You are tracked even when you are using Incognito mode on Google Chrome, Google makes it clear

Just in case you didn’t know and were blissfully unaware - when you are browsing on the Incognito mode on Google Chrome, you are still being tracked. Browsing on Incognito does not protect your online privacy, and Google wants to be very clear about it.

Three people sued Google in the US for tracking users even when on Incognito mode and Google wanted that case, a $5 billion lawsuit that charges Google of “pervasive data tracking business”, trashed. And Google’s reason for that is simple - the company believed that people already knew the meaning of ‘incognito’.

For Google, “incognito” does not mean “invisible” and it ought to be common sense for Chrome users. However, a California judge is refusing to quash the class action lawsuit as per a Bloomberg report. “Google did not notify users that Google engages in the alleged data collection while the user is in private browsing mode,” US District judge Lucy Koh said.

Google denied this and said in a statement to The Verge that they are going to defend themselves vigorously against it.

Google has clarified in the court filing that “incognito” does not mean “invisible” and that a user’s activity during a session on Incognito mode means that the session will be visible to the websites they visit and also any third-party analytics or ad services that the website uses.

The whole point of the incognito mode, as Google has explained, is that the mode “gives users the choice to browse the internet without activity being saved to their browser or devices”. This does not extend to the sites users are visiting, those sites are still going to track them.

Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda told The Verge - “We clearly state each time you open a new incognito tab, websites might be able to collect information about your browsing activity during your session”.

If you read carefully, it's mentioned that Chrome won't save your browsing history, but your activity might be visible to websites you visit, your employer or school and your internet service provider. 

So, just in case you thought your online activity was safe while you were on Incognito, well, you were wrong.