If you think Incognito mode on your Google browser is a safe place to search, you may want to close all tabs.
It has been found that Google secretly picks up user data even in incognito mode, which contradicts the basic idea of this model.
This was disclosed in a lawsuit against Google’s parent organization, Alphabet Inc., by some consumers who alleged that other Google tools would collect personal information and activity from users even if they turned off the data collection option in Google Chrome.
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Following this case, Alphabet Inc. filed a motion to dismiss the case, but it was denied by a federal judge.
“The court comes to the conclusion that Google has not informed the users that Google is involved in the alleged data collection while the user is in private browser mode,” said the decision of the California District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose.
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These allegations have been denied by Google. “We strongly deny these allegations and will vigorously oppose them,” said Google spokesman Jose Castaneda in a statement sent by email. “Incognito mode in Chrome gives you the ability to surf the Internet without your activity being saved in your browser or device. As we clearly state every time you open a new incognito tab, websites may be able to provide information collect about your browsing activity during your stay session. “
The complaint was made by three Google users who claimed that Google was “ubiquitous data-tracking business” even in incognito mode.
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“Google knows who your friends are, what your hobbies are, what you love to eat, what movies you watch, where and when you love to shop, what your favorite vacation destinations are, what your favorite color is, and even the most intimate and potentially embarrassing things that Browsing them on the Internet, regardless of whether you follow Google’s advice to keep your activity “private”, “they complained.
However, Google has also made it clear that incognito mode is not a synonym for invisible.
“Google also makes it clear that ‘incognito’ does not mean ‘invisible’ and that the user’s activities during that session may be visible to the websites they visit and any third-party analytics or advertising services used by the websites they visit,” said Google.
