Google Faces $5B Lawsuit for Tracking Users in Incognito Mode

A proposed class-action lawsuit filed earlier this week accuses Google of violating users' privacy by collecting their data while they searched the Web in "incognito mode," or private browsing.

The lawsuit seeks at least $5 billion, Reuters reports. A complaint filed in federal court alleges Google collects data via Google Analytics and Google Ad Manager, along with other applications and plug-ins, to learn more about where people browse and what they view on the Web. This data collection occurs whether or not someone clicks a Google-supported ad, the report notes.

By furtively collecting data from users browsing in private mode, the lawsuit alleges, Google has misled millions of people into thinking their information and habits were private when they were not. Google "cannot continue to engage in the covert and unauthorized data collection from virtually every American with a computer or phone," the complaint stated.

The proposed lawsuit likely includes millions of users who browsed the Web in incognito mode since June 1, 2016. It seeks $5,000 in damages per person for violations of federal wiretapping and California privacy laws.

Read the full report here.

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