Lawsuit Claims Perplexity's Incognito Mode Shared Private Chats With Google and Meta

A lawsuit filed this week alleges that Perplexity AI's incognito browsing mode is "a sham" that routes users' private search sessions to Google and Meta without their knowledge, Ars Technica reported. The complaint contends that Perplexity shares incognito chat data with third-party advertising and analytics vendors regardless of whether a user has an account or has opted into any data-sharing arrangement. Because incognito features are typically marketed as offering a degree of privacy from data collection, the plaintiff argues the practice constitutes deceptive design. Perplexity has positioned its AI search product as an alternative to Google, emphasizing user-friendly summarization and source citation. The company has grown quickly, recently raising funding at a multi-billion-dollar valuation and launching enterprise tiers. A finding that its privacy protections are misrepresented would carry reputational and regulatory risk at a sensitive growth stage. The lawsuit is the latest in a string of privacy complaints targeting AI products. Regulators in the European Union have opened inquiries into several AI assistants' data handling practices, and US state attorneys general have signaled interest in AI consumer protection enforcement. Perplexity did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The complaint was filed in federal court; the specific legal claims and plaintiffs' identities were not detailed in early coverage. Legal analysts noted that privacy suits against tech companies frequently settle, though class certification can make them expensive to resolve.