How to use incognito mode and why it is not as safe as it seems

Any modern browser has a special “private” mode, but few people understand how it really works.

Research shows that many people believe that the incognito mode works like a anonymizer and completely hides their actions on the internet. They think that activating it will hide all internet activity from technology companies, advertising agencies, providers, and authorities. However, this is a misconception reinforced by the “spy” design of the mode and vague wording about privacy.

The incognito function simulates privacy rather than actually providing it. However, the private mode cannot be called useless – its scenarios are simply limited.

I will tell you how to use incognito mode in a browser correctly, what it is useful for, and why it is better not to use it.

What is incognito mode?

Incognito is a common name that was popularized by Google Chrome. Other browsers call it different things: private browsing in Mozilla Firefox and Opera, private access in Safari, InPrivate in Microsoft Edge. They all do roughly the same thing.

When you use a browser, it saves the history of visited pages and search queries, and stores temporary files on your computer. These features are convenient for using the Internet, but they come at a cost. Confidentiality issues arise: hackers can gain access to your history and passwords, and companies create digital profiles based on your activity.

Apple was the first to address this problem, introducing the private browsing mode in Safari 2.0 in 2005. Three years later, the technology was implemented in Google Chrome and then in all other browsers. Today, the incognito mode is a standard feature in browsers and a sign from developers that they care about user privacy.

How it works. Enabling incognito mode launches a new session. Usually it looks like a separate window with a slightly “spy” design. During the session, the browser seems to forget about you: there is no search history, personalized advertising, or account login.

Otherwise, everything is like usual: you can search for information, access social networks and other services, work, play. The most important thing happens right after closing the private mode window: the browser will make sure that your session is as if it never existed. Temporary files, information about visited pages, search queries will be deleted, and you will return to your previous work in the browser.

How to enable incognito mode. You can enter private mode through the browser settings. Usually, to activate the function, one or two clicks are enough.

• Google Chrome: Click on the three dots in the top right corner → “New incognito window”.
• Microsoft Edge: click on the “burger” menu in the top right corner → “New InPrivate Window”.
• “Yandex Browser”: click on the “burger” menu in the upper right corner → “Incognito mode”.
• Mozilla Firefox: click on the “burger” menu in the top right corner → “New Private Window”.
• To open a private browsing window in Opera, click on the logo in the upper left corner and select “Create Private Window”.
• Safari: click the “File” menu → “New Private Window”.

In popular browsers, you can also activate this mode in the phone application:

• Google Chrome: click on three dots → “New incognito tab”.
• Safari: click the “Tabs” button → click the button indicating the number of tabs → “Private Access” → “Done”.

On the computer, it is easiest to launch private mode with a keyboard shortcut. This way, you do not need to search for the function in the menu every time.

How to quickly activate incognito mode in different browsers:

Browser	Windows Shortcut	Mac Shortcut
Safari	Command + Shift + N	Command + Shift + N
Yandex-browser, Chrome, Opera	Ctrl + Shift + N	Command + Shift + N
Firefox	Ctrl + Shift + P	Command + Shift + P
Edge	Ctrl + Shift + N	Command + Shift + P

What is the use of incognito mode?

When this function is activated, the browser:

• Does not save the history of visited websites.
• It does not save usernames, passwords, and other information that you enter in form fields.
• Suspends the operation of extensions – except for situations when you have enabled them yourself.
• Activates the “guest” mode: in incognito mode, you will be logged out of all websites and cookies will not be saved.

Essentially, when you use incognito mode, every website you visit is confident that you have never visited it before. Algorithms are not personalized to your habits, previous actions, queries, or interests. And the session is not saved: other users of your device or browser will not know what you were browsing on the internet.

When incognito mode is really useful?

If you need to use someone else’s computer, always use incognito when using the Internet on someone else’s or public computer. This way, you won’t have to worry about whether another user will see your search queries. And you won’t have to frantically remember if you’ve logged out of your accounts.
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Don’t forget that it’s better not to enter any confidential information on someone else’s device. But if it’s really necessary, the private mode is perfect for these purposes. Some browsers also have an additional “guest” mode. It also deletes all information after the end of the session.

You need to open several accounts. In incognito mode, the browser “forgets” about your accounts, so you have to log in again to each service. Thanks to private mode, you can open multiple email, social network or web application accounts on one computer at once – just launch a separate incognito window for each new profile.

Escape from personalized advertising. Social networks and search engines remember your activity so that advertisers can use behavioral characteristics for targeted advertising. That’s why ads online instantly adapt to recent searches.

When the incognito mode of the browser is activated, the ads also adapt, but only until you turn off the mode. After that, all cookies and other data will be deleted, so that private search items will not appear on banners.

