What Does Using Incognito Mode in Your Browser Actually Do?

Important Takeaways

It feels like your browser knows more about you than your closest friends. It's strange when you're looking for trips to Paris and then suddenly see ads for vacation deals to France on random websites or in your Facebook feed.

Should you start using your browser's incognito or private mode? Maybe, or maybe not. These privacy features come with limitations that you should be aware of.

"Since the introduction of private browsing, users have been confused about how it protects online activity — whether it's from others using the same device, from websites and ad networks, or from internet service providers," says Seth Schoen, senior staff technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). "Private browsing works well for the first, partially addresses the second, but does nothing for the third. Browser developers have attempted to make this clear."

How to Use Incognito Mode

If you want to activate the incognito feature on Chrome (the name of this feature varies depending on the browser you're using, like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.), here's how to do it:

Along with the Incognito icon, you'll notice these privacy-related warnings displayed on the home screen:

"You’re now in incognito mode. This means you can browse privately, and others using this device won’t see your activity. However, any downloads and bookmarks you make will still be saved. Chrome will not save the following:"

Your actions may still be visible to:

Here’s what this means: Browsers usually save the URLs (web addresses) of the websites you visit, making it easy for you to return to them later.

In incognito mode, your browser behaves differently. It won’t save your search history on the device, which is useful when you don’t want others using the same device to see what you’ve been browsing—whether you’re shopping for a surprise gift or browsing adult content. However, this doesn’t mean your online activity is completely private.

Your browser also saves cookies, which are small data files with many purposes. For example, cookies can autofill passwords, saving you from typing them every time you visit a site. Alternatively, they can track your online activity, allowing advertisers to understand how you move from one site to another, all to help someone sell you products.

"The original purpose of web tracking tools like cookies was to limit tracking to individual sites and prevent linking separate browsing sessions unless the user opted in," explains Schoen. "However, these norms have been widely disregarded by the online advertising industry, which often creates in-depth, ongoing profiles of users' online behaviors."

Schoen also points out that, in some cases, private browsing mode can momentarily break the connection between a user's browsing activity and the mechanisms that typically form these profiles. In other words, cookies won't supply advertisers with the same detailed information during private browsing that they usually gather from your actions.

Private Mode is Not Anonymous Mode

It's important to remember that using incognito mode doesn't grant you complete anonymity. It's not a tool for complete online invisibility.

Using incognito mode won't prevent your internet service provider (ISP) or employer from tracking your online activities. It also won't hide your location from websites you visit. If you're logged into your Google account, Google will still track your search habits, even in incognito mode. If this surprises you, you're not alone—one 2018 study showed that many people have misconceptions about private browsing. For instance, 56% of respondents mistakenly thought their search queries wouldn't be saved in private mode, despite being logged into their Google accounts, and 40% believed their geolocations would be hidden. Additionally, 27% assumed private browsing protected them from malware and viruses—none of these beliefs are true.

Although you're not fully anonymous, private browsing still has useful applications. It can prevent other users of the same device from seeing your search history. It's also helpful for bypassing paywalls on subscription-based news sites. Private browsing may limit how much search algorithms influence the results you see based on your prior activity. It can also stop websites and advertisers from tracking your browsing, like in the Paris vacation ad example we mentioned earlier. And if a friend wants to quickly check his Facebook on your computer, he can use incognito mode to log into his own account without needing to sign out of yours first.

A More Effective Way to Achieve Online Anonymity

If true online anonymity is your goal, private browsing won't be enough. "The most practical options are virtual private networks (VPNs) and Tor, which route your data through intermediaries to obscure what your ISP can see about your online activity and what websites can discern about your location," says Schoen.

However, he emphasizes that these tools are not foolproof and won't make you entirely anonymous online.

"Both of these options also come with their own share of myths and misconceptions. While the specifics of who can access your data differ from those in private browsing mode, the fact remains that they still exist. It's essential for users to understand these details before they rely on these privacy tools for true anonymity," says Schoen.

With a little research, however, you can start your journey toward improved online privacy. This will help you protect both your personal and professional life, giving you greater peace of mind while navigating a network full of potential risks.