The $5 billion class-action privacy lawsuit brought against Google in 2020 alleged that the company engaged in spying on users who utilized the Incognito mode in its Chrome browser.
Plaintiffs argued that Google’s advertising technologies and third-party affiliations continued to gather users’ browsing data, despite assurances of privacy.
The settlement not only mandates Google to inform users about data collection in incognito mode but also to deactivate third-party trackers as a default setting.
Misleading Users: Google’s Marketing Practices
The lawsuit alleged that Google had known for years that the branding and marketing of its incognito mode was misleading.
In 2013, employees asked the company to simplify the landing page of incognito mode, so users wouldn’t draw “incorrect conclusions” that they were private browsing.
In 2019, Google’s chief marketing officer Lorraine Twohill warned CEO Sundar Pichai that incognito mode used “really fuzzy, hedging language that is almost more damaging.” Nothing was done about her concerns.
