Current:Home > FinanceGoogle warns users Chrome's incognito mode still tracks data, reports say. What to know. -FinanceCore
Google warns users Chrome's incognito mode still tracks data, reports say. What to know.
View
Date:2025-04-16 03:15:00
Google Chrome has reportedly updated the message that users see when they're in "incognito mode" following the settlement of a $5 billion privacy lawsuit.
Google added a disclaimer that the privacy function still collects user data that websites and services can access, according to the Verge, which said MSPowerUser first spotted the change.
The new message is only visible on the latest version of Google Chrome, the Verge reported. The previous message is still visible for some Chrome users.
Parts of the disclaimer remain untouched like the bullet points that clarifies that websites, employers, schools and internet service providers can view activity. The page also states that browsing history, cookies, site data and information entered in forms are not saved in incognito mode.
Reports:Blood-oxygen sensors to be removed from Apple Watches as company looks to avoid ban
Original and updated incognito mode messages comparison
The previous message reads: "Now you can browse privately, and other people who use this device won’t see your activity. However, downloads, bookmarks and reading list items will be saved. Learn more."
According to the Verge, the new message reads: "Others who use this device won’t see your activity, so you can browse more privately. 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. Learn more.”
The previous message also gave users the option to block third-party cookies that primarily prevents sites from tracking internet activity.
Lawsuit alleged Google spied on users
The update comes after the company agreed on Dec. 28 to settle a $5 billion class-action lawsuit alleging the platform used private browsers to track internet use, according to the Associated Press.
The privacy lawsuit filed in 2020 alleged that Google misled users into thinking their internet activities would be off limits to the company. Plaintiffs also claimed that the company used advertising technologies to catalog their site visits and used an "unaccountable trove of information" under the false perception of privacy.
The settlement still requires approval by a federal judge and AP reported that the final settlement agreement will be presented in court by Feb. 24.
"We’re pleased to resolve this case, which we’ve long disputed, and will provide even more information to users about Incognito Mode," Google spokesperson José Castañeda said in a statement. "Incognito mode in Chrome will continue to give people the choice to browse the internet without their activity being saved to their browser or device."
Google did not respond to USA TODAY's questions about the updated incognito mode disclaimer.
veryGood! (1922)
Related
- South Korean president's party divided over defiant martial law speech
- Buying Nvidia stock today? Here are 3 things you need to know.
- 'The least affordable housing market in recent memory': Why now is a great time to rent
- See Ashley Park Return to Emily in Paris Set With Lily Collins After Hospitalization
- 'Malcolm in the Middle’ to return with new episodes featuring Frankie Muniz
- Southern Illinois home of Paul Powell, the ‘Shoebox Scandal’ politician, could soon be sold
- Dakota Johnson's new 'Madame Web' movie is awful, but her Gucci premiere dress is perfection
- Presidents Day: From George Washington’s modest birthdays to big sales and 3-day weekends
- DeepSeek: Did a little known Chinese startup cause a 'Sputnik moment' for AI?
- Driver of stolen tow truck smashes police cruisers during Maryland chase
Ranking
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Family members mourn woman killed at Chiefs' Super Bowl celebration: We did not expect the day to end like this
- Jordan Spieth disqualified from Genesis Invitational for signing incorrect scorecard
- Another endangered whale was found dead off East Coast. This one died after colliding with a ship
- Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
- 5-year-old migrant boy who got sick at a temporary Chicago shelter died from sepsis, autopsy shows
- Christian-nation idea fuels US conservative causes, but historians say it misreads founders’ intent
- 'We can’t do anything': How Catholic hospitals constrain medical care in America.
Recommendation
Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
Venezuela bribery witness gets light sentence in wake of Biden’s pardoning of Maduro ally
This week on Sunday Morning (February 18)
Former CBS executive Les Moonves to pay Los Angeles ethics fine for interference in police probe
Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
Alabama Barker Responds to Claim She Allegedly Had A Lot of Cosmetic Surgery
New ban on stopping on Las Vegas Strip bridges targets people with disabilities, lawsuit alleges
Prosecutor: Grand jury decides against charges in troopers’ shooting of 2 after pursuit, kidnapping