Google will not remember your activity. Google also claims that Chrome won’t save your browsing history, cookies and site data or information entered in forms.
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Google however denied the claims. “As we clearly state each time you open a new incognito tab, websites might be able to collect information about your browsing activity,” a Google spokesperson, Jose Castaneda said. Google also said that the collection of search history, even in private viewing mode, helps site owners “better evaluate the performance of their content, products, marketing and more.
As is well known, Google makes most of their income from ads. Tracking you as you browse makes it easier for the company to customize ads to you. Browsing information is extremely valuable to advertisers and this explains Google’s revenue of $98 billion from ads in 2019.
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