Named & Shamed
Keumars Afifi-Sabet puts the boot into tech villains, jargon-spouting companies and misbehaving software
SOFTWARE WARNING!Google updates Chrome’s Incognito terms
Google knew exactly what it was doing back in 2008 when it used the word ‘Incognito’ to name the more private version of Chrome. It sounds exciting, like you’re browsing the web undercover, and is more open to interpretation than ‘anonymous’. As a result, people have been using Incognito mode without properly understanding what it does.
Many users assume that it blocks sites from collecting your data, but it was never designed for this. What it mainly does is stop your browsing history being saved, preventing other people who use your computer from seeing what sites you’ve visited. Chrome’s terms have always said this, but previously it never clearly stated that websites can actually track you in Incognito mode.
Google has finally come clean, but only after being threatened with a $5bn class-action lawsuit in the US that accuses it of illegally invading the privacy of users. Chrome’s updated terms now say that going incognito “won’t change how data is collected by websites you visit and the services they use, including Google”.
However, this change only appears when you go incognito in Chrome Canary, which is an early “unstable” version for testing new features – and therefore used by hardly anyone. Go incognito in the full version of Chrome and you’ll still see the old wording. Compare our screenshots and you’ll notice the difference.
And Chrome’s new wording still isn’t explicit enough for us. Google should state what it really means – ie, that websites can see what you do and show you targeted adverts if you sign into your account. Or, better still, it could advise people to switch to Brave and be done with it.
WHAT ARE THEY TALKING AB
