Security News > 2021 > March > Google fails to neutralize lawsuit that complains Chrome's incognito mode isn't very private at all

Netizens who say Google continued to track them around the web even when using Chrome's incognito mode can proceed with their privacy lawsuit against the internet giant, a judge has ruled.

Specifically, the judge denied Google's motion to dismiss the class-action-seeking lawsuit, stating: "The court concludes that Google did not notify users that Google engages in the alleged data collection while the user is in private browsing mode."

The plaintiffs in the case - Chasom Brown, Maria Nguyen, William Byatt, Jeremy Davis, and Christopher Castillo - complain that people who used Chrome's incognito mode expected to be just that - incognito - but in reality Google still observed them to provide targeted advertising; Google's main revenue source.

After months of stalling, Google finally revealed how much personal data they collect in Chrome and the Google app.

The case will now move onto discovery where Google will be obliged to hand over relevant documents that explain what exactly it harvests when people are browsing in incognito mode.

Google is notoriously unwilling to share any of that sort of information, and just today competing search engine DuckDuckGo, which actually does provide privacy to users, noted with regard to Google's privacy labels on its iOS software: "After months of stalling, Google finally revealed how much personal data they collect in Chrome and the Google app," adding.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2021/03/17/google_incognito_lawsuit/