Buy stuff cheaper. Some sites study the user’s activity to determine their financial capabilities. Therefore, algorithms can deliberately raise prices for you. The system assumes that you can easily afford to overpay a bit, as expensive island tours or premium clothes are among your history of views, regardless of whether they have been paid for or not.

You can avoid unnecessary expenses with the help of incognito: websites will not know anything about you and will not adjust prices.

I want to break out of the “bubble”. Websites and social networks adapt their recommendation feeds to your interests, and the longer you use the account, the more personalized the content will become.
Because of this, eventually you end up in an “information bubble” where algorithms don’t offer anything new, but only show what is guaranteed to be liked. If you turn on incognito mode, the algorithms will start studying you from scratch, so you’ll see a lot of new content that wouldn’t have otherwise made it into your recommended feed. This works great with YouTube and other sites that can be used without registration.

Save on subscriptions. Websites with paywalls usually offer a few articles for free reading, and then restrict access. Incognito mode resets the limit of trial content.

Although many modern resources have already learned to deal with private mode, sometimes it still helps to bypass restrictions.

What incognito mode won’t hide

As I said, the capabilities of private modes are quite limited. Although the name “incognito” evokes associations with complete anonymity.

As a result of this, in 2020, Google even faced a lawsuit: users believed that the name of the function was misleading and demanded compensation for damages in the amount of five billion dollars. The plaintiffs noted that the company continued to collect data on users despite the private mode being activated in Chrome. The case is still under consideration: in March 2023. Google was able to cancel the status of a class action lawsuit.

In order to use technology with purpose and not run into problems, you need to remember what incognito will never hide. I will dispel the most popular misconceptions.

The incognito mode will not hide your location. If you voluntarily agree to give the service access to your geolocation in private mode, it will receive this data.

Furthermore, services have long learned how to determine your geolocation without GPS. To do this, they read your IP address, nearby Wi-Fi points, and other data to accurately guess where you are. Incognito mode does not hide your IP address like VPN services, so your geolocation can be easily traced.

The incognito mode cannot completely hide your interests. The simple rule is that as soon as you log into any website, the advantage of “the website perceiving you as a completely new user” disappears instantly.

Data collection about your behavior and interests does not stop because they are already linked to a specific account, not a browser. For example, “Youtube” continues to customize based on your views, even in private mode, as do other social networks. This does not promote confidentiality: what difference does it make if the browser saved the search history or if the same “Youtube” did.

Incognito mode does not prevent websites from fully collecting data about you. During a private session, sites still receive additional data such as your IP address, browser model, operating system, and screen parameters. This is called a digital “fingerprint” of your device.

Individually, this information does not pose a threat to confidentiality. But if you compare the data and combine them into a digital portrait, it will be quite unique. And revealing the user’s identity will not be very difficult.

The incognito mode does not hide a session from the provider and system administrators. Incognito mode hides the search history within one browser, but it does not affect global network traffic.

Requests from your computer or phone go through a complex path before reaching the recipient: cables, routers, and other infrastructure. All of this is serviced by the provider, which also stores your traffic. Since 2018, Russian providers are required to store audio recordings of calls, message contents, and other user data, as well as provide this information to law enforcement agencies upon request.

If you are using a school or work network, it is even easier to analyze traffic – this is available to in-house network administrators.

Incognito mode does not protect against viruses and malware. Most browsers have built-in protection mechanisms. But they are far less effective than system antivirus programs, and they are not related to the private mode.

Yes, in incognito mode, entered data such as passwords and card numbers are not saved. But this does not protect against a keylogger – a program that reads user keystrokes and sends information to hackers.

In Summary

Using incognito mode allows you to leave fewer digital traces. It hides your internet session at the browser level: search queries, visited pages, cache and cookies are all eliminated. However, no matter what mode you choose, your internet provider or system administrator can still access your data, your location can still be tracked, and companies can still collect your digital profile if they want to. Even the main benefit of incognito mode – being forgotten by websites – disappears after you log in.

If true anonymity on the internet is required, one incognito mode alone will not help. Here’s what you should do instead:

1. If you enable the incognito mode, use it simultaneously with a secure VPN service. Your traffic will go through proxy servers: people who will study it will only detect a connection to one server. And the real addresses of requests will remain secret.
2. Use browsers that establish anonymous connections protected from prying eyes using proxy servers. Browsers like Brave, Avast Secure Browser, Epic Privacy Browser, and Firefox block advertising and tracking trackers, third-party cookies, digital fingerprint collectors, and more by default, without private modes.
3. Switch your search engine to DuckDuckGo or Startpage. They promise not to use personalization, not to collect personal data, not to store search history, and offer a fast and confidential product. To easily replace the search engine with DuckDuckGo, use the Privacy Essentials DuckDuckGo browser extension. Privacy Badger will also come in handy – it blocks tracking tools.