Perplexity Sued for Sharing User Conversations with Meta and Google Despite Incognito Mode

A proposed class-action lawsuit accuses Perplexity AI of secretly sharing user conversations with Meta and Google through embedded ad trackers, even when users enable "Incognito Mode."

The Allegations

• All users affected: Both subscribed and non-subscribed users
• What's shared: Opening prompts, follow-up questions, and full conversation URLs
• PII included: Email addresses and other identifiers that allow Google/Meta to personally identify users
• Incognito Mode: Does "nothing" to protect privacy, the lawsuit charges

How It Works

Perplexity's AI search engine uses Meta and Google ad tracking technology embedded in its website. Developer tools analysis revealed:

1. Initial prompts are always shared
2. Follow-up questions the AI asks (and users click) are shared
3. Non-subscribers' conversation URLs are shared, giving third parties full access
4. Even Incognito Mode fails to stop the tracking

Legal Claims

The lawsuit, filed by anonymous user John Doe, targets all three companies:

• Perplexity: Never disclosed use of ad trackers
• Meta & Google: Received private conversations as part of ad network
• All three: Put profits over user privacy

Why It Matters

The case raises fundamental questions about AI search privacy:

• Users input sensitive financial, health, and personal information into AI chat interfaces
• These conversations are treated as ad tracking data rather than protected communications
• The "incognito" branding creates a false sense of security
• AI companies' reliance on ad tech infrastructure creates systemic privacy risks

Industry Context

This follows increasing scrutiny of AI companies' privacy practices, including the Jay Edelson lawsuits against OpenAI and Google over LLM training data, and growing regulatory attention to how AI assistants handle user data.