Google To Delete Incognito Mode Search Data Over $5 Billion Privacy Lawsuit

The settlement calls for no cash damages to be paid but leaves an option for Chrome users who feel they were wronged to sue Google separately to get money.

Google has agreed to delete a vast trove of search data to settle a suit that it tracked millions of US users who thought they were browsing the internet privately.

If a proposed settlement filed Monday in San Francisco federal court is approved by a judge, Google must "delete and/or remediate billions of data records" linked to people using the Chrome browser's incognito mode, according to court documents.

"This settlement is an historic step in requiring dominant technology companies to be honest in their representations to users about how the companies collect and employ user data, and to delete and remediate data collected," lawyer David Boies said in the filing.