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posted by martyb on Thursday March 18 2021, @11:03PM   Printer-friendly
from the watching-the-watchers dept.

Google to Face $5B Lawsuit Over Tracking Users in Incognito Mode

Google Chrome's Incognito Mode is at the forefront of a $5 billion class-action lawsuit which alleges users are being tracked during private browsing sessions.

The lawsuit alleges Google is in violation of wiretapping and privacy laws for intercepting, tracking, and collecting communications when Chrome's Incognito mode is in use.

Google has been trying to get the lawsuit dismissed since it was filed last June. A federal judge ruled the lawsuit must go forward.

In the judge's ruling it's stated Google does not adequately inform users that their data can be collected in Incognito mode.

Also at Ars Technica and Wccftech.


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  • (Score: 2, Informative) by Freeman on Thursday March 18 2021, @11:18PM (4 children)

    by Freeman (732) Subscriber Badge on Thursday March 18 2021, @11:18PM (#1126022) Journal

    From a newly opened google chrome tab:

    Now you can browse privately, and other people who use this device won’t see your activity. However, downloads and bookmarks will be saved. Learn more

    Chrome won’t save the following information:
    Your browsing history
    Cookies and site data
    Information entered in forms
    Your activity might still be visible to:
    Websites you visit
    Your employer or school
    Your internet service provider
    Block third-party cookies
    When on, sites can't use cookies that track you across the web. Features on some sites may break.

    --
    Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
    • (Score: 2) by Freeman on Thursday March 18 2021, @11:22PM (1 child)

      by Freeman (732) Subscriber Badge on Thursday March 18 2021, @11:22PM (#1126027) Journal

      I meant to say from a newly opened "Incognito Mode" Google Chrome tab.

      --
      Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 19 2021, @06:14PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 19 2021, @06:14PM (#1126382)
        5 billion. Just the cost of doing business. 5 billion a year? Same story.
    • (Score: 1) by hemocyanin on Friday March 19 2021, @03:07AM (1 child)

      by hemocyanin (186) on Friday March 19 2021, @03:07AM (#1126127) Journal

      Interesting. I don't see anything in there which implies that Goole would be collecting information on me. The implication from the blocking of third-party cookies and "When on, sites can't use cookies that track you across the web" is that you won't be tracked across the web by Google, at least to the average user who hasn't heard of browser fingerprinting, invisible pixels, and whatever else is out there. I'm going to guess that Google's play here is that they don't use cookies -- they use the whole browser -- and that this deception by omission should get them off the hook.

      • (Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday March 22 2021, @03:37PM

        by Freeman (732) Subscriber Badge on Monday March 22 2021, @03:37PM (#1127513) Journal

        I guess, though all it's claiming to do is making it so that the next person using the computer, won't see your browsing history. The wording at the beginning may be enough to sink them, though.

        --
        Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
  • (Score: 4, Touché) by Gaaark on Thursday March 18 2021, @11:21PM (9 children)

    by Gaaark (41) Subscriber Badge on Thursday March 18 2021, @11:21PM (#1126026) Journal

    where do we collect? how much? and will it be 10 years from now? will pigs be flying by then?

    --
    --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
    • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Freeman on Thursday March 18 2021, @11:24PM (4 children)

      by Freeman (732) Subscriber Badge on Thursday March 18 2021, @11:24PM (#1126031) Journal

      Worry not, the lawyer fees will hoover up 1/2 that and the rest will be parceled out by $0.50 Google Play Store credits.

      --
      Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
      • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 18 2021, @11:31PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 18 2021, @11:31PM (#1126037)

        I'm hopign for a $5 paypal credit.

      • (Score: 5, Touché) by c0lo on Friday March 19 2021, @12:22AM

        by c0lo (156) on Friday March 19 2021, @12:22AM (#1126073) Journal

        Worry not, the lawyer fees will hoover up 1/2 that and the rest will be parceled out by $0.50 Google Play Store credits.

