Google has updated the disclaimer for Incognito mode in Chrome’s experimental Canary channel. The update comes after the company agreed to settle a $5 billion lawsuit that accused it of tracking Incognito users.
The new disclaimer tells users that Incognito mode only hides their activity on their device, not from websites and services they visit, including Google. It also reminds them that downloads, bookmarks and reading list items will be saved.
Users first noticed the updated warning in Canary on Android and Windows, and confirmed that it also appears in Chrome for Mac.
Google faced a lawsuit in 2020 for tracking users’ activities on Incognito mode. The plaintiffs claimed that the company used tools like Analytics, apps and browser plug-ins to monitor users. They also said that Google misled users into thinking that they could control the information they shared on Incognito mode.
A Google spokesperson said that Incognito mode only prevented other people using the device from seeing the user’s activity, but it did not stop data collection by websites and services. The current disclaimer for the public version of Chrome does not communicate this clearly, but it may change soon.
