Google finally concedes collecting data even in Chrome’s ‘Incognito’ mode

After reaching a settlement in a $5 billion lawsuit, Google is making amends by updating the warning displayed when users utilize Incognito mode in Chrome. As first noticed by MSPowerUser, the company has tweaked the disclaimer in Canary to add language that says Incognito mode won’t change how websites collect people’s data.

The court case previously accused Google of tracking Incognito users. Now when Incognito mode is initiated, a notice displays that browsing is private from other users on the same device, but all data from downloads, bookmarks, and reading lists will still be saved, explaining that private browsing will not affect data collection by websites and their services, including Google.

This new wording appears in Android and Windows versions of the experimental stage of Chrome known as the Canary channel, and is confirmed to also be present in the Mac version.

Back in 2020, Google was sued for allegedly tracking user activity in Incognito mode using tools such as its Analytics product, apps, and browser plugins. The lawsuit argued that Google misled users into believing they could regulate the information they consented to share.

Google clarified that Incognito mode only hides activity on the user’s current device but does not halt data collection. This fact, so far, isn’t explicitly highlighted in the Chrome’s public version’s disclaimer but will likely be improved in the immediate future.