As part of a settlement ending a significant privacy case, Google will have to delete billions of data records on customers’ private browsing activity, according to court documents made public on April 1. Google is required by the proposed settlement to implement significant modifications, such as disabling third-party cookie tracking when using the Chrome browser in incognito mode. Everything you ought to know concerning the litigation is provided below.
A proposed class-action lawsuit against Google was filed in June 2020, alleging that the tech giant had unlawfully invaded the privacy of millions of users. The main contention of the complaint was that Google was constantly monitoring users’ internet activity and browser preferences, even when they were using “private” browsing settings like Chrome’s Incognito.
According to the lawsuit, Google was surreptitiously gathering information about users’ searches, friends, hobbies, and shopping patterns, as well as information about the websites and locations they visited, all while giving the impression that users were browsing anonymously.
The plaintiffs demanded at least $5 billion in damages for breaking both California privacy laws and federal wiretapping regulations, claiming that Google could not “continue to engage in the covert and unauthorised data collection from virtually every American.”
Google insisted during the legal dispute that it never connected any information to specific users when they were using Incognito mode, nor did it use such information for tailored advertisements or suggestions.
For example, in response to the most recent development, a Google representative told CNN that the company was “happy to delete old technical data that was never associated with an individual and was never used for any form of personalization” and that the case was “meritless.”
The firm further emphasized that, despite the plaintiffs’ initial demand for $5 billion in damages, they are “receiving zero” in payments under the agreement.
As a result of the lawsuit, Google discreetly altered the messages regarding the data collected during secret browsing sessions that appear when you create a new incognito tab on Chrome earlier this year. Instead of saying it supports “private browsing,” Chrome now states that users can “browse more privately.”
Google will also have to remove billions of data records that show the private surfing habits of individuals who are subject to the class action lawsuit as part of the new settlement. Furthermore, the business will need to prevent advertisers from tracking users’ private browsing sessions by blocking third-party tracking cookies by default in Incognito mode.
Court documents from April 2024 provided more information about the terms of the settlement, which is the most recent update. The agreement does not call on Google to pay impacted users directly, even if it requires the company to remove a massive amount of historical private browsing data.
“Users will not receive damages as part of this settlement, but may still sue for damages individually,” according to the April 2024 documents.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers is scheduled to hold a hearing to negotiate the settlement on July 30. If authorized, it would represent a dramatic shift in Google’s privacy policies and impose much stricter controls on the collecting of advertising data during private browsing sessions.
How about cookies?
As part of the settlement, Google had to modify its policies on third-party cookies for the next five years when using Incognito mode. Advertisers use cookies, which are tiny tracking files, to track user behavior on websites and target adverts.
Google needs to stop third-party tracking cookies in Incognito mode by default going forward. This covers all third-party cookie types that are set by websites other than the one the user is currently on.
The campaign to ban third-party cookies is a part of larger efforts to phase them out due to privacy concerns. Google had previously stated that they will remove them from Chrome in two years, but they had repeatedly postponed the commencement date.
