Easy Methods to Enable Incognito Mode in Popular Browsers
For those who don’t know, incognito or private browsing is a privacy feature in your web browser that helps you browse anonymously. When you browse in incognito mode or private browsing mode, your browser doesn’t keep any traces of your browsing history, password, cookies and cache.
Most of the users usually go incognito or private browsing if their browser is acting weird as incognito mode performs “pure searches.” But how to go incognito? Well, the process is pretty easy but the steps vary from browser to browser.
Private browsing feature has different names for different browsers. It is called Incognito in Chrome, InPrivate in Edge and Internet Explorer, and simply called Private Browsing in Opera and Firefox.
In this post, we’ll guide on how to go incognito in Chrome, Safari, Edge, and Firefox.
Why go Incognito?
Browsing in incognito mode becomes handy when you are browsing on a public computer as it does not keep any browsing data. Let us go through some features of the incognito mode below.
- Sign in to multiple accounts together through multiple tabs
- Preventing any other user from searching your browsing history
- Reducing history and your personal information
- Testing for certain websites
So if you want to disable web cache and browsing history in your Web browser, use the Incognito mode or Private Browsing. Let’s get started
How to Go Incognito or Private Browsing in Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari?
Private Browsing method first came into existence in 2005 by the Mac developers and later on was adopted by most of the web browsers and became famous in 2008.
However, going into an incognito mode or Private Browsing mode in different web browsers is different. We have listed step-by-step methods for each web browser below. Let’s check them out.
How to Start Google Chrome in Incognito Mode?
Private browsing in Google Chrome is called Incognito window. Follow the steps mentioned below.
- Open Google Chrome
- Click on the Customize and control button ( three dots to the top right corner of your Chrome page)
- From the drop-down list, choose “New incognito window.”
- When clicked, Chrome Incognito will open in a new window describing incognito and its features
Once you enter the URL in incognito mode, Chrome ensures that your browsing history and cookies are not saved. It also disables Chrome extensions which you can enable manually.
Well! The best method to open incognito mode in Chrome is by simply pressing Ctrl + Shift + N keys.
How to Start Private Browsing in Safari?
Turning on the Private Browsing mode on your Safari browser is quick and easy. Here’s how.
- Open your Safari browser
- Head to the File icon and go to New Private Window option
- Now browse the web in ‘Private Browsing Window’
Your browsing history or any personal information won’t be recorded on your Safari browser. Do remember that private browsing features will only work in the private browsing window.
You can even open it by pressing Command + Shift + N keys together.
How to Open InPrivate Browsing in Microsoft Edge?
Microsoft Edge is a default web browser in Windows system. There can be many users who are using your PC, and it might threaten your privacy. You might want to use your Edge browser in InPrivate mode, to do so-
- Open Edge
- Hit the Settings and more button (three dots on the top-right corner)
- In the drop-down list, select “ New InPrivate window ” icon
You can also press and hold Ctrl + Shift + P keys to open InPrivate window in your Edge browser. Make sure that you are using the InPrivate browsing by keeping a check on the blue square label (to the left-corner) of the page.
How to Open a Private Browsing Window on Mozilla Firefox?
Mozilla Firefox is an open source web- browser available for all Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems. We have listed the methods to open private browsing on Mozilla Firefox in Windows and Mac. Let’s get started with Windows.
- Open Firefox
- Click on the Menu button (to the upper right corner)
- Select “ New Private Window ” icon from the drop-down list
On Mac-
- Open your Firefox browser
- Go to the File icon and select “ New Private Window.”
The keyboard shortcut to open private browsing in Firefox is Ctrl + Shift + N keys in Windows and in Mac it is Command + Shift + N keys. Your private browsing window has a purple color strip (to the top) and also has a private browsing icon (to the upper right corner)
You can now enjoy browsing any page on your private browsing window in your Web browser. Although, it doesn’t store any browsing or search history but does records your IP address and information you’ve entered. If you want to exit incognito mode or private browsing, you just have to close the page.
Next time you open the web browser, you can see a standard web page. You have to open the private browsing page every time you open your browser.
Have any other queries related to private browsing mode? Drop-down your doubts in the comments section below.
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