Google has updated its explanation of Chrome’s “incognito” feature following legal action. The feature prevents saving browsing data on the user’s device, but does not protect from websites tracking activity.
When someone uses the internet, their activity is logged by the internet provider using a unique IP address. This means websites still collect data, but it won’t be saved on the device itself. Gizmodo reports:
Chrome’s Incognito mode is a bit of a joke that even Google employees weren’t so hyped about it. It’s now going to be less useful for “privacy” reasons, as explained in a new disclaimer change.
An updated warning page for Incognito mode went live on Canary, a version of Chrome primarily used by developers, as first spotted by MSPowerUser on Tuesday. The new text confirms your data will be collected by websites and Google while browsing in this mode. This change has yet to hit the latest version of Chrome, but it’s likely to come soon.
To hide from advertisers collecting data, using a Virtual Private Networks (VPN) helps. Rather than requesting a website from your own IP address, the VPN itself conducts it. The Verge continues:
The change provides “even more information to users about Incognito Mode,” Google spokesperson José Castañeda said in an email to The Verge. He said the company is “pleased to resolve this case which we’ve long disputed,” adding that Incognito mode prevents browsing activity from being saved to users’ devices.
Google’s change to the notice is notable because the company previously cited it as evidence that the company informed users about the types of tracking that can still take place in incognito mode. “As we clearly state each time you open a new incognito tab, websites might be able to collect information about your browsing activity during your session,” Castañeda told The Verge in a statement last year. But Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers was unconvinced by this argument when she denied Google’s bid for summary judgment in August last year.
VPNs combined with private browsers are enough for most consumers worried about companies collecting data. Security purists such as cybercriminals or some journalists will route their network through Tor, the “dark web”, which mostly evades even subpoenas.
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