Google tracks user data even when they go 'Incognito'

Discussion in 'privacy problems' started by ZMsiXone, Aug 25, 2018.

  1. ZMsiXone

    ZMsiXone Registered Member

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    source: https://www.pcauthority.com.au/news/google-tracks-user-data-even-when-they-go-incognito-500751

     
  2. EASTER

    EASTER Registered Member

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    There is no place to hide from The Shadow Man- Google is your friend & always watching companion :doubt:
     
  3. Socio

    Socio Registered Member

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    Would not a a good encrypted VPN stop it?
     
  4. mirimir

    mirimir Registered Member

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    Yes, but only with compartmentalization. Using the same browser with and without the VPN connected does little good. The best option is using the VPN in a dedicated VM, or a different physical machine. Sandboxing may be OK for the most part, but it's iffy. VMs are also iffy, but much less so.
     
  5. roger_m

    roger_m Registered Member

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    I only sign into my Google account in Edge, which I use solely for watching YouTube videos. On my Android devices, while I do use a Google account, I don't use it for Chrome.
     
  6. lolnothankyou

    lolnothankyou Registered Member

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    I thought Incognito mode is there to help the government understand who should be tracked more closely.
     
  7. Minimalist

    Minimalist Registered Member

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    :)
    Yes, and VPNs and TOR also :)
     
  8. mirimir

    mirimir Registered Member

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    Well, Tor for sure :) But VPNs? The alternatives are arguably worse. Skulking about WiFi hotspots?
     
  9. emmjay

    emmjay Registered Member

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    I finally found a use for incognito mode, though I am not too thrilled about the reason.

    I had to check my billing details this month from my ISP. The site hosts no less than 18 third parties. :rolleyes: In FF, I opened the site in sandboxie. NoScript is enabled but I could not log on even after having all of the 'safe' websites set to temp. and reloading each time. Enabling JavaScript did not help either. I got out of sandboxie and tried again - no luck. Cleared cookies and browsing data, tried again - no luck. Then over to Chrome where I have uBo enabled. JavaScript is enabled just for this site, as it is a requirement. I could not logon even after clearing browsing data and allowing some of those obnoxious third parties. Both browsers are at current patch level. Trying to work with this site has become a nightmare.

    Out of desperation I re-opened Chrome in Incognito mode (no blockers, no JS obviously). I got logged on immediately. :isay: Got out of this mode as soon as I was finished so Google could not slurp everything. They will get some of it. This is new because I know I had access to the very same website many months ago without all these issues. Incognito mode is not my choice as I would rather my adblockers do their job and I'd prefer to use sandboxie when accessing financially sensitive info. Something is afoot that I am not aware of.
     
  10. Reality

    Reality Registered Member

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    Funny you should say that. I'm finding the same with my ISP and just recently when I went to access my account there were numerous issues getting through, but I'm on FF. I've found in general, places like this have so many 3rdPs hooked into their their sites it's indeed a nightmare. So far though, I've managed to get in and keep the google monster at bay.

    I don't really know exactly what incognito Private Browsing Mode does so I've chosen to leave it alone and tweak other settings instead.
     
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2018
  11. Compu KTed

    Compu KTed Registered Member

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    Chrome itself says:
    Using anything from Google your essentially giving up your privacy IMO.

    Firefox has similar feature called "Private Browsing Mode".
    Unfortunately you can't use uBO extension correctly when PBM is
    enabled in FF.
    As you mentioned you can tweak other settings
     
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2018
  12. Reality

    Reality Registered Member

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    Corrected my post above to say Private Browsing Mode instead of Incognito. I don't use Chrome Browser and I have no intentions of starting. As we know Google is an absolute monster, so much so, I think they've gone past the point of being stoppable.

    Settings like incognito/PBM seem to me to be a double edged sword. I'm always wondering what the catch is, sorta like the stupid opt-out model. They're always thinking up the next acceptable looking phrase that really means "we're phoning back to mothership"
     
  13. Buddel

    Buddel Registered Member

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    Just one reason why it would never occur to me to use Google Chrome.
     
  14. 142395

    142395 Guest

    Well, isn't the Incognito just about not permanently saving cookie, history, login etc. (+ disabling addon by default)? (I mean: no news, right?) Main use of this is e.g. when you need to login to sth on your colleague's PC.
    But Brave have gone 1 step further, have integrated Tor and it will come to stable build soon.
     
  15. Compu KTed

    Compu KTed Registered Member

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    Yes that's the idea. To call it private browsing or Incognito mode
    sound good, but is it really PRIVATE? You still can be tracked online.
    It does not hide your IP address and info like location, browser & OS used
    can be seen. I think Tor and/or VPN would offer more privacy.

    Seems like all browsers nowadays have built-in PBM or Incognito feature.
    Microsoft has similar feature called InPrivate Browsing.
     
  16. Compu KTed

    Compu KTed Registered Member

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    Many do use it. Not for me.
     
  17. Compu KTed

    Compu KTed Registered Member

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    Private browsing with tracking protection

    When you browse in a Private Window, Firefox does not save:
    visited pages
    searches
    cookies
    temporary files
    passwords

    Firefox will save your:
    bookmarks
    downloads

    With Tracking Protection Firefox will block many trackers that can collect
    information about your browsing behavior.

    I don't have the link, but supposedly there was a survey done about
    “privacy mode” / “icognito” and something like 83% of people thought
    that mode made them anonymous and kept them private.

    NOTE: Currently I don't use PBM.
     
  18. mirimir

    mirimir Registered Member

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    That's about retaining fewer traces locally. So it's more private from others who share, or can access, your device.
     
  19. Reality

    Reality Registered Member

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    @Compu KTed thanks. I won't be using PBM. There's some settings that are made to look better than they are and give a false sense of security. You're always looking out for some sleight of hand and any type of underhand tracking is a gross invasion of privacy.
     
  20. Beyonder

    Beyonder Registered Member

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    The correct number is 36% thought that. Guess it depends on how to interpret "The site they visit" though. If it means it protects their IP or if it prevents the site from seeing their Facebook cookies.
    https://elie.net/blog/privacy/understanding-how-people-use-private-browsing

    Even so, the incognito page itself says it doesn't make you anonymous. If people can't read, that's not Google's issue.
     
  21. cruelsister

    cruelsister Registered Member

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    Google (or more properly Alphabet) is a company that is currently valued at ~775 BILLION USD. They obviously make money! And as the old saying goes,

    "If you don't know what the Product sold is, then the Product is You".
     
  22. Chuck57

    Chuck57 Registered Member

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    The safest and most anonymous method of Internet use is not using the Internet. It's obvious private/incognito doesn't keep you anonymous. Visit a few sites, then hop on yourFacebook page and don't be surprised when ads related to previous search time begin showing. If you were anonymous, how would they know? That's a single example.

    Surf as if the world will know what you visit, because it probably will.
     
  23. summerheat

    summerheat Registered Member

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    Oh, please! It's easy to prevent that, e.g. with uBlock Origin. This has been discussed many times in this forum.
     
  24. Chuck57

    Chuck57 Registered Member

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    That was an example. I have Ublock. The simple fact is, private/incognito works to prevent other users of the computer from seeing where you go. It does little or nothing to keep certain players on the Internet from tracking you.
     
  25. Reality

    Reality Registered Member

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    That's obscene! No company should have ever been let to get to that point. o_O - and people holler that Google and other giants like it are just trying to make money. No, that's just plain out and out greed. I wouldn't even call it honest money.
     
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