The world’s most popular browser, Google Chrome, is the source of a lawsuit that Google will soon face. A judge recently ruled that Google will face a lawsuit from plaintiffs who accuse the Chrome browser of tracking users while they use incognito mode.
A class action lawsuit filed in the United States alleges that Google Chrome still allows websites to collect personal information about users. The complaint, originally filed in June 2020, says:
Google knows who your friends are, what your hobbies are, what you like to eat, what movies you watch, where and when you like to shop, what are your favorite vacation destinations, what is your favorite color and even the more intimate and potentially embarrassing stuff as you browse the internet – regardless of whether you follow Google’s advice to keep your activities private. “
The collective action seeks compensation for damages to the tone of at least $ 5 billion as The Verge points.
Bloomberg reports that a US federal judge denied Alphabet’s motion to dismiss this case on Friday, ruling that “Google has not notified users that Google is involved in the alleged data collection while the user is in private browsing mode” .
Obviously, it’s important to note that Google Chrome’s incognito mode was never designed to make a user “invisible” to the web. A Google spokesman said the company would “defend us vigorously” in the process, adding “as we clearly state each time you open a new anonymous tab, sites may be able to collect information about your browsing activity during the session “. After all, anonymous Chrome only serves to allow users to browse the Internet without saving this activity on the device natively.
Supporting Google’s response, Chrome really does give a clear warning about this to users who start a new incognito window, as shown below. It notifies users that Chrome will not save their browsing information or data, but that a user’s activity may still be visible to websites, ISPs and network managers, such as a school or employer. This warning appears on Chrome for Windows, macOS, Android, iOS and Linux – all platforms that support the browser.
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