Browsing in Incognito Mode Doesn't Protect You as Much as You Might Think

Although a private browsing mode known as “Incognito” in Google’s widely used Chrome browser has been available for nearly a decade, a legal settlement involving the way it works has cast new attention on this commonly available setting.

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The settlement disclosed this week in a federal court is primarily designed to ensure that users who use Incognito mode in Chrome get more privacy while surfing the internet than they had been previously.

Although Google isn’t paying any money to consumers, the lawyers who filed the case in June 2020 believe the stricter safeguards will be worth $4.75 billion to $7.8 billion, based on the estimated value of the personal information protected by the settlement.

Nearly every major browser now has a private browsing mode. Here’s a look at what they do and don’t do for surfers.

WHAT PRIVATE BROWSING ACTUALLY DOES

When you turn on your browser’s private mode, think of it as a fresh start.

So all of the advantages of browser personalization won’t be there: No suggestions based on your history, autocomplete will be largely unavailable and you will have to sign into your accounts.