$5 Billion Google Incognito Privacy Tracking Class Action Lawsuit

Unsplash | Published: January 12, 2024

Claim Form Deadline: Pending

Payout: Pending

What is the $5 Billion Google Settlement About?

A $5,000,000,000 Class Action Lawsuit has been settled with Google and its parent company, Alphabet, over claims that Google was violating user privacy by allowing the tracking of user behavior even if users have "Incognito" mode or private mode enabled in their Chrome browsers, or other browsers, such as Firefox and Safari. The Google browser private mode class action centers around the fact that Incognito mode in Chrome allows users to search the internet without their data being saved on their device. However, the class action argues, Google is still able to collect user activity data via website owners who are able to collect analytics information from user activity on their site.

The Google class action lawsuit alleged that Google was collecting personally identifiable user data which could exploit users for potentially sensitive information. The class action claims that Google is gathering massive amounts of browsing user data, which the class action lawyers argued was potentially dangerous if it fell into the wrong hands.

Google, by far the world's most popular internet search engine, stated in response to the class action lawsuit that they were clear about user data still being collected, even if users had Incognito or private modes enabled when browsing in Chrome or other browsers. Google also responded by saying that the collection of user data such as browsing history, even when using Incognito private mode to browse, allows the search engine to improve their core business with better services and content.

How Do I File a Claim in the Google Class Action?

A Class Action Settlement has not been approved or agreed upon yet. However, class action lawyers and the Court expect to discuss a settlement agreement that will be put forward before the Court some time in early 2024. Once the class action settlement terms are agreed upon, we will update this page with a link to the claim form, and outline the benefits or payouts awarded to users that may qualify for a payment.

How Much Can I Get From the Class Action Settlement?

The Google Private mode class action settlement has not been agreed upon yet. Please check this page later for details as updates to the class action lawsuit and case are reported.

This is not the first Open Class Action lawsuit garnering national attention in recent memory. Google, and its parent company Alphabet, had settled a $23,000,000 class action settlement in 2023 over allegations that Google shared users' search information with third-parties between October 26, 2006 through September 30, 2013 without getting appropriate permissions from users who searched on Google.

Google also settled and paid out a $100,000,000 Class Action Settlement in which it was alleged that they had violated Illinois privacy law by collecting and keeping biometric data of Illinois residents. People who appeared in Google Photos, while residing in Illinois did not receive proper notice and consent as per government privacy protections, according to the 2022 class action lawsuit. Stay tuned to this most recent, record-shattering $5 Billion Google class action by subscribing to our newsletter below to get updates on when the class action will be open to claims.