Google agrees to delete billions of data of users who browsed the internet via "Incognito mode"
- Published By Jedida Barasa For The Statesman Digital
- 7 months ago
Google will delete billions of data records as part of a settlement for a lawsuit that accused the tech giant of improperly tracking the web-browsing habits of users who thought they were browsing the internet privately.
The suit was originally filed in 2020 and accused Google of misrepresenting the kind of data it collects from users who browsed the internet via “Incognito” private browsing mode in Chrome. Google agreed to settle the suit late last year, but the terms of the settlement were first disclosed in a filing on Monday.
As part of the settlement, Google must delete “billions of data records” that reflect the private browsing activities of users in the class action suit, according to court documents filed Monday in San Francisco federal court.
Google will also update its disclosure to inform users about what data it collects each time a user initiates a private browsing session. Google has already started implementing these changes.
For the next five years, Google will also let private browsing users block third-party cookies as part of the settlement. Google also will no longer track people’s choices to browse the internet privately.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, takes part in a discussion at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit Nov. 16, 2023, in San Francisco.
David Boies, the attorney representing the consumer plaintiffs, called the settlement “a historic step in requiring honesty and accountability from dominant technology companies” in a statement to CNN on Monday.
“Moreover, the settlement requires Google to delete and remediate, in unprecedented scope and scale, the data it improperly collected in the past,” Boies added.
José Castañeda, a Google spokesperson, told CNN that the company is “pleased to settle this lawsuit, which we always believed was meritless.”
“We never associate data with users when they use Incognito mode,” Castañeda added. “We are happy to delete old technical data that was never associated with an individual and was never used for any form of personalization.”
Castañeda added that the plaintiffs “originally wanted $5 billion and are receiving zero.”
The terms of the settlement revealed in court filings on Monday stated that users will not receive damages as part of this settlement, but may still sue for damages individually.
Share on
Tags
SHARE YOUR COMMENT
MORE STORIES FOR YOU
Trending Stories
DJ Mo’s former illicit lo...
- Published By Jane
- January 15, 2024
Mapenzi! Zari and Tanasha...
- Published By Jane
- October 24, 2023
Zuchu Speaks on Diamond P...
- Published By Jane
- October 12, 2023
Hio Ni Upumbavu Wasituche...
- Published By Jane
- November 8, 2023
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
How to deal with a silent...
- Published By Jedida
- October 16, 2024
How to set yourself up fo...
- Published By Jedida
- October 16, 2024
Postpartum Hemorrhage: Si...
- Published By Jedida
- October 16, 2024
Study reveals long term e...
- Published By Jedida
- October 16, 2024
Latest Stories
High Court issues orders...
- Published By Jedida
- November 25, 2024
Senator Okiya Omtatah vow...
- Published By Jedida
- November 25, 2024
Businessman Elias Njeru a...
- Published By Jane
- November 25, 2024
Equity trade mission open...
- Published By Jane
- November 25, 2024