How incognito mode works on Chrome, & how Google may have misled users

If you're tech-savvy or well-versed in cybersecurity, you might correctly think that incognito mode is far from an absolute solution. In fact, using a great VPN can be more useful than using incognito mode, depending on what aspects of privacy matter most to you. However, casual users incorrectly believed that using incognito mode in Chrome blocked Google from tracking their browsing history. Enough users felt misled by Google's incognito mode that a class-action lawsuit developed in 2020, and the case had merits because Google recently settled it for $5 billion.

So, is incognito mode flawed? Here's what you need to know about how incognito mode works and how Google may have stretched the truth in its explainers for the feature.

Why Google settled for $5 billion

The lawsuit alleged Google misled users over incognito mode tracking

The lawsuit, filed in California, claimed that Google kept tracking user activity in Chrome even while incognito mode was active. More importantly, the plaintiffs alleged that Google's explanatory text for incognito mode in Chrome "intentionally deceive[s] consumers," as reported by Business Insider. As soon as you open a Chrome window in incognito mode, you get a splash page explaining exactly what incognito mode does. It says browsing history, cookies and site data, and information entered in forms won't be saved to Chrome. However, it says that websites, employers, schools, and your ISP may still be able to see your data.

Google strongly opposed the grounds of the lawsuit. The company tried to have the case dismissed, but lost its bid in a ruling on Aug. 8, 2023. Lawyers for the plaintiffs said that Google's tracking of users in incognito mode violated federal wiretapping laws, as well as California privacy laws, according to Reuters. Instead of going to trial, Google opted to settle the case, paying $5 billion dollars in a pending settlement agreement. Google's settlement does not mean the company has admitted to wrongdoing, but $5 billion would be a lot to pay to settle a case without merits, even for Google.

"Incognito mode in Chrome gives you the choice to browse the internet without your activity being saved to your browser or device," Jose Castaneda, a Google spokesperson, told Reuters at the time. "As we clearly state each time you open a new incognito tab, websites might be able to collect information about your browsing activity during your session."

The problem with Google's incognito mode

The privacy disclaimer cleverly separates Google from Chrome

The issue with Google's transparency and conduct in relation to incognito mode is that the company's disclaimers use technicalities. Whether these technicalities are an intentional attempt to mislead or not is up for debate. Either way, it's clear that Google has carefully worded its incognito mode disclaimer. Here's what Google says in its current explainer for the incognito mode in Google Chrome:

You've gone incognito. Now you can browse privately, and other people who use this device won't see your activity. However, downloads and bookmarks will be saved. Chrome won't save the following information: your browsing history, cookies and site data, information entered in forms. Your activity might still be visible to: websites that you visit, your employer or school, your internet service provider.

After reading that, you might think your data is safe from Google, but not other sites. However, that's not the case. While incognito mode will hide your browsing information and data from Chrome, it will not hide your browsing information and data from Google. The slight differences between the phrases actually mean a lot in terms of privacy. Since incognito mode only hides your browsing data from your browser, it's essentially equivalent to clearing your history, cache, and cookies in Chrome after the fact.

By comparison, if Google still has access to your information while using incognito mode, it can be used to build your user profile for Google's extensive ad portfolio. If you use Google Search, the company can also collect that data. It won't be tied to your Google account, but it will be tied to your individual advertising profile. Even if you don't use Google Search, your browsing history in incognito mode could still be collected by Google if you visit websites with Google Ads on them.

Here's where the technicality comes into play. Google isn't really lying here because Google is indeed a website, and it says websites can still view your browsing activity in incognito mode. But the company also doesn't say that Google specifically will continue to track you in incognito mode, and the mention that Chrome won't track you could be confusing to end users. Whether that confusion is intentional, again, is up for debate. However, the idea that Google may be misleading users was plausible enough for a California judge to allow the lawsuit to continue and for Google to pay $5 billion to settle it.

But it looks like Google intends to make the disclaimer for incognito mode a lot clearer following the high-profile settlement. As first spotted by MSPowerUser and confirmed by XDA, Google's latest Chrome Canary build for Android and Windows has a new disclaimer. It's not available to the public yet, but here's what the disclaimer in the experimental Chrome build says:

Others who use this device won’t see your activity, so you can browse more privately. This won’t change how data is collected by websites you visit and the services they use, including Google. Downloads, bookmarks and reading list items will be saved. Chrome won't save: your browsing history, cookies and site data, information entered in forms. Your activity might still be visible to: websites that you visit, your employer or school, your internet service provider.

Does incognito mode protect your privacy?

You should view it as turning off your browsing history

Hopefully, by this point, you've realized that incognito mode in Google Chrome does little more than simply stop saving your browsing activity to your on-device browser and Google account. Google can still view your online information in a variety of cases, including Google Search and Ads. It can use or share this data with third parties, so something you searched for privately could appear in a target ad days later. As Google clearly states, other sites, institutions, and ISPs can also collect this data in incognito mode.

As a tech reporter, I've long been aware that there is little you can do to keep your online activity truly private. Private browsing mode gives you a tiny bit of privacy, and a free or paid VPN can do a lot more. At the end of the day, a good rule of thumb is to expect that anything you do online can be tracked by someone or something, somehow.