Summary

  • Google has reached a settlement in a $5 billion lawsuit over allegations of harvesting data from Chrome customers, even in incognito mode. The terms of the agreement are currently unknown.
  • A preliminary settlement has been informally reported to U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez, with a formal document expected to be approved in February 2024.
  • The judge had concerns about the clarity of Chrome's privacy notice and the location where information about incognito users was logged. Google argued that the notice was clear, but has now agreed to a settlement.

Back in 2020, Google was sued in a $5 billion lawsuit claiming that the company harvested the data of its Chrome customers even if they were using the browser in incognito mode. The claimant argued that services like Google Ad Manager and Google Analytics still collected information about the preferences and browsing activities of the user and while they were not tied directly to a profile, a user could still be identified by augmenting this data with previously known information about online habits. After about three years, Google has now agreed to a settlement in this landmark case.

The BBC reports that lawyers from both parties have informed U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez about a preliminary settlement in the $5 billion lawsuit. The terms of the agreement are currently unknown, but a formal document detailing the clauses of the settlement is expected to be approved in February 2024.

Earlier this year, Google had filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, but it was rejected by Judge Gonzalez. The judge had shared concerns about the wording of the privacy notice displayed when you open Chrome in Incognito and had also expressed discontent at the fact that information about Incognito users was logged in the same location as those who used the browser without Incognito.

Meanwhile, Google had argued that its privacy notice was sufficiently clear and upfront about the information collected. Right now, if you open Chrome in Incognito mode, you are informed that your browsing history, cookies, and form information won't be saved, but that your activity may still be visible to website owners, your employer or school (on a managed device), and your internet service provider (ISP).

Despite Google's insistence over the past couple of years that it will defend itself vigorously against the lawsuit, it seems that it has agreed on a settlement as the most viable path forward. 9to5Google notes that the initial agreement will be presented to the court towards the end of next month, with formal approval expected in February 2024.