There are lots of misconceptions out there about Incognito mode in a lot of peoples’ minds. Most of the people associate browsing in Incognito mode with browsing the web privately. But, is that really true? Is Incognito mode really safe and secure and does it really protect your privacy? In this article, I am cleaning all your doubts related to Incognito mode. So, Let's begin. Before I begin, let me just list out the topics I'll be covering in this post. ● ● ● ●
What is Incognito Mode? How To Enable Incognito Mode in the Browser? The Privacy Issues of Incognito Mode How To Browse Privately on the Internet?
So, Let’s talk about Incognito mode in-detail.
What is Incognito Mode? Incognito Mode is browsers' special private browsing mode which is available on most of the browsers by different names. (pic) In the browsing session of Incognito mode, the browser won't save the following data : ● Your Browsing history ● Forms you filled ● Website data ● Cookies Cookies are files that saved in your browser during browsing sessions. Cookies are capable of doing many things, such as keep you logged in on a website, keep track of your online behavioral data (That's the reason for seeing relevant ads also on another website).
So, In the browsing session of Incognito mode, the browser deletes everything you collect and making it impossible for other users to see the browsing history of yours'. However, In the browsing session of Incognito mode, If you bookmark some websites and download something then it still remains there after closing Incognito Mode. So, Be aware of that.
How To Enable Incognito Mode in the Browser? Here, I am describing how you can Enable Incognito Mode in the most popular browsers like Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Microsoft Edge, and Internet Explorer. To Enable Incognito mode in your browser, here are the shortcuts for different popular browsers : 1) Google Chrome : Control + Shift + N for Windows and Command + Shift + N for Mac 2) Mozilla Firefox : Control + Shift + P 3) Apple Safari : ⌘ (Control symbol) + Shift + N 4) Microsoft Edge : Control + Shift + P 5) Internet Explorer : Control + Shift + N
The Privacy Issues of Incognito Mode:Incognito Mode is doing a great job of preventing your web browser from storing browsing history and cookies of your browsing session. It’s great when you share your device with others or when you use a public device. However, When you are browsing in Incognito mode, your ISP (Internet Service Provider), the government, your network admin at your office or university, an attacker can still monitor what you are doing online like : ● ● ● ● ●
Which website you visit What files you upload What files you download What you search for on Google Content of unencrypted messages
So, Incognito mode will only delete your browsing history and cookies - that's it. When you are browsing in Incognito mode, your devices’ true IP Address is also visible to all. Don't Believe me? Then, start Incognito mode in your browser, and use the online IP lookup tool. (pic) So, after checking, now you can understand that your true IP Address is still visible to all and through your true IP Address anyone can track your geo-location. Some people also have a misconception that Incognito mode protects them from Viruses and Malware. However, that's not true. If you click on a malicious link and download a virus-infected file while browsing in Incognito mode, there's nothing it can do for you. So, These are major privacy issues of Incognito mode.
How To Browse Privately on the Internet? Now, you can understand that browsing in Incognito mode doesn’t make you safe and anonymous. So, here I am explaining how to browse privately on the Internet. These are the top three privacy-protecting tools that offer an additional layer of security but your web browsers’ Incognito mode can’t.
1) VPN (Virtual Private Network) Those users who want to ensure that no one can track their online activity than, for those users, VPN is the best option. (pic)
Once you connect to a VPN server, it will automatically hide your true IP Address because your device acquires the IP Address of the VPN server you use. So, It is very hard for anyone to find the true IP Address of your device. VPN also encrypts your internet traffic through a private and secure encryption tunnel. So, if anyone can try to monitor your internet traffic, they will just see random encrypted traffic and it is very hard to decrypt. Your ISP (Internet Service Provider), the government, and hackers can still able to tell that you are connected to a VPN but they do not track any of your online activities because of encryption. So, this way VPN secures your traffic and prevents surveillance, hackers from eavesdropping. If you want a higher level of privacy and security while browsing, you should use a VPN with Incognito mode. Incognito mode deletes browsing history and cookies and a VPN prevents ISP (Internet Service Provider), governments, and hackers to monitor your online activity. So, when they both combined, they create a high level of privacy that makes you sure that no one can access your private sensitive information.
2) TOR (The Onion Router) The TOR web browser is the most secure one because it hides your online activities through a series of distributed nodes. So, TOR hides your true IP Address and prevents anyone from monitoring your online activities. TOR provides you maximum privacy, but if you want a fast connection then TOR is not the best choice because your connection route through a series of distributed nodes. (pic)
3) DuckDuckGo DuckDuckGo is completely anonymous that tracks none of your online activities.
So, If you really care about privacy then you have to use the DuckDuckGo search engine instead of popular search engines like Google, Firefox, Bing, etc. (pic) So, These are the three best privacy-protecting solutions if you really care about your privacy.