Google settles $5 billion privacy lawsuit over tracking people in ‘incognito mode’

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google has agreed to settle a $5 billion damages case over claims it spied on people using “incognito” mode in its Chrome browser — together with similar “private” modes in other browsers — to trace their web usage.

A category-action lawsuit filed in 2020 alleged that Google misled users into believing that it might not track their online activity while in incognito mode.

She argued that Google’s promoting technologies and other techniques proceed to catalog details of users’ visits and activities on the location, despite their use of supposedly “private” browsing.

The plaintiffs also alleged that Google’s actions provided an “incomprehensible source of information” about users who believed that they had taken steps to guard their privacy.

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The settlement, reached Thursday, still have to be approved by a federal judge. Terms weren’t disclosed, but $5 billion was originally sought on behalf of users; Plaintiffs’ lawyers said they expect to present a final settlement to the court by February 24.

Google didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment on the settlement.