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Google to fix Incognito loophole that detects users who browse privately

Google to fix Incognito loophole that detects users who browse privately

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Google will be remedying a loophole that has allowed sites to detect people who are browsing in Incognito Mode in the release of Chrome 76 scheduled for July 30.

In a blog post, Google explained that Chrome’s FileSystem API is disabled in Incognito Mode to avoid leaving traces of activity on someone’s device. The loophole lies in the fact that sites can check for the availability of the FileSystem API and, if they receive an error message, determine that a private session is occurring and give the user a different experience.

While most users choose to use Incognito Mode to protect their privacy on shared or borrowed devices and exclude certain activities from their browsing histories, Google recognises that there are graver concerns for some.

"In situations such as political oppression or domestic abuse, people may have important safety reasons for concealing their web activity and their use of private browsing features," said Barb Palser, Google's partner development manager, news and web partnerships. She added:

We want you to be able to access the web privately, with the assurance that your choice to do so is private as well.

However, the fix is said to affect some news publishers who have used the loophole to deter metered paywall circumvention.

According to Google, unlike hard paywalls or registration walls, which require people to log in to view any content, meters offer a number of free articles users need to log in. This model is "inherently porous", it said, as it relies on a site’s ability to track the number of free articles someone has viewed, typically using cookies. Private browsing modes are one of several tactics people use to manage their cookies and thereby "reset" the meter count.

Sites, which used the FileSystem API to intercept Incognito Mode sessions and require people to log in or switch to normal browsing mode, will therefore need to find other solutions. These include reducing the number of free articles someone can view before logging in, requiring free registration to view any content, or hardening their paywalls. Recognising some people will always look for workarounds, other sites offer more generous meters as a way to develop affinity among potential subscribers, .

"We suggest publishers monitor the effect of the FileSystem API change before taking reactive measures since any impact on user behaviour may be different than expected and any change in meter strategy will impact all users, not just those using Incognito Mode," added Palser in the blog post.

While the company supports sites with meter strategies and recognise the goal of reducing meter circumvention, she underscored that any approach based on private browsing detection undermines the principles of Incognito Mode. Google will "remain open" to exploring solutions that are "consistent with user trust and private browsing principles", she said.

Read more:
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Google’s new lab lends news publishers a hand in digital subscription
Google’s Stadia: A way to lure more gaming enthusiasts to YouTube?
Google+ to shut ahead of schedule as bug potentially exposes 52.5m user data
Google Chrome ramps up user protection against ‘abusive’ ads

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