While we know that nothing on the Internet is hidden, we also know that there are some ways to protect our privacy. For example, we have an incognito mode on browsers such as Google Chrome and others. This mode does not let ISPs or other websites get a track of who visited the websites and which websites or pages were visited. However, we can now report that Google Chrome’s incognito mode is not perfect as well.
Because a new loophole has been found in the Google Chrome incognito mode. Reportedly, this loophole or a bug would allow “sites to detect people who are browsing” which is what incognito mode is for. Basically, you don’t want websites to know that you have browsed them or for ISPs to get your browser history. Therefore, this is a bug which deems incognito mode to be redundant.
However, it has to be noted that the fix for this is also on the way. Google says that this loophole will be removed on July 30. After this, we would hope that incognito mode works exactly as it should. Also, Google says that this loophole does not allow identifications of individuals but it is just that they can know someone visited in incognito mode.
But the bad part here is that if websites know someone is visiting in incognito mode, Google explains that websites “determine that a private session is occurring and give the user a different experience”. For example, you can be displayed a message to stop browsing in the incognito mode which is a breach of privacy.
With Google Chrome version 76 releasing on July 30, this loophole will be fixed says Google. While Google maintains that this is not a big privacy threat, the company says that the websites will assume those using private sessions “attempting to circumvent metered paywalls.”