As previously reported by LOGIN, the lawsuit was originally filed in 2020. and it claimed that Google tracked users’ activities even when they set their Google Chrome browser to Incognito mode and other browsers to “Private mode”, the BBC reported.
Incognito mode in Google Chrome gives users the option to search the web without their activity being saved on the browser or device. However, websites you visit may use tools such as Google Analytics to track usage.
The group that filed the lawsuit said it turned Google into an “unaccountable treasure trove of information” about user preferences and “potentially embarrassing things.”
It added that Google could not “continue to engage in covert and unauthorized data collection from virtually every American with a computer or phone.”
Google said it had informed users in advance about the data it was collecting when they used “private mode”, although many believed otherwise.
According to court documents filed Monday in San Francisco federal court, Google will now have to delete “billions of data records” that reflect the private browsing activity of users named in the class action lawsuit, according to CNN.
Google will also update the information to inform users about what data it collects each time a user initiates a private browsing session. The company has already started implementing these changes.
Over the next five years, Google will also allow Private Browsing users to block third-party cookies. In addition, it will no longer track people’s choice to browse the Internet privately.
Court documents say Google supports final approval of the settlement, but disagrees with the plaintiffs’ “legal and factual characterizations,” according to The Guardian.
In a statement, the plaintiffs’ attorney, David Boies, called the settlement “a historic step in demanding honesty and accountability from dominant technology companies.”
Tags: Lawsuit Settles Google Delete Billions Private Intrusive Browsing Records Collected Track Users
