Is incognito mode really incognito?

First things first, I’m going to stick with the term incognito mode for this video just because it’s probably the most popular one, but it might be called something different depending on your browser.

Basically every time you search for something your web browser automatically saves the history of your searches. But when you use incognito mode it deletes this information when you close your browser. It also deletes your cookies, permissions you give websites, site data, passwords.

Incognito mode is a browser feature that erases all traces of your activities on your device. Like if you’re searching online for gift ideas for dads you wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise for your dad just because he uses your computer, right?

Incognito mode is great in some specific situations, like if you have to use a public computer. Sometimes you can even get better prices for hotels and plane tickets when searching in incognito mode. You see, websites use cookies to track what you do online and personalize your web experience based on your browsing habits. That might include changing the prices in online shops.

So what’s the problem here? Well the problem is when people think of incognito mode as a legit privacy tool. I mean I totally understand that the words incognito and private inevitably make you think that you’ll be anonymous when you use this feature.

But you have to remember that incognito mode only makes you a bit more private from anyone else using your device and not from the rest of the world.

While it erases data stored on your device, your IP address is still visible to others like the websites you visit. If you sign into a website you have an account with it will keep records of where and when you access your account from. So if you log into your Instagram account in incognito mode this guy will still know.

The websites you visit collect your data and can also share it with other websites. But besides websites, most search engines will also keep records of your searches and incognito mode will not hide your search history.

If you’re using a school or work network the IT department will most likely see your activity and maybe even make fun of you for it.

And the most important part is that your internet service provider knows every site you’ve visited even in incognito mode. The provider will usually keep a record of your searches, which opens up even more privacy problems. Like if they receive a subpoena from law enforcement they will have to turn that data over. Or they might actually profit from the records of your activity by selling it to data brokers. So even more parties will know and share your embarrassing search history.

If you truly want to hide those weird 3am Google searches along with all the rest of your browsing activity here’s what you need to do.

A private browser and search engine are better than a private mode. Big common search engines are usually pretty privacy invasive, so maybe opt for DuckDuckGo or Startpage. And when talking about private browsers try out Brave or Firefox.

The Tor browser is another possible way to become more private while surfing the web. It hides your location and prevents tracking. But Tor is not the browser you may be used to. It does have some rules and isn’t the best option if you’re planning to watch videos or play online games.

If you want to actually hide your browsing activity for more than just your dad then you need a VPN. It’s the simplest and possibly the best way to keep your searches to yourself.

And unlike Tor a VPN will provide privacy to your entire device, not just your browser. And since we’re talking about VPNs who do you think the sponsor of this video is? Surprise surprise it’s Surfshark. But jokes aside we do have a promo code for those of you who want to try out Surfshark and get two months extra for free.

So incognito mode is definitely not the holy grail of privacy. Does that mean you should never use it? No. Does it also mean it’s not enough? Definitely.

If you want to share your most embarrassing Google searches and for us to have a bonding moment I’m here for you and so is the comment section. And don’t forget to check out our other channel as well.