A lawsuit filed against Google on Tuesday accuses the company of tracking its users' activity without their knowledge, even when they are using private browsing mode.
The complaint alleges that Google tracks users' browsing data and other information through Google Analytics , Google Ad Manager, and other applications and add-ons, such as Google apps on mobile devices and Sign-In for websites, regardless of how they choose to browse.
When a user visits a website or opens an app that uses Google services, personal information, such as their IP address, what they see, browsing history and details about the user's hardware, is sent to the servers in California.
The plaintiffs added that this is almost always done without the user 's consent , as Google does not require websites to disclose in advance that it is collecting user information.
The plaintiffs are seeking $5,000 in damages per user for the alleged invasion of their privacy, which is expected to cost the company dearly, as the people affected number in the millions.
The Arizona attorney general filed a similar complaint against Google last week, alleging that the company is tracking users without their knowledge based on various sources of location data. This particular lawsuit accuses the company of designing its Android in such a way that even when consumers turn off location services, their data such as map, weather and search data is still collected.
Google is also facing lawsuits in Australia and the United Kingdom over alleged deceptive tracking practices. The company spent $170 million last September to settle a case with the U.S. and the New York attorney general that accused it of illegally collecting children's personal information through YouTube.
