Many internet users think that incognito mode in Google Chrome is like a magical cloak that will instantly gives them internet privacy. That's just not true.
Incognito mode gets a bad rep. Some say it's only used to hide 'indecent' behavior. But there are legitimate uses for it. What is incognito mode? Just how 'private' is it? Why even use it? And is there anything better to keep your affairs private on the internet? All of your questions will be answered below.
Across the top 200 news websites tested, the average page load time for Firefox Quantum's Private Browsing is 3.2 seconds compared to Chrome's Incognito mode which took an average of 7.7 seconds to load a page for the fast Gigabit connection. To launch incognito mode using a keyboard shortcut, press Ctrl+Shift+N on Chrome OS, Linux, and Windows, or press Cmd+Shift+N on Mac OS X or macOS. You can also open a new incognito window with the File menu on a Macintosh. You've Gone Incognito: The Incognito Window A new window opens declaring, 'You've gone incognito.' Basically, youtube videos and imgur links load slowly in normal chrome, but perfectly fine in incognito. For an idea, youtube will buffer after 10 seconds and switch to the lowest quality while imgur links take 3-4 seconds to open up in normal chrome but instantly in incognito. Incognito mode can be faster because it has no extensions. Normal mode can be faster because it caches the resource. So I disabled all my extensions in normal mode and 'reset' all the settings which deleted cache and browsing history, etc. Get more done with the new Google Chrome. A more simple, secure, and faster web browser than ever, with Google's smarts built-in.
1. It's Not Really Private
Well, nothing really is private these days but if you're thinking that switching to incognito mode is going to magically cloak your internet behavior, you're wrong.
When you switch to the incognito tab, Chrome itself tells you, 'Going incognito doesn't hide your browsing from your employer, your internet service provider, or the websites you visit.'
Yup. Your internet service provider still has a list of all the websites you visited. The website you're viewing might also keep a record of your stay. And as Chrome used to say, your browsing habits are never quite protected from the person standing right behind you.
2. It Won't Save You From Secret Agents
Before the NSA revelations and the incognito page redesign, Chrome had a funny line in there. Thanks to Dailykos we can all enjoy it. Listed under Be wary of was Surveillance by secret agents.
That little joke turned out to be a little too true and was consequently removed from the redesign.
The point I'm trying to make is that when it comes to privacy, incognito mode is certainly not what you should be relying upon. Adobe premiere alternative mac.
3. Incognito Mode: What Is It Good For?
The point of incognito mode is not to hide your identity from the rest of the world, it's to hide your interactions with the internet from the PC you're using (and the Google account you're logged into).
Cool Tip: If you're letting a friend check their email or log into Facebook on your personal computer, have them do it in a new incognito window (Ctrl+Shift+N). This way, it's like they're using an entirely different browser – which means they'll log into their accounts without having to log you out first. Everybody wins. They can use your computer without having all of their user information saved in your cookies, and you don't have to relog into all of your sites.When you use incognito mode, Chrome doesn't record any history or cookies, and it disables browser extensions. This means that third party services like Facebook, Google, etc that use cookies to track your movement across the internet to serve you better ads won't follow you to the incognito tab.
Due to these reasons, incognito mode is generally safer when making banking transactions or having conversations you don't want to be recorded on your PC.
When cookies and extensions are disabled, the chances of a malicious app stealing your data are largely reduced.
If you use Gmail, Google Search and an Android phone, you know just how obsessive Google's tracking is. Google Now on your phone will follow up on something you searched for on a computer that one time. Incognito mode prevents such encounters.
4. Is There A Way To Truly Be Private On The Internet?
VPN Maybe
Maybe not 'truly' (ahem, secret agents), but we can surely try. Using VPN is usually the easiest and most effective way. A VPN masks physical location and IP address. So the website you're visiting doesn't really know who or where you are.
Chrome has two good VPN extensions called ZenMate and Hola. I've written about security based extensions on Chrome in detail before.
For Windows and mobile devices, Hotspot Shield and TunnelBear are great VPN services.
But if you really do not want to take any chances when it comes to privacy, you can check out VPN services like NordVPN and ExpressVPN (sign up using this link and save 49% on a yearly ExpressVPN plan.)
Use Tor Instead of Chrome
Chrome is built by Google. It is arguably the fastest and most feature rich browser out there. But Google makes money by serving you ads based on your personal information. By using anything from Google you're essentially giving up your privacy.
To a lot of people, that's worth the convenience.
If you really want to say no to Chrome, try Tor as your browser. It's an open source browser that's designed from the ground up to hide the identity of the user. It works similar to VPN software but on a browser level.
What Do You Use The Incognito Mode For?
Let us know what you use incognito mode for in the comments below, but please, don't be indecent!
Top image via Normand Desjardins
The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.Read NextHere is How to Enable Chrome Extensions in Incognito ModeAlso See#Google Chrome #Lists
Did You Know
Rootkits are a type of Trojan horse and are designed to conceal certain objects in your system.
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Imac graphics card settings. With the launch of Firefox Quantum, Mozilla decided to team up with Disconnect Inc. to compare page load times between desktop versions of Chrome's Incognito mode and Firefox Quantum's Private Browsing.
Firefox Quantum is the fastest version of Firefox we've ever made. It is twice as fast as Firefox 52 and often faster than the latest version of Chrome in head to head page load comparisons. By using key performance benchmarks, we were able to optimize Firefox to eliminate unnecessary delays and give our users a great browsing experience.
