Google faces $5 billion lawsuit for tracking users in 'private' mode

Google has been sued for allegedly tracking users even when they browse in “private mode”, and, therefore, illegally invading their privacy. Boies Schiller Flexner, a high-profile litigation firm, proposed class-action lawsuit in federal court in San Jose, California, demanding at least $5 bn from Google and it’s owner Alphabet Inc.

According to the litigation firm, the lawsuit includes millions of Google users who browsed the internet in incognito mode since June 1, 2016. The law firm alleged that Google gathers data through Google Analytics, Google Ad Manager and other applications and website plug-ins even in the private mode.

The complaint reportedly says that the tech giant cannot continue to engage in the covert and unauthorised data collection from virtually every American with a computer or phone. Boies Schiller Flexner reportedly said in the court filing that people are becoming more aware that their personal communications are being intercepted, collected, recorded, or exploited for gain by technology companies they have come to depend on.

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'Upfront about data collection'

Google denied the claims saying the company has been upfront about the data collection in private mode. A Google spokesperson was quoted saying that the company strongly dispute these claims, and it will defend vigorously against it. The spokesperson added that incognito mode in Chrome gives the choice to browse the internet without the activity being saved to browser or device.

Google Chrome offers the option of ‘incognito window’ in which the browser claims to not save, browsing history, cookies and site data, and information entered in forms. It says that the activity in incognito mode might still be visible to websites visited, employer or school, and the internet service provider.

The private mode basically treats the session as a new user and they are not signed into any accounts or sites by default. Google says activity in incognito doesn’t show up in Chrome browser history, so people who also use the same device won’t see those activities. However, it also adds that Incognito mode also doesn’t block third parties from using cookies.

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