The settlement would impact all Incognito Mode data collected from June 1, 2016 to before the start of 2024. Google says that it would delete most of this browsing data, but in some cases would "de-identify" records instead.
The Google privacy lawsuit was first filed in 2020, and had been scheduled to go before the District Court on February 5. It is now on pause as the lawyers prepare a binding term sheet. Claimants are seeking a total of at least $5 billion.
Google's bid to get rid of a class action lawsuit involving its "Incognito Mode" took a serious blow in a California court, as a judge denied the company's request for a summary judgment and said that the consumer privacy concerns raised by the company's data handling were fit for trial.
Incognito Mode is an option in the Chrome browser that is supposed to keep user browsing and form entry data from being stored. A new privacy lawsuit cites internal discussions (and developer jokes) in challenging it.
