In a recent development Google has reached a preliminary settlement in a lawsuit accusing them of secretly tracking the internet activities of millions of users. That had no idea it was happening. The lawsuit, from 2020, wanted a substantial $5 billion in damages and claimed that Google's analytics, cookies, and apps allowed it to track users even in so called "Incognito" (private mode)

A court in California, has put the scheduled trial on hold, after it was informed to the lawyers for Google and the consumers revealed the preliminary settlement. While the settlement specific terms remain secret, the lawyers have agreed to a binding term sheet. 

It was argued that Google's tracking extended beyond users privacy settings, turning the company into an "unaccountable trove of information." heaven for scanners imo., Even when setting browsers to private modes users said Google's analytics, cookies, and apps continued to monitor their activities, potentially exposing personal details such as friends, hobbies, favorite foods, and even "potentially embarrassing things."

The lawsuit is highlighting the open question if Google had made a legally binding promise not to collect users data during private browsing. The judge referred to Google's privacy policy and other company statements that suggested limitations on the information it might collect.

The lawsuit covered millions of Google users since June 1 2016, and they wanted a minimum of $5,000 in damages per user for alleged violations of federal wire-tapping and California privacy laws.