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If I go to maps.google.com in incognito mode, it opens directly on my hometown, presumably from my IP address. Google can use _at least_ the combination of thi
by Doctor_Fegg 3y ago
If I go to maps.google.com in incognito mode, it opens directly on my hometown, presumably from my IP address.
Google can use _at least_ the combination of this and my browser UA to track me should they so desire. (There may be other persistent cookie-like things, who knows.)
This new prompt is them admitting that they do. I would rather that they chose not to.
- srj 3y agoDisclaimer: Google employee who doesn't work on this. My understanding is that incognito mode is a temporary and blank profile that is cleared when you exit. If it actually prohibited cookies a large number of websites wouldn't work as session information is used in all kinds of contexts (not just advertising). AFAIK there's no special treatment for incognito as the site owner shouldn't be able to tell an incognito user from a new never-seen-before user. Each time you exit and relaunch incognito you will get the same behavior as a new user. There have been tricks over the years for website owners to try and deduce the browser is incognito (e.g. testing available scratch space in the JS file API). In general this is a cat and mouse game where gaps are closed and new fingerprinting methods are developed. In terms of location tracking, websites are still getting your IP address which can be geo mapped. If they want the location from your browser, you should be getting prompted to allow/block.
- jsnell 3y agoAccording to the article the new text is: "Others who use this device won’t see your activity, so you can browse more privately. This won’t change how data is collected by websites you visit and the services they use, including Google." It's pretty clear that the text is not "admitting" what you claim it is, you've just made that all up.