Alphabet Inc.'s Google business announced new privacy controls Tuesday for its services, including "incognito mode" for Google Maps, and published new privacy commitments for its hardware, showing how increased public scrutiny is forcing greater transparency in Silicon Valley.
The announcements were dotted throughout nearly two hours of product updates from the search giant at its annual Google I/O developers conference. Google also launched its lowest-priced smartphone yet, the Pixel 3a, and demonstrated upcoming capabilities for its virtual assistant, such as car rental and movie ticket bookings by voice commands.
Google has been fending off some of the growing legislative and regulatory pushes in the United States and elsewhere to regulate data privacy and other issues core to its business model. Proposals being weighed by lawmakers would limit how Google, Facebook Inc. and other internet companies track consumers and distribute information.
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