“Incognito Mode” is honestly, a rather poorly named feature. It has been available in most browsers for a while now, and it probably peaked your interest as an internet user on many occasions. While “Incognito Mode” doesn’t make you anonymous or untraceable in any way, a lot of people misleadingly think it does.
This post aims to cover what Incognito mode actually achieves on your browser, while highlighting the things it doesn’t provide, as well as exactly when you should use it, so that you have a better understanding of your online protection.
1) What Incognito DOESN’T Accomplish
Standing behind a glass window doesn’t make you invisible. Incognito is often miscredited to carry different benefits for users. Here are some of the false myths about Incognito:
Complete Privacy and Anonymity: Incognito mode does not make you anonymous or private online. Your ISP and the websites you visit can still track your online activities, even if you are not signed in.
Wipe Every Trace of Your Browsing Session: If you download a file from a website, it will remain on your computer. If you take a screenshot of a webpage while in Incognito mode1, the screenshot will be stored on your computer even after closing the tab. If you bookmark a website while in a Private Window, it will remain in your bookmark list.
Protect you from Malware: Incognito mode does not provide any additional protection against malware or viruses. Incognito won’t save you from any phishing attempts, spyware, ransomware or malware downloads.
Hide your IP Address: Your IP address is still completely visible to any websites or search engines you visit, even while using incognito mode. Incognito won’t stop network admins from seeing your activity, including but not limited to your not-so-friendly IT department, the nearest Starbucks, or your university network.
Prevent your Account Activity from Being Tracked: When you log into an account, such as your email or social media in incognito mode, any activity on that account remains visible to third parties. This means that your actions can still be tracked.
Secure your Connection: Incognito mode does not encrypt your internet connection. If you're on an unsecured network, your data can still be intercepted by third parties.
2) What Incognito DOES Accomplish
The easiest way to think of Incognito mode is that once you close the incognito window, your web browser forgets the browsing session ever happened, kind of like if it had Alzheimer’s, or like Dory in finding Nemo. Here are the ways in which Incognito actually helps you:
Deletes Browsing History: Incognito prevents the browser from saving your browsing history. Once you close the incognito window, the list of websites you visited during that session is not stored.
Deletes Cookies and Site Data: Any cookies or site data generated during the incognito session are held temporarily in memory, separate from regular window cookies, and deleted when you close the window.
Deletes Download List Entries: Files you download will not be listed in the browser’s downloads library after you exit Incognito mode.
Session Isolation: Incognito allows you to open multiple sessions of the same browser without them sharing the same session data.
No Autofill: Incognito mode does not automatically fill in forms or search bars with your previously entered information, providing a level of privacy when filling out online forms.
3) When to Use Incognito Mode
Incognito mode is not as hype as you think it is. However, it’s still a valid tool that you have at your disposal and that you should learn how to use correctly. There exists several limited use cases where using it would make sense, including but not limited to:
Public Computers: When using public computers, such as in libraries or internet cafes, where you want to prevent the next user from accessing your accounts or seeing your browsing history, Incognito can be of help.
Shared Devices: Incognito can be useful when you don't want others using the same device to see your online activities, or access your online accounts after your use of the device.
Filling out Online Forms: Incognito mode can offer a level of device security when filling out online forms, as your form answers won’t be saved in your browser for other users to abuse.
Browsing for Sensitive Information: If you are researching sensitive topics or looking for information that you don't want stored in your regular browsing history, Incognito can make sure that your LOCAL browsing history is deleted after you close the window.
Logged-In Sessions: When you need to log into multiple accounts on the same website simultaneously without interference from previous logins, you can use Incognito mode to separate your logged-in sessions.
Ephemeral Browsers: If you use multiple browsers for compartmentalization, it can be beneficial to have a dedicated ephemeral browser that uses permanent incognito mode for one-time random searches, This makes sure that it wipes everything clean every time you close it2.
Mitigating Ad Targeting: Advertisers often track your online activities to show you targeted ads. Incognito mode, by not storing your browsing history and cookies, can sometimes reduce the likelihood of targeted ads on your main tabs and influence the products and/or prices you see.
— Congratulations! You now understand exactly what Incognito Mode does and doesn’t do. While Incognito mode cannot make you more private or anonymous online, there are countless things you could do to drastically improve your online privacy, security and anonymity. Subscribe to ShieldMe for more in-depth information on how to go about accomplishing that!
(provided you’re allowed to)
You shouldn’t rely on Incognito mode alone to accomplish that, most new browsers have a “clear on exit” toggle in the settings that you can use in addition to default Incognito mode