WhatsApp launches totally private'incognito' conversations with its AI chatbot WhatsApp has introduced private chats with its AI chatbot which not even the tech company will be able to read in a new incognito mode. It means neither the user nor the AI's responses will be monitored if the feature is activated, and past conversations will disappear from the chat for the user. Will Cathcart, the head of WhatsApp, said he felt people wanted to have private conversations with AI on sensitive subjects including health, relationships and finances and didn't want them to be accessible. But a cyber security expert has told the BBC this could lead to a lack of accountability for WhatsApp if things go wrong, as they would have no access to chat history. WhatsApp is owned by Meta, which also owns Instagram, Facebook and Messenger.

When users open an Incognito browser on Chrome, they'll see a notification warning them that other people using their device won't be able to see their activity but that their downloads, bookmarks and reading items will still be saved. Now, Google has updated that disclaimer in Chrome's experimental Canary channel, shortly after agreeing to settle a 5 billion lawsuit accusing it of tracking Incognito users. As first noticed by MSPowerUser, the company has tweaked the disclaimer in Canary to add language that says Incognito mode won't change how websites collect people's data. "Others who use this device won't see your activity, so you can browse more privately," the new disclaimer reads. "This won't change how data is collected by websites you visit and the services they use, including Google. Downloads, bookmarks and reading list items will be saved."

Google's Chrome has long featured the ability to launch the browser in Incognito mode, offering a seemingly blank slate for your internet browsing, away from your usual cookies, forms and web history. But that seemingly didn't mean Google wasn't keeping an eye on where you were browsing. The company faced a lawsuit in 2020 that accused it of tracking Chrome users' activities even when they were using Incognito mode. Google has now agreed to settle the complaint that originally sought $5 billion in damages, after failing to get the suit dismissed. The plaintiffs said Google used tools like its Analytics product, apps and browser plug-ins to monitor users.

LAST December, Ed Bridges was mingling with the crowds of Christmas shoppers on the streets of Cardiff, UK, when the police snapped a picture of him. He has been trying to get them to delete it ever since. Bridges hasn't been convicted of a crime, nor is he suspected of committing one. He is simply one of a vast number of people who have been quietly added to face-recognition databases without their consent, and most often, without their knowledge.

President Trump thinks Google's search engine is "rigged." By featuring more mainstream news outlets and relatively fewer conservative sites in the results he sees, Trump tweeted Tuesday, Google is "suppressing" right-wing views on its platform. Trump escalated his attacks Tuesday afternoon in remarks from the Oval Office, warning that "Google and Twitter and Facebook, they are treading on very, very troubled territory and they have to be careful." It's easy to see how Trump arrived at this conclusion, because in many ways his experience mirrors that of millions of Americans who've awoken to the dominance of Google -- and Facebook, and Twitter -- in their everyday lives without being quite certain how it wound up there. We rely constantly on Google to find out what to buy, which restaurants to eat at and how to get from one place to another.

Google was busy this week with upgrades and new features for its apps and devices, and a major security update for the Chrome browser. Here are some of the changes Google rolled out recently. The Assistant in Google Home will now tell you about events from URL and iCal calendars that have been imported into the Google Calendar app. After you've imported a calendar, tap the menu icon (upper left-hand corner) of the Home app, tap Settings and scroll down to Calendar at the bottom of the page. The calendars you imported should show up in your calendar list.

Google has developed new technology that reinvents the copy/paste feature. Called'Copyless Paste', the upgrade takes data from your Chrome uses it to improve the experience in other apps. The option is currently in the testing phases, but is said to allow users to paste text without copying it first – the technology intelligently predicts what users want to copy. 'Copyless Paste' takes data from your Chrome uses it to improve the experience in other apps. Copyless Paste is in the testing phases, but is said to allow users to paste text without copying it first – the technology intelligently figures out what users want to copy.

It's not an exaggeration to say that your smartphone is the most personal device you have. The fact it's always with you, however, sure does generate a lot of information about your habits. Yes, your phone and the Google services powering it are incredibly useful in many tangible ways. And if you use a strong password and two-factor authentication, your information is likely safer on Google's servers than just about anywhere else. But it's not paranoia to take stock from time to time of just how much you're handing over to Google or if you'd rather not place all your digital privacy eggs in the same basket. Here are some simple tips about how you can stay in control of all that critical information and ensure that privacy isn't something you have to surrender.

If you got an Amazon Echo or Google Home voice assistant, welcome to a life of luxurious convenience. You'll be asking for the weather, the news, and your favorite songs without having to poke around on your phone. You'll be turning off lights and requesting videos from bed. That little talking cylinder is always listening to you. And not just listening, but recording and saving many of the things you say.

NEW YORK--Is your privacy potentially in peril when using Google's new Allo messaging app? The app, which Google began making available to iOS and Android users on Wednesday, features a secure end-to-end encrypted "Incognito mode" feature that enables you to keep a conversation hush-hush. And you can dispose of such messages automatically in seconds should you so choose to make them disappear. By default, however, your regular chat logs are stored on Google's servers until you actively decide to delete them. The Verge has reported that this a policy about-face from what Google said its intention was last May at the Google I/O conference where Allo was first announced. Allo is built around machine learning and artificial intelligence, which drives the new Google Assistant, and helps serve up "smart reply" buttons inside your chats that are meant to be shortcuts to what Google anticipates you might want to respond with next.