The internet after its inception has come a very long way than one could think of. Back in the late 80s and early 90s when the internet was evolving, nobody would have thought that the internet could become this big. It can be said that the internet has become a daily need for people nowadays. May it be shopping, working, watching your favorite shows, or even searching solutions to certain problems, everything can be done through the internet. This is the main reason why most people are glued to their desktop or mobile screen browsing most of the time.
To help the people browse there are many browsers available today. These browsers save all your browsing history to help you find them later and even show suggested websites based on your search history. However, there are times when you want your searches to be private and not stored in the browser. You can always delete your browsing history, but for that, you need to follow some steps, which might be frustrating. This becomes very important if you’re using the internet in a public internet cafe or even at a friend’s system. This is when you can use the incognito or private browsing feature that comes with all the browsers. The process of switching to private browsing mode is much easier and simpler than deleting browsing history. So, what are you waiting for? Here’s how to go incognito in your web browser.
What is incognito or private browsing?
The incognito or private browsing feature is something that allows the users to browse the internet in a web browser without saving data like, browsing history, cache, cookies, and even passwords. However, you must remember that it’s done locally. This means that the information will not be stored in the device you’re using for browsing, but it can be viewed by the ISP and the admin of the server.
However, there are some browsers that provide more features when you use them in incognito or private browsing mode. For example, Opera browser allows you to use VPN in its private browsing mode, which means your IP stays hidden from the servers.
When do you need incognito or private browsing?
Before heading to learn how to go incognito, it’s important to know the scenarios where you can use the private browsing mode. Here are some cases where you must use the incognito mode while browsing the internet.
- Using a public computer: There are times when you might need to log in to your accounts through a public computer, like in a cafe or library. This is when you want all the information you enter in the computer stay safe. You also might want nobody to see your browsing history. This is when you can use incognito mode to make sure none of your information is stored on the computer.
- Stop the irritating ads: Today almost all the websites have ads in them. The ads are mostly irritating and are placed in such places that can easily distract you. While there are ad blockers available as extensions in most of the browsers, but the installation of these extensions are a hassle. This is where you can use the incognito or private browsing feature. If you turn the incognito mode, all the ads will be blocked automatically by the browser.
- Outsmart the paywalls: Everyone who browses the internet has surely run into the paywall at some point. If you don’t know what a paywall is, it’s basically a notification that pops-up saying that you’ve read the maximum number of blogs or articles and you need to pay to continue. However, if you browse these websites in incognito mode you’ll stay away from the paywalls. Once you get a notification while browsing in incognito mode, all you need to do is close the website and open it again. The website will think it’s a new request and will allow you to browse.
How to go incognito in various browsers?
Now that you know the need of going incognito sometimes, you might want to incognito mode in your browser. Here’s how you can go incognito in various web browsers.
How to go incognito in Chrome?
Google Chrome is probably the most popular and most used browser by the people. It’s simple, fast, and secure as well. Here are the steps to switch to private browsing mode in Google Chrome.
- Open the Google Chrome browser.
- Click on the three dots present in the top-right corner of the screen.
- Now, you’ll find an option that says New incognito window.
- Click on the option and there you go. You’ll see a new window open in the incognito mode.
- You can also open the incognito mode by pressing ctrl+shift+n on your keyboard. this is the incognito Chrome shortcut that you can use to open incognito window directly.
How to go incognito in Firefox?
- Open your Firefox browser.
- Find and select the menu button on the top-right corner of your screen represented by three horizontal lines.
- There you’ll find an option that says New Private Window.
- Click on the option and a new private window or an incognito window will open up.
- You can also press crtl+shift+n after opening Firefox. This is directly open the incognito mode in Firefox.
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How to go incognito on Microsoft Edge?
- Open Microsoft Edge.
- Click on the three horizontal dots on the top-right of your screen.
- There you’ll find an option that says New InPrivate Window.
- Select the option and you’ll see a new incognito or private window of Microsoft Edge.
- You can also press ctrl+shift+p after opening the browser to directly open the private browsing window.
How to go incognito in Opera?
- Open the Opera browser.
- Find and select the Opera menu button on the top-right corner of the screen.
- Now, you’ll find an option saying New private window.
- Click on the window and there you go, a private window will open.
- You can also press ctrl+shift+n to open the private window directly.
How to go incognito in Safari?
- Open Safari browser.
- Find and select the file menu present at the top of the Safari browser.
- There you’ll find an option that says New Private Window.
- Click on that and a new private window will open.
How to go incognito in Chrome for Android?
- Open Google Chrome browser.
- Find and select Menu or three vertical dots.
- Then click on New Incognito Tab
- There you go, an incognito tab will open
How to go incognito in Safari in iOS devices?
- Open Safari browser.
- Tap on the + icon.
- Find the Private option.
- Click on it and there you go.
All above are the ways how to go incognito in different web browsers.
