Incognito Mode - The Myth Busters

Incognito, Private or InPrivate modes are the different names used by different Web Browsers that you might be familiar with or use sometimes as per your requirements.

In this article, I will use the word "Incognito mode" for this web browsing method, as it is used by Google Chrome, the most used web browser in the world.

If you are concerned with your privacy you might have used the Incognito Mode at least once till now. 

So What is Incognito Mode? And What it does? And What it does not?

Keep reading to get all these answers.

Google Chrome - Incognito Mode

Incognito Mode

Whenever you open a new Incognito window, your browsing history, site cookies, site data and the data you have entered in any form will not be saved in your device. When you close this incognito window all these data and information are discarded by the browser. 

It means that whatever activity you have done in the incognito window will not be shown in the web browser history tab. So if you are using a shared device for web browsing then another person will not be able to see your web activity. 

Microsoft Edge - InPrivate Browsing

What Incognito Mode Does?

1. It does not track your web activity.
2. It discards all the browsing data when you close the incognito mode window.
3. It does not tell the website who you are, until you login on to any website in incognito mode

For example, if you are searching for a flight in Google Chrome default browser, your all browsing data are tracked by Google, and the next time you will visit any other websites, you get to see ads related to the flight and the destination you have searched for. So in place of the default Google Chrome search, if you do the search in an Incognito Mode, all your search activity will be discarded as soon as you close the incognito window. So your search activity will remain private, Google and another website will not know about that activity.

Mozilla Firefox - Private Mode

What Incognito Mode Does Not?

1. Your web service provider, school, or the organization you are working with, will able to see your activity. It will not hide your web activity from them.
2. If you sign-in on any website then it will not be able to hide your web activity.
3. It will not delete any document you downloaded in incognito mode.
4. It will not delete any bookmarks you have created in incognito mode.

Opera Browser - Private Mode

Myth Busters

1) Incognito Mode will make me invisible on the internet!

No, It will not make you invisible. Your web service providers, Your organization or your school will still be able to see and track your web activity.

2) I will remain safe from hackers in Incognito mode!

No, Hackers can still trace you if you provide any personal sensitive details in incognito mode.

3) I will remain safe from ransomware and other spam attacks in Incognito mode!

No, You can still be the victim, if you don't browse the net cautiously or without any security software.

You may also like:
51 Best Cyber Security Tips

Conclusion

Incognito Mode is a great tool for privacy during any web browsing activity, so use it wisely, and don't be fooled around that it will make you invisible on the internet. 

It will help you to be safe on the net until you deliberately express your identity.

So Be Safe And Use Incognito Mode Wisely.

Do share this useful information with your loved ones.