Google's 'Incognito' Modes for Allo, Chrome Are Different, Will Confuse Users, Says EFF

The Electronic Frontier Foundation called Google's use of the term "incognito" for its Allo messaging app that provides end-to-end encryption "ultimately dangerous" for all users. In a Monday blog post, EFF researcher Gennie Gebhart said Google's use of the term "incognito" means something different in Allo than in the Chrome browser. In the Chrome incognito mode, she wrote, user activity isn't stored in the browser history, though ISPs can still determine which websites are visited. In Allo, no one can read a user's end-to-end encrypted messages, but conversations "are stored on your device for a certain period of time after you send them." Users will likely "misunderstand and underestimate Allo’s end-to-end encryption -- or, even worse, overestimate Chrome’s incognito browsing mode and expose themselves to more risk than the name 'incognito' leads them to expect," wrote Gebhart. Offering end-to-end as a once-in-a-while vs. default option signals to people the level of importance of the message for hackers, spies and others, she said. Instead, Google could, for example, offer two apps, one less secure and one that is end-to-end encrypted, she said. The company didn't comment.