The company claimed in a statement to the newspaper that its Incognito browser data was never associated with individual users or used to personalize accounts in any way — but as the lawsuit itself maintained, Google's marketing of Incognito misled users into thinking that the private browsing mode would include no tracking whatsoever.
"We need to stop calling it Incognito and stop using a Spy Guy icon," one employee wrote in a 2018 exchange afterabout people discovering the lack of privacy afforded by so-called "private" browsing options. In response, another employee linked to a fan wiki page for "," a "Simpsons" character who's simply Homer Simpson with a mustache and a suit, pretending to be a spy.
"Regardless of the name," the second employee continued in the damning interaction, "the Incognito icon should have always been ... which also accurately conveys the level of privacy it provides.
While the initial class action suit proposed payouts of up to $5,000 for Incognito users whose data was wrongfully collected, the latest settlement doesn't award any individual plaintiffs. It does, however, provide for individuals to sue for their own damages — and as thenotes, some of the attorneys who brought the lawsuit have already brought an additional 50 complaints regarding the settlement in California courts.