--- title: "Google Engineers Joked About How Incognito Mode Isn’t Very Incognito" description: "Google is embroiled in a lawsuit that alleges its private browsing mode isn't very private, a sentiment apparently shared by the jokes of Google employees." date: "2022-10-15" modified: "2022-10-15" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/google-engineers-joked-incognito-mode" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Future Society" - "Google" tags: - "Google" - "internet privacy" - "privacy" - "the digest" --- # Google Engineers Joked About How Incognito Mode Isn’t Very Incognito ![Google is embroiled in a lawsuit that alleges its private browsing mode isn't very private, a sentiment apparently shared by the jokes of Google employees.]() *\Image: Getty Images/Futurism\* ## I Spy Google is at the center of an [icky lawsuit](), filed in May, that alleges the Silicon Valley giant misled the public about how much data it collects from users even when they're in its Chrome browser's "Incognito" private browsing mode. And while those allegations are concerning, one of the more eye-brow raising details to emerge from the lawsuit is the Google employees' potentially compromising jokes on the matter. But what was also revealed in court was a very serious email from Google marketing chief Lorraine Twohill sent to CEO Sundar Pichai. "Make Incognito Mode truly private," Twohill wrote in the email last year, as [quoted by *Bloomberg*](). "We are limited in how strongly we can market Incognito because it's not truly private, thus requiring really fuzzy, hedging language that is almost more damaging." ## Jokes Don't Lie The email, along with plenty of others communications, were revealed in court documents from the pending trial. Many of them show that Google's engineering grunts thought the company's outward disposition on Incognito mode was suspect and misleading. Sharing a study that demonstrated users misunderstood Incognito mode's limited privacy, one Chrome engineer wrote in a 2018 group chat to colleagues that "we need to stop calling it Incognito and stop using a Spy Guy icon," referring to Incognito mode's dorky icon that depicts the silhouette of a cartoon spy wearing sunglasses and a fedora. Another engineer responded by linking to a wiki page of a character on "The Simpsons" called [Guy Incognito](), who looks exactly like Homer Simpson — if he was dressed in a bad disguise. "Regardless of the name," the employee continued, "the Incognito icon should have always been \[Guy Incognito\]... which also accurately conveys the level of privacy it provides." ## Been Made All told, yikes. That’s a pretty damning — and funny — insight into how much Google's own employees believed in the browsing mode's privacy, which is to say not a lot. Google, in its defense, argues that it makes it clear to users that Incognito mode isn't fully private, and that its users have already consented to have their data tracked by the company. The trial doesn't have a date set yet, but it could potentially unveil what kind of data Google keeps in store from Incognito. It'll be fascinating to watch play out. **Read more:** *[Google's 'Incognito' Mode Inspires Staff Jokes — and a Big Lawsuit]()* **More on:** *[Google Not Releasing New Video-Generating AI Because of Small Issue With Gore, Porn and Racism]()* ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()