{"id":100389,"date":"2022-10-18T07:09:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-18T07:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/google-workers-joked-that-incognito-mode-is-not-truly-private\/"},"modified":"2022-10-18T07:09:00","modified_gmt":"2022-10-18T07:09:00","slug":"google-workers-joked-that-incognito-mode-is-not-truly-private","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/google-workers-joked-that-incognito-mode-is-not-truly-private\/","title":{"rendered":"Google workers joked that &#8216;Incognito Mode&#8217; is &#8216;not truly private&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Google employees cracked jokes about the Chrome browser&#8217;s \u201cIncognito mode\u201d and the company for not living up to its users&#8217; expectations for privacy, according to a series of internal communications unearthed in court. <\/p>\n<p>In one 2018 chat, a Google engineer proposed changing Incognito mode&#8217;s icon to \u201cGuy Incognito,\u201d a character from the Simpsons known for looking identical to protagonist Homer Simpson except for a mustache, according to court documents reported by Bloomberg. <\/p>\n<p>The character&#8217;s lazy disguise \u201caccurately conveys the level of privacy [Incognito mode] provides\u201d in comparison to Chrome&#8217;s standard browsing mode, the employee said. <\/p>\n<p>In another recently released email, Google marketing chief Lorraine Twohill proposed strengthening Incognito mode&#8217;s protections in order to gain user trust. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cMake Incognito Mode truly private,\u201d Twohill wrote in a 2021 email.  \u201cWe are limited in how strongly we can market Incognito because it&#8217;s not truly private, thus requiring really fuzzy, hedging language that is almost more damaging.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Google Chrome users frequently turn to Incognito mode when searching for sensitive or smutty content \u2014 but critics and some of Google&#8217;s own employees say the company isn&#8217;t upfront about how much of users&#8217; information is still exposed. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption>One Google employee compared Incognito mode to the Simpsons character \u201cGuy Incognito.\u201d <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">fox<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>More than half of users falsely believe using Incognito mode prevents Google from seeing what they search online, according to a 2018 study from the University of Chicago and the Leibniz University of Hanover.  In addition, more than 40% falsely think that Incognito prevents websites from estimating their location, according to the study. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need to stop calling it Incognito and stop using a Spy Guy icon,\u201d one Google engineer wrote in 2018 with a link to the study about users overestimating Incognito&#8217;s protections. <\/p>\n<p>Another employee proposed changing Incognito&#8217;s launch screen to say: \u201cYou are NOT protected from Google.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>That proposed change was rejected by Google executives, according to court documents. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/chrome-Ken-Paxton-44.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Google Chrome\" class=\"wp-image-24283153\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/chrome-Ken-Paxton-44.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/chrome-Ken-Paxton-44.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/chrome-Ken-Paxton-44.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\"\/><figcaption>One employee proposed changing Incognito&#8217;s launch screen to say: \u201cYou are NOT protected from Google.\u201d <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">SOPA Images\/LightRocket via Gett<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Google&#8217;s current Incognito launch screen tells users that \u201cother people who use this device won&#8217;t see your activity\u201d but that \u201cwebsites you visit,\u201d \u201cyour employer or school\u201d and \u201cyour internet service provider\u201d may still be able to see their activity.  It does not mention Google being able to see users&#8217; activity. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cPrivacy controls have long been built into our services and we encourage our teams to constantly discuss or consider ideas to improve them,\u201d Google spokesperson Jos\u00e9 Casta\u00f1eda said in a statement.  \u201cIncognito mode offers users a private browsing experience, and we&#8217;ve been clear about how it works and what it does whereas the plaintiffs in this case have purposely mischaracterized our statements.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The emails were unearthed as part of an ongoing class-action lawsuit against Google in California federal court on behalf of millions of Incognito mode users.  If a judge allows the suit to move forward, Google could be on the hook for billions of dollars in damages. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>    .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Google employees cracked jokes about the Chrome browser&#8217;s \u201cIncognito mode\u201d and the company for not living up to its users&#8217; expectations for privacy, according to a series of internal communications unearthed in court. In one 2018 chat, a Google engineer proposed changing Incognito mode&#8217;s icon to \u201cGuy Incognito,\u201d a character from the Simpsons known for &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/google-workers-joked-that-incognito-mode-is-not-truly-private\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Google workers joked that &#8216;Incognito Mode&#8217; is &#8216;not truly private&#8217;<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[4],"tags":[329,21327,1702,110,16042,1383,32040],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":100996,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/emails-show-google-employees-mocked-companys-incognito-mode-browser-saying-its-not-private\/","url_meta":{"origin":100389,"position":0},"title":"Emails show Google employees MOCKED company&#8217;s &#8216;incognito mode&#8217; browser &#8211; saying it&#8217;s not private","date":"October 18, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Leaked emails show Google employees MOCKED company's 'incognito mode' browser - saying it's 'not truly private' - as consumer lawsuit seeks BILLIONS in damages for company's false promisesGoogle employees mocked the company's false advertisement of the private browsing 'incognito mode' option in a string of leaked emails from 2018 Engineers\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Google is facing a lawsuit after consumers suggested the company's Incognito browser isn't actually private","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2022\/10\/18\/17\/63601551-11328409-image-a-42_1666110910683.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":98071,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/google-engineers-joked-about-how-incognito-mode-isnt-very-incognito\/","url_meta":{"origin":100389,"position":1},"title":"Google Engineers Joked About How Incognito Mode Isn&#8217;t Very Incognito","date":"October 15, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"\"We need to stop calling it Incognito and stop using a Spy Guy icon.\"I SpyGoogle is at the center of an icky argument, filed in May, that alleges the Silicon Valley giant misled the public about how much data it collects from users even when they're in its Chrome browser's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23370,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/private-browsing-may-not-protect-you-as-much-as-you-think\/","url_meta":{"origin":100389,"position":2},"title":"Private browsing may not protect you as much as you think","date":"July 23, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"But clicking the \"private\" browsing option might not protect you as much as you think, some privacy experts say.These options have different names \u2014 Private Browsing on Safari and Firefox, and Incognito mode on Chrome \u2014 but the functionality is similar on each. In these private modes, the chosen browser\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15691,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/controversial-lineman-richie-incognito-announces-retirement-from-raiders\/","url_meta":{"origin":100389,"position":3},"title":"Controversial lineman Richie Incognito announces retirement from Raiders","date":"July 15, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Richie Incognito is retiring after two injury-riddled seasons. (Photo by Tim Warner\/Getty Images)Controversial Las Vegas Raiders lineman Richie Incognito announced his retirement from the NFL on Friday. Incognito wrote a letter to Raiders fans announcing the news.In the letter, Incognito thanks Raiders fans for supporting him in both Oakland and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":65859,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/5-google-maps-apple-maps-and-waze-tips-and-tricks-you-need-to-try\/","url_meta":{"origin":100389,"position":4},"title":"5 Google Maps, Apple Maps and Waze tips and tricks you need to try","date":"September 4, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! The convenience of GPS apps comes with a downside. Here's how to see years of details everywhere you've used Google Maps. It's a bit startingling to see it all in one place. There are more private options. DuckDuckGo's navigation service uses the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/newspress-collage-24282739-1666014590943.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&1666000530&w=1024","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100389"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100389\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}