        I wouldn't mind the lawyer fees to be paid in Google Playstore credits too.

        --
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 19 2021, @08:26AM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 19 2021, @08:26AM (#1126156)

        So far, I have avoided using Google Chrome Browser. Should I start using it now ?? Any advice

        • (Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday March 22 2021, @03:06PM

          by Freeman (732) Subscriber Badge on Monday March 22 2021, @03:06PM (#1127493) Journal

          I was a Firefox fanboy as it were, then I tried Google Chrome, then I switched back to Firefox. No longer a fanboy, but Firefox is practically the only free competition. Yes, Google Chrome is "free", but free as in, don't mind us, we're just installing a webcam next to your shower head, for free.

          --
          Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
    • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Ethanol-fueled on Friday March 19 2021, @12:34AM

      by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Friday March 19 2021, @12:34AM (#1126081) Homepage

      Enjoy your 52-cent check, faggotfuck.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 19 2021, @12:42AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 19 2021, @12:42AM (#1126086)

      Just send a self addressed stamped envelope and a list of all the pages you visited while in incognito mode to the address on your screen.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 19 2021, @01:14AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 19 2021, @01:14AM (#1126101)

      > will pigs be flying by then?

      Too late, pigs already fly, here's the video--

      https://youtu.be/720HKxvyTEg?t=306 [youtu.be]

    • (Score: 2) by leon_the_cat on Friday March 19 2021, @02:18AM

      by leon_the_cat (10052) on Friday March 19 2021, @02:18AM (#1126117) Journal

      It's mine all mine. Mine I tell ye!

  • (Score: 0, Interesting) by Ethanol-fueled on Thursday March 18 2021, @11:46PM (5 children)

    by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Thursday March 18 2021, @11:46PM (#1126049) Homepage

    Don't remember the exact details, but the reason why I gave up Chrome, then Ungoogled Chromium, then Brave, was because their "incognito" features involved saving (remembering) data that I considered inappropriate. The gist of it is what I call the "Jewish handoff." The "Jewish Handoff" is when a browser allows you great granular privacy controls, but in "privacy incognito mode" it doesn't allow you the option to forget what it remembers.

    So what is it, fellas? Icecat? Librewolf? Does Palemoon actually install?

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 19 2021, @12:18AM (3 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 19 2021, @12:18AM (#1126068)

      It doesn't remember anything of consequence. If you bookmark something in incognito, you have a bookmark. If you access a server, they still see your IP. Duh.

      • (Score: -1, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Friday March 19 2021, @12:28AM (2 children)

        by Ethanol-fueled (2792) on Friday March 19 2021, @12:28AM (#1126076) Homepage

        The Jewish deception is Pilpul. As I stated before, browser programmers used misleading language and used "incognito" as a distracting wedge to relax security elsewhere.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 19 2021, @03:46AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 19 2021, @03:46AM (#1126130)

      I've been using Pale Moon on Linux as my primary browser for years. With NoScript and other extensions. 5 stars, would browse again!

  • (Score: 2) by Frosty Piss on Friday March 19 2021, @02:29AM (2 children)

    by Frosty Piss (4971) on Friday March 19 2021, @02:29AM (#1126119)

    Whatever the merits of the case, the reality is that like most “class actions”, in reality it is little more than a CASH GRAB for the lawyers. The “little people” will receive a $5 coupon at Circuit City or Fry’s and a free Whopper.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 19 2021, @01:49PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 19 2021, @01:49PM (#1126230)

      I'd rather have a few bucks in my Google Voice account to make international calls...

      btw, Fry's is out of business, per an article in SN recently.

      • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 19 2021, @06:22PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 19 2021, @06:22PM (#1126385)

        Fry's is out of business,

        So a $10 gift certificate at Fry’s it is! And (in Soup Nazi voice) No Whopper for YOU!

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