Google has agreed to destroy billions of data records that the tech giant “secretly collected” from users who used the ‘Incognito’ mode to browse the internet privately.

In Short

• Google to destroy billions of ‘Incognito’ mode data
• Data was ‘secretly collected’ from users
• Users had browsed internet privately

In a recent lawsuit settlement, Google has agreed to disclose its data collection practices during “private” browsing sessions and provide the option for “Incognito” users to automatically block third-party tracking cookies for the next five years.

The class-action suit covers millions of Google users who have used private browsing mode since June 1, 2016. The users felt they were misled as they believed their online secrets were safe in Google’s private browsing mode.

The terms of settlement were filed on Monday at a federal court in Oakland, California, and it now requires approval by US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.

According to a statement by plaintiffs’ lawyer, David Boies, this settlement is viewed as a significant step towards demanding transparency and accountability from dominant technology companies.

On the other hand, Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda stated that while the tech giant has consistently believed the lawsuit to be without merit, they are satisfied with reaching a settlement.

Castaneda further clarified that Google never links data with individual users when they are in Incognito mode, and the company is willing to delete any old technical data that was not associated with specific individuals or used for personalization purposes.