Tech giant Google agreed to settle a lawsuit for allegedly tracking users who thought they were browsing the web using their Incognito mode. This lawsuit will take place on Feb. 24.
The plaintiffs in Brown et al. v. Google LLC alleged that their Chrome browser spied, tracked, and collected data from users while in the private browsing setting, Incognito mode. The plaintiffs stated that Google is an “unaccountable trove of information so detailed and expansive that George Orwell could never have dreamed it.”
The case originally sought to have every affected user within the past four years be compensated with five thousand dollars, which would eventually take billions out of Google’s pocket.
The suit does not regard the legitimacy of the private mode but rather the promise that Google creates a “safe” environment to search the web. In the company’s promise, they state, “Individually identifiable information about you is not willfully disclosed to any third party without first receiving your permission.” The lawsuit tackles the false promises made by Google and the future of online privacy.