SAN FRANCISCO – Google has agreed to settle a $5 billion privacy lawsuit alleging the company spied on people using “Incognito” mode in its Chrome browser – along with similar “private” modes in other browsers – would have used to track your internet usage.
The class action lawsuit filed in 2020 alleged that Google misled users into believing that it would not track their internet activity in incognito mode. It argued that Google's advertising technologies and other techniques continued to catalog details of users' website visits and activities despite supposedly “private” browsing.
The plaintiffs also alleged that Google's activities yielded an “unexplainable wealth of information” about users who thought they had taken steps to protect their privacy.
The settlement reached Thursday still needs to be approved by a federal judge. Terms were not disclosed, but the lawsuit originally sought $5 billion on behalf of users; The plaintiffs' lawyers said they expect to submit a final settlement agreement to the court by February 24.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the settlement.
– The Associated Press
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