If you’ve ever fired up Incognito mode and searched for something you shouldn’t, today’s featured story is for you. Google has agreed to destroy billions of data records to settle a lawsuit claiming it secretly tracked people using private browsing. Gulp.

The lowdown

• 🏦 UBS is launching a share buyback of up to $2 billion.

• 🍊 Trump Media shares plummeted 21% days after debut.

• ⚡️ Xiaomi shares jump 15% after launching its first EV.

Featured story

Google to destroy browsing data to settle privacy lawsuit

Google has agreed to destroy billions of data records to settle a lawsuit claiming it secretly tracked people using private browsing.

Users alleged that Google's analytics, cookies, and apps let the company log internet use even on Chrome set to Incognito mode and private browsing modes on other browsers. They said it turned Google into an “unaccountable trove of information” by letting it learn about their preferences, including the “most intimate and potentially embarrassing things” they search for.

Under the settlement, Google will update its policies about what it collects in ‘private’ browsing. It will also let Incognito users block third-party cookies for five years. However, Google said the lawsuit was baseless.

“We never associate data with users when they use Incognito mode,” Castaneda said. “We are happy to delete old technical data that was never associated with an individual and was never used for any form of personalization.”

The content we're consuming today

• Tech Xplore: Gmail revolutionized email 20 years ago. People thought it was Google’s April Fool's Day joke

• The New Yorker: Why New York restaurants are going members-only

• Vox: Who gets to flourish?

Off-balance sheet items

• Is your home network secure? Here’s how to make sure it is.

The bottom line