Google Settles $5 Billion Case Over 'Incognito Mode' Privacy Concerns

Google is agreeing to pay $5 billion to settle a case where people said the company was watching them when they used the "incognito" mode in its Chrome browser. This mode and similar "private" modes in other browsers are supposed to keep your internet use private.

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The case, started in 2020, said Google tricked users into thinking it wouldn't watch what they do online when they use incognito mode. But the case argued that Google's advertising tools and other ways of doing things still kept a record of what users were doing, even when they thought they were in private mode.

People who brought the case also said that Google got a huge amount of information about users who believed they were keeping their internet activities private.

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Google settles $5 billion privacy lawsuit over tracking people using 'incognito mode' https://t.co/EG5BB6yBkZ — FOX61 (@FOX61News) December 30, 2023

This settlement, reached recently, needs approval from a special judge. Even though we don't know the details of the settlement, the original case asked for $5 billion for the people affected. Lawyers for those people say they will show the final agreement to the court by February 24.

Google hasn't said anything about the settlement yet.

Also Read: Google Agrees to Pay German Publishers €3.2 Million Annually: DPMA Verdict