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Google has taken a sweeping pass across many of its services and tools lately, and just this week, Chrome’s incognito mode was the focus. After adding new reauthentication requirements in order to access incognito tabs, the company is now revamping the verbiage for it so that users are less confused about what it does and does not do.
First discovered by TechDows, the redesigned start page for incognito mode clearly separates these two into easy-to-understand bulleted lists. While the styling of the page looks practically identical, this one change is an improvement for anyone looking to use the feature. The option to block third-party cookies was also removed from the bottom of the page now that the company has begun implementing its FLoC initiative.
What Incognito does
After closing all Incognito tabs, Chrome clears:
- Your browsing activity from this device
- Your search history from this device
- Information entered in forms
What Incognito doesn’t do
Incognito does not make you invisible online:
- Sites know when you visit them
- Employers or schools can track browsing activity
- Internet service provides may monitor web traffic
Google faced a $5 billion lawsuit over incognito mode tracking complaints last year, with the class action lawsuit stating that the company knows who your friends are, what your hobbies are, what you like to eat, and so on. It also stated that the company may even know the most intimate and potentially embarrassing things you browse on the internet – regardless of whether you follow its advice to keep your activities ‘private’.
While Google states it did notify users about its data collection methods in incognito mode, those who participated in the lawsuit disagreed, and the federal judge who handled the case did too, thus denying Alphabet’s request to get rid of it. Do you think this simple change helps to clarify what incognito mode is for and what it’s not for, or do you think more change is necessary?
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