Most browser performance benchmarks focus on the use of a regular browsing mode. But, what about Private Browsing? Given that Private Browsing use is so common, we wanted to see how Firefox's Private Browsing compared with Chrome's Incognito when it came to page load time (that time between a click and the page being fully loaded on the screen).
Spoiler Alert…. Firefox Quantum's Private Browsing is fast…. really fast.
Why would Private Browsing performance be any different?
Open Incognito Tab Chrome
Websites have the ability to load content and run scripts from a variety of sources. Some of these scripts include trackers. Trackers are used for a variety of reasons including everything from website analytics to tracking website engagement for the purposes of targeted advertising. The use of trackers on websites is very common. Unfortunately trackers can delay the completion of page loads while the browser waits for tracking scripts to respond.
In 2015, Firefox became the only browser to include Tracking Protection enabled by default in Private Browsing mode. Tracking Protection, as the name implies, blocks resources from loading if the URL being loaded is on a list of known trackers as defined by Disconnect's Tracking Protection list. This list is a balanced approach to blocking and does not include sites that obey Do Not Track (as defined in the EFF guidelines). While the feature is meant to help keep users from being tracked when they have explicitly opted to use Private Browsing, the side effect is a much faster browsing experience on websites which attempt to load content from URLs on the tracking list. A previous Firefox study in 2015 showed that there was a reduction in median page load time on top News websites of 44%.
Since Firefox Quantum is the fastest version of Firefox yet, we thought it would be interesting to compare page load times between Firefox Quantum's Private Browsing (which includes Tracking Protection), and Chrome's Incognito mode which does not include a tracking protection feature.
Study Methodology
The study was conducted by Disconnect, the organization behind the domain lists used to power Tracking Protection. Page load times for the top 200 news websites as ranked by Alexa.com were measured using Firefox Quantum (v57.0b10v57 beta) in both default and Private Browsing modes and the most recent Chrome version (v61.0.3163.100) that was available at the time of testing – also in default and Incognito modes. News sites were tested because these sites tend to have the most trackers.
Each of the news websites were loaded 10 times. In order for the test to measure comparable timings and to be reproducible by others, load times were measured using the PerformanceTiming API for both Firefox and Chrome for each page load. In particular, the total load time is considered as the difference between PerformanceTiming.loadEventEnd and PerformanceTiming.navigationStart. The tests were controlled through an automated script.
All rounds of testing were conducted on a new Macbook Pro (13'' Macbook Pro 2017, 3.1GHz i5, 16GB memory, OSX 10.13). We tested on a fast network connection with the Macbook Pro connected to a Webpass 100Mbps connection over WiFi (802.11ac, 867Mbit/s). For a deep dive into the methodology, check out our Mozilla Hacks post.
Results
Google Chrome Incognito Mode
Across the top 200 news websites tested, the average page load time for Firefox Quantum's Private Browsing is 3.2 seconds compared to Chrome's Incognito mode which took an average of 7.7 seconds to load a page for the fast Gigabit connection. This means that, on average, Firefox Quantum's Private Browsing loads page 2.4x faster than Chrome in Incognito mode.
On average, Firefox Quantum's Private Browsing loads page 2.4x faster than Chrome in Incognito mode Reviews on brave browser.
Comparing the average load times for Chrome also shows that Incognito mode alone does not bring any speed improvements. It is the Tracking Protection that makes the difference as can be seen from the results for Firefox Quantum.
Another way to look at this data is by looking at the time that is acceptable to users for pages to be loaded. A third party study by SOASTA Inc. recently found that an average session load time of 6 seconds already leads to a 70% user bounce rate. Therefore, it makes sense to put our measurements in the context of looking at the share of pages per browser that took longer than 6 seconds to load.
95% of page loads met the 6 second or faster threshold using Firefox Quantum Private Browsing with Tracking Protection
95% of page loads met the 6 second or faster threshold using Firefox Quantum Private Browsing with Tracking Protection enabled, while only 70% of page loads made the cut on Chrome, leaving nearly a third of the news sites unable to load within that time frame.
What's next?
While the speed improvements in Firefox Quantum will vary depending on the website, overall users can expect that Private Browsing in Firefox will be faster than Chrome's Incognito mode right out of the box.
In fact, due to these findings, we wanted users to be able to benefit from the increased speed and privacy outside of Private Browsing mode. With Firefox Quantum, users now have the ability to enable Tracking Protection in Firefox at any time.
Interested? Then try Private Browsing for yourself!
If you'd like to take it up a notch and enable Tracking Protection every time you use Firefox, then download Firefox Quantum, open Preferences. Choose Privacy & Security and scroll down until you find the Tracking Protection section. Alternatively, simply search for 'Tracking Protection' in the Find in Preferences field. Enable Tracking Protection 'Always' and you are set to enjoy both improved speed and privacy whenever you use Firefox Quantum.
When enabling it, please keep in mind that Tracking Protection may block social 'like' buttons, commenting tools and some cross-site video content.
If Tracking Protection is a feature that you've commonly used or that you will want to use more regularly, give Firefox Quantum a try to experience how fast it is!
Chrome Incognito Faster Windows
Disconnect Inc. and Mozilla partnered up in 2015 to power Firefox's Tracking Protection giving you control over the data that third parties receive from you online. The blocklist is based on a list of known trackers as defined by Disconnect's Tracking Protection list. As a follow-up, we asked ourselves if Firefox's Private Browsing mode with Tracking Protection might also offer speed benefits.
Chrome Incognito From Taskbar
Contributors: Peter Dolanjski & Dominik Strohmeier – Mozilla, Casey Oppenheim & Eason Goodale – Disconnect Inc.
