Google updates Chrome’s incognito disclaimer after settling $5 bn lawsuit

SAN FRANCISCO — Google has updated Chrome’s incognito mode disclaimer in the experimental Canary channel after it agreed to pay $5 billion for settlement over tracking users’ activity in incognito mode.

As spotted by MSPowerUser, the updated Incognito pages are live in the Canary version of Chrome on Android, Windows, and other platforms.

“Others who use this device won’t see your activity, so you can browse more privately,” the new disclaimer reads.

“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,” it added.

The lawsuit was filed in 2020, alleging that the tech giant “track, collect, and identify browsing data in real time” even when the users open incognito mode.

The lawsuit was filed by Florida resident William Byatt and California residents Chasom Brown and Maria Nguyen.

It also alleged that websites using Google Analytics or Ad Manager collected information from browsers in Incognito mode, “including web page content, device data, and IP address”.

The plaintiffs also accused Google of taking Chrome users’ private browsing activity and then associating it with their already-existing user profiles.

Also read: Google begins blocking data tracking cookies in Chrome for select users