Tech giants have tracked your private mode browsing for years

Google has agreed to delete records from Incognito tracking as part of a legal settlement.

Ever used Incognito mode on your browser? Did you know it is highly trackable?

But first, the news: This week Google agreed to delete billions of records in a deal to resolve a class action lawsuit.

The U.S. lawsuit accused Google of invading user privacy by collecting user data even when users browse in "private mode".

The settlement

As part of the settlement, Google agreed to delete "hundreds of billions" of private browsing data records it had collected.

Moreover, it will make more prominent privacy disclosures in its terms of service to let people know about its data collection efforts.

Google will potentially also set up Incognito mode on Chrome so users will be able to automatically block “cookies” that enable third-party tracking.

The truth about Incognito mode

At the root of this issue is a misunderstanding - one the lawsuit accuses Google of perpetuating, around "Incognito" mode on Chrome.

While enabling privacy mode ensures certain data are not saved locally, it does not anonymise one's online activities. Note: This is true of other browsers too.

Tech giants such as Google, Meta, and others have the reach and technical prowess to keep collecting data about you.

They use data such as:

• IP address, browser type, version, OS type.
• Browser extensions with tracking tech.
• Tracking cookies, tracking pixels.
• Data from websites and apps.

And finally, your ISP also sees - and is probably compelled by law to log - all requests that go through their network.

Protecting your privacy

What's private browsing good for, then? When using a trusted friend's computer to log into social media, for one - trusted because a keylogger malware can still steal your password.

Anonymity on the Internet isn't a default. The following strategies can help, though be warned they are not foolproof:

• Privacy-centric search engines like DuckDuckGo.
• A trusted VPN service to obfuscate your real IP.
• Privacy-focused browsers such as Brave.
• Consider Tor to increase anonymity.
• Don't log in using Facebook/Google IDs etc.

Any more tips to add to the list? Also, what do you use private mode for?