Google defends claims in collective lawsuit over incognito mode

Google has responded to a judge’s ruling in a class action lawsuit over tracking when browsing in incognito mode. The judge did not dismiss this case. Google says it vehemently opposes the claims, defending the incognito mode in Chrome.

Google gave a response to Engadget via a spokesperson on Sunday, in which the company indicates that it is defending itself against the claims. In doing so, it reiterates its position that the Incognito mode in Chrome gives users the choice to browse without the activity being saved to the browser on the device being used. The spokesperson also added that every time Google opens a new incognito tab, Google says that websites may be able to collect information about browsing activity.

The latter is partly what the lawsuit is about. Three users sued Google last June for allegedly illegally violating the privacy of millions of users by allowing tracking in browsers’ private modes. This collection of data would be done by, among other things, Google Analytics, Google Ad Manager and other apps and plug-ins. The users are claiming damages of at least $5 billion in a class action lawsuit.

It recently became clear that an attempt by Google to prematurely end the lawsuit had failed. A US federal judge dismissed Google’s arguments, Bloomberg wrote. According to the judge, Google is not giving users a signal that the company is collecting data while the user is browsing in private mode. This is not to say that the substantive lawsuit will also have a negative effect on Google.