Every browser has a private mode. Chrome calls it Incognito, Safari and Firefox call it Private Browsing, and Edge calls it InPrivate. The name makes it sound like an invisibility cloak. It isn't. It's a clean window that forgets what you did once you close it, which is useful, but it only keeps things private on your device. Here's how to open it, and exactly what it does and doesn't do.
One extra on iPhone: if your phone has a passcode, Private Browsing locks itself when you're not using it. You can make it ask for Face ID or your passcode in Settings › Apps › Safari.
What private browsing does
According to Google's own description of Incognito, and the same is broadly true of the others:
- It forgets. When you close all the private windows, the browser deletes the history, cookies and site data from that session.
- It starts signed out. You're not automatically logged in to your Google account or other sites.
- It blocks some tracking cookies. Chrome blocks third-party cookies by default in Incognito.
- It keeps what you deliberately save. Bookmarks you add and files you download stay after you close the window.
What it doesn't do
Google is blunt about this in its own help page: Incognito “doesn't make you invisible”. While you browse privately:
- Websites can still see you. They can still record your visit, your rough location from your internet address, and anything you type or buy. Sign in, and they know exactly who you are.
- Your broadband provider can still see which sites you connect to.
- Your employer or school can still see your activity if it's their network or their computer.
- Google can still collect data from sites that use its services, as it does in normal browsing.
That last point landed Google in court. In 2024 it settled a US class action (Brown v. Google) brought by people who felt Incognito had been oversold. Google agreed to delete data it had collected from private browsing sessions and to explain Incognito more clearly. No money was paid out to users under the settlement.
When it is genuinely useful
- A shared or borrowed computer. Nothing is left behind for the next person, as long as you close the window.
- Buying a present for someone who uses the same tablet.
- Signing in to a second account without logging out of your main one.
- Checking prices or search results without your past browsing colouring them.
- A health worry or a money problem you'd rather not have pop up in the address bar later.
When you need something stronger
- To hide your browsing from your broadband provider or on public Wi-Fi, use a VPN. See how to use a VPN, and when it actually helps.
- To clean up what's already been saved, including the copy in your Google account, see how to wipe your browsing history.
- To stop the big companies collecting from your phone in the first place, that's a bigger change. Our free de-Google guide explains the options, including the ones that cost nothing.
Private browsing is a good habit for the right jobs. Just think of it as a window that tidies up after itself, not a disguise.