“Fuzzy language and red herrings”: Even Google employees mock Chrome’s private browsing

Google Chrome’s “private browsing” isn’t that private. Nobody knows this better than Google employees themselves since, as evidenced by documents obtained by Bloombergthe latter regularly make fun of the poor protection offered by this option.

Not so private browsing

Embedded in a lawsuit that could cost it billions of dollars, Google has every interest in making Chrome’s private browsing “truly private”Admits Lorraine Twohill, Google’s marketing manager, in an email to Sundar Pichai. “We need to stop calling it private browsing and using a spy icon”suggested another employee in 2018. Well aware of the limits of this option, a Googler — in other words, an employee of the Google search engine — even proposed changing the spy icon to that of Guy Incognito, a character from the simpsons entirely modeled after Homer but with a small mustache. A figure that “reflects the level of confidentiality offered [par le mode de navigation privée de Google Chrome]”jokes the manager.

Google Chrome’s private browsing mode does not effectively prevent advertising agencies from tracking you on the Web. Concretely, this mode just prevents your computer from remembering your browsing history, but your IP address can still be recorded. This allows site publishers, and Google, to continue to collect personal information about Internet users who use it. “We’re limited in how we can promote private browsing because it’s not really private. It forces us to use vague language and red herrings”regrets Lorraine Twohill in the same email addressed to the CEO of Google.

Google considers itself transparent on the subject

At the heart of the contention is the little informational message Chrome displays when opening an incognito tab. For Google, this message is “clear on the operation and usefulness of the system [de navigation privée]” while, according to some employees, the presentation made of the tool is misleading, forcing Internet users to click on a “Find out more” link to understand how the tool works. A study cited in one of the emails unearthed by Bloomberg even explains that 56.3% of Internet users surveyed believe that private browsing prevents Google from tracking their activities. Which is not the case.

It will be up to Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers (the same one who handled the Fortnite case vs. Apple) to determine whether Google’s communication is misleading and whether the class action started months ago can therefore continue. In the meantime, if you really want to surf as anonymously as possible, the best solution is to use the Tor network.