XNUMXst century, a time when the issue of privacy is always on the surface and worries at all times. It is practically inevitable to register your own confidential data and of a certain sensitivity at some point in our lives, and even more so at a time when we depend so much on technology, whether it is for fun, work, keep in touch or whatever.
Industry tech giants like Google they are the main information banks today. For this reason, it is important that they understand how delicate our personal information is and do not use it indiscriminately, something that seems not to be fulfilled, and even less when the aforementioned company now accused of collecting data with "one of its most secure and private navigation systems", which is Chrome's incognito mode.
Chrome's incognito browsing isn't that secure, claims Google lawsuit
Chrome, as a good browser that it is, offers the «incognito browsing mode», the one that you surely know and have used on more than one occasion to access some other web pages, in order not to leave any trace of the session of navigation.
The purpose of this mode is as mentioned: not to leave evidence on the pages visited. Thanks to this -as long as it is activated-, the addresses of the websites are not stored in the browser's history, among other things. However, the experience of using the navigation does not diminish, since cookies and other data are downloaded during your activity, although they are then automatically deleted once the incognito session has ended, which does not happen in a navigation normal, since they are kept stored until their expiration time is fulfilled.
Google's incognito mode isn't perfect (something that has been stated before), and for this reason they have sued the company, because it does not fulfill what it promises. It has always been updating and adding new APIs so that developers and web pages cannot know if the user has incognito mode activated, although this is the flaw that is being pointed out now, as the firm seems to have left a "free entry" » which makes it possible to avoid said restriction and allows them to collect user data, even though their browsing is in incognito mode and the following message serves as a synopsis of it:
Now you can browse privately. If other people use this device, they won't see your activity. However, your downloads and favorites will be saved.
Chrome will not save the following information:
- The browsing history.
- Cookies and site data.
- Information you enter in forms.
Your activity may still be visible to:
- The websites you visit.
- Your employer or educational institution.
- The Internet service provider. »
Google would know more about us than we think, and that could cost an arm and a leg
Although Google clearly mentions the exceptions for which some data would be filtered with Chrome's incognito mode, something that it does not detail -among other possible things of real interest- is that some of its branches, such as Analytics and Ad Manager, could continue to collect user information ... This is the straw that broke the camel's back and one of the main reasons why the company is now being sued for some 5.000 million dollars, a figure that it would have to pay if the lawsuit proceeds in favor of the collective group that accuses the firm of Mountain View from violating privacy.
The Boies Schiller & Flexner law firm, which is on behalf of the plaintiffs Chasom Brown, Maria Nguyen and William Byatt, has been the one who has fearlessly singled out Google for its poor incognito mode.
As highlighted Engadget Mobile, the case has been filed in the Northern District Court of California No. 20-03665, in the United States. It could take a few months for a final verdict to be reached. While it arrives, we will be following up on this event.