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I found myself nodding along with your comment, having worked in a massive company myself. A company the size of Google is simply not a single entity, so it is

by ragona 5y ago

I found myself nodding along with your comment, having worked in a massive company myself. A company the size of Google is simply not a single entity, so it isn’t surprising for one division to make a “private mode” that another division doesn’t respect. But isn’t that an awfully big loophole for the corporate leadership? “Well, we’re doing so many things that our left hand can’t possibly know what the right hand is doing.” When really, the teams themselves know exactly what the score is, even if they didn’t hear it from the CEO. It’s plausible deniability by being too big to understand. And it isn’t unreasonable for a consumer to believe that when “Google” offers them a private mode that Google products might become more private in some way.

akersten 5y ago
> make a “private mode” that another division doesn’t respect. It is not a "private mode," it is a "don't save browser history to my local machine, and that's it." It clearly says that when one opens it. Incognito mode does not indicate to websites that the client is supposed to "not be tracked" or whatever these plaintiffs want. That would in fact allow for even more tracking and user-hostile ("please visit this website not in incognito mode") behavior.
- jodrellblank 5y ago
  It is that, but it's not called that. It's called incognito mode. "With one's identity disguised or concealed". With the icon of a spy in trenchcoat and hat and shades. Going out into the world incognito does not imply "everyone knows who I am as usual, I just don't keep a diary entry of where I go", it implies some attempt to disguise and hide and obscure. FireFox's "Private Browsing" mode is similarly misnamed. "Private" does not imply: everyone knows what I'm doing, except my personal diary log has no record of it. Private implies other people don't know. Would it not be a bit daft for Ford to release a "silent car" when all it means is a loud V8 engine but they give you a pair of earplugs so that you can't hear it?
  - asdfasgasdgasdg 5y ago
    To me, incognito means, "I'm out in the world, and possibly identifiable, but I am not broadcasting as much information about myself as I typically would." For example, I'm not sending my typical logged in cookies. That's exactly what I expect incognito mode to do and, I believe, exactly what it does. If I'm out in the world incognito, that doesn't mean I can't possibly be identified. A close look at my face might still let someone figure out who I am, despite my Dick Tracy hat. It just means I'm putting in some effort not to allow my identity to be known. This seems like a great metaphor for what incognito mode does.

by ragona 5y ago

akersten 5y ago

> make a “private mode” that another division doesn’t respect. It is not a "private mode," it is a "don't save browser history to my local machine, and that's it." It clearly says that when one opens it. Incognito mode does not indicate to websites that the client is supposed to "not be tracked" or whatever these plaintiffs want. That would in fact allow for even more tracking and user-hostile ("please visit this website not in incognito mode") behavior.

jodrellblank 5y ago
It is that, but it's not called that. It's called incognito mode. "With one's identity disguised or concealed". With the icon of a spy in trenchcoat and hat and shades. Going out into the world incognito does not imply "everyone knows who I am as usual, I just don't keep a diary entry of where I go", it implies some attempt to disguise and hide and obscure. FireFox's "Private Browsing" mode is similarly misnamed. "Private" does not imply: everyone knows what I'm doing, except my personal diary log has no record of it. Private implies other people don't know. Would it not be a bit daft for Ford to release a "silent car" when all it means is a loud V8 engine but they give you a pair of earplugs so that you can't hear it?
- asdfasgasdgasdg 5y ago
  To me, incognito means, "I'm out in the world, and possibly identifiable, but I am not broadcasting as much information about myself as I typically would." For example, I'm not sending my typical logged in cookies. That's exactly what I expect incognito mode to do and, I believe, exactly what it does. If I'm out in the world incognito, that doesn't mean I can't possibly be identified. A close look at my face might still let someone figure out who I am, despite my Dick Tracy hat. It just means I'm putting in some effort not to allow my identity to be known. This seems like a great metaphor for what incognito mode does.