Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Google for iOS Updated With Touch ID Incognito Mode and YouTube Support

MacRumors

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
68,540
39,394



Google announced an update to its namesake app for iOS yesterday, adding a resumable private browsing mode and inline YouTube support.

The new private browsing feature apes Incognito mode from the company's Chrome browser, along with its dark window theme, but adds an extra layer of privacy, too. Like Chrome, search and browse history are not saved when the mode is enabled, but Google app users can also enable Touch ID for the feature, allowing them to re-enter an existing Incognito session after exiting the app.

Google-iOS-800x716.jpg

Additionally, the Google app gets inline support for YouTube videos, allowing for instant playback within search results, instead of being switched to another browser window or the YouTube app.

The update also renames Google Now to "the feed", and brings increased stability for iOS 10 users as well as performance improvements that promise to reduce crashes by half.

The new Incognito mode does not appear to have rolled out to all users yet, but once it does, the mode can be enabled by tapping into the app's account settings screen and selecting "Turn on incognito".

A hard press of the Google app icon from the home screen also turns up a 3D Touch option to enter the mode on compatible devices. The Touch ID feature can be configured in Incognito settings.

Google Search can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Article Link: Google for iOS Updated With Touch ID Incognito Mode and YouTube Support
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2016/09/28/google-for-ios-incognito-mode-youtube-support/
LOL "Incognito Mode".

That's Google's way of saying "We promise not to sell your fingerprints and other online session histories to the highest bidder. We promise! No, really! We really mean it this time!"
 
Being I search Google frequently more than Safari, it would be convenient if the user had the option having Dark Mode all the time versus just incognito.
 
hanser said:
They may not sell the data per se, but they sell profiles they construct based on those data. And by getting more and more detailed, those profile can be used to destill knowledge about single persons, even if the data are "anonymized".
Click to expand...

Yep. And with the rise and popularity of Amazon Echo, Alexa, and Google's own "personal assistant device" (and Apple has one planned too), you better believe that the data they want to collect will be more personalized than ever.
 
hanser said:
They may not sell the data per se, but they sell profiles they construct based on those data. And by getting more and more detailed, those profile can be used to destill knowledge about single persons, even if the data are "anonymized".
Click to expand...

Can you point me to an article about selling profiles? Believe they keep this information for themselves.
[doublepost=1475053599][/doublepost]
Solomani said:
Yep. And with the rise and popularity of Amazon Echo, Alexa, and Google's own "personal assistant device" (and Apple has one planned too), you better believe that the data they want to collect will be more personalized than ever.
Click to expand...
Yes, and my point is that they are all very much alike. Even Apple who talked about anonymising, but declined to go into further details, which is a bit like saying, we use statistics...
 
Solomani said:
LOL "Incognito Mode".

That's Google's way of saying "We promise not to sell your fingerprints and other online session histories to the highest bidder. We promise! No, really! We really mean it this time!"
Click to expand...

Luckily the fingerprint handling is entirely done by iOS. Google never gets the fingerprint, just a "the fingerprint is okay" or "wrong"
 
  • Like
Reactions: linkmaster02, Solomani and Jamalien
What's the point of this app? I think that is stupid, a dedicated app to search in Google? Seriously?
 
bellang said:
Google don't sell your data. That's not an income stream they have.
Click to expand...
You're being sarcastic , right ? Right ?
[doublepost=1475062702][/doublepost]Google Mail now requires an phone number ( and there is no way around it). With that, and all your browsing history and email exchanges, they now have enough precision to identify you personally ( name, address, etc..).

They now know you better than you know yourself ( That's actually a real quote from Larry Page on Google's goals )
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: kingpushup, Solomani, hanser and 1 other person
Nozuka said:
Luckily the fingerprint handling is entirely done by iOS. Google never gets the fingerprint, just a "the fingerprint is okay" or "wrong"
Click to expand...
And how do fingerprints have value that they could be sold? They are left on literally everything you touch.
 
Arty6 said:
And how do fingerprints have value that they could be sold? They are left on literally everything you touch.
Click to expand...

I’m circumspect that Google is “selling” fingerprints. However, let’s assume they are. Leaving fingerprints on “everything you touch” is one thing. Actually gathering those is another.

There are tons of diamonds, gold, silver, etc., just laying in the ground. But mining the commodities? Not so simple (or cheap).
 
ginkobiloba said:
You're being sarcastic , right ? Right ?
[doublepost=1475062702][/doublepost]Google Mail now requires an phone number ( and there is no way around it). With that, and all your browsing history and email exchanges, they now have enough precision to identify you personally ( name, address, etc..).

They now know you better than you know yourself ( That's actually a real quote from Larry Page on Google's goals )
Click to expand...

Oh yes, they know you very well. MS, Apple, Facebook etc all do. But they don't sell your data. They serve adds based on the information you have. The advertiser doesn't get your data. I'm not pro google, but the narrow minded 'Apple is perfect view and everyone else is evil' is very absurd.
[doublepost=1475081054][/doublepost]
acedout said:
Funniest thing I've read all day!!!
Click to expand...
This is common and confirmed knowledge. Look at the accounts and the t&c's. Not everything they do is great, but this isn't something they do.
 
  • Like
Reactions: linkmaster02 and rjohnstone
I'm not seeing the Incognito Mode under setting in my Google App after updating. Anyone else having that issue?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back