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Data privacy is all the rage these days. As social media platforms, apps, and websites compete to steal our personal data and keep track of our activities online, people are looking for ways to protect their privacy while browsing or interacting with apps. This is why Google Chrome, the most widely used browser in the world, offered incognito mode.

Incognito mode deletes your browsing history as soon as you close the browser. It doesn’t allow the website or third-party cookies, so they won’t be able to track you or target you with tailored ads. Websites can’t know specific details about you either, so your anonymity is ensured. 

Or is it? 

We took a look under the hood to find out if Chrome’s incognito mode was as private and user-friendly as it claimed to be.

Incognito Isn’t Private Enough

The first question to pop into one’s mind is this: Why are these companies interested in what websites a user visits or what they do online? The answer is to target the user with custom ads that they’d be interested in. Let’s not forget that Alpha, the parent company of Google and Google Chrome, gets about 80 percent of its revenue from displaying ads on the websites you visit. So the more Google knows about you, the more relevant ads it will show you, ads that you’re more likely to click on. But why does that matter to you?

Let’s say that you like to play slots in your spare time. You might think that playing slots online is safer since nobody knows what you do in the privacy of your home. But the reality is, you’ll need more than incognito mode to play and enjoy Novibet slots, for example. Even if you’re using private browsing, your data is still exposed to tools that harvest, sort, and categorize this data, then store it for eternity. 

Even the browser you’re using is tracking you in incognito mode. Chrome doesn’t need cookies to track you after closing the browser. It simply analyzes your browsing history, slots you into a category with people with similar interests, and bombards you with ads. It works even if you use incognito mode because, as long as the browser session is on, Google has access to the websites you visited, the files you downloaded, and the forms you filled.

Private browsing doesn’t hide your IP address either. This is a unique address that your internet service provider assigns you. All the apps you open on your smartphone and all the services you log in to and the websites you visit know your IP address and can pinpoint your location. So despite the name, private browsing doesn’t really provide much privacy online.

Browsing Safely Online

If incognito mode snoops on your activities and leaves you exposed to other snooping tools, then how can you ensure you have total privacy online? There are many ways you can stay safe online, whether you’re shopping, browsing, chatting with friends, or working. 

The first thing to do is to choose the right browser. Most, if not all, of the popular browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, and Edge don’t care about the user’s privacy. They’re data collecting tools that leave you and your personal data exposed. Instead, you should use one of the many browsers built to protect the user and keep their interactions online safe. Some of these browsers include Tor, DuckDuckGo, and Brave, to name but a few. 

The next order of business to shore up your privacy and defenses against hackers and data thieves online is to use a virtual private network (VPN). It works just as its name suggests. It acts as a private network just for you. All the websites you visit and the data you enter are encrypted to make it difficult for third parties to read or access. A good VPN also hides your IP address and uses its own DNS so that the services and websites you log in to cannot trace your location or track your activities. It also protects you against malicious attacks, and blocks ads and malware.

And last but not least, you should use an ad blocker. It’s a browser extension that suppresses those annoying ads that pop up and under the browser. They usually evade the common restrictions that the incognito mode enforces and collect data about the websites you’re visiting, the time you spend on each page, and how you interact with the page. Some of the pop-ups contain malicious code that installs viruses on your device if you click on them, even by mistake. 

User data collection is a lucrative business that not just browsers but apps, extensions, and websites indulge in on a large scale. Although Google Chrome’s incognito mode was introduced to stymie this data breach and provide a layer of security and privacy to the user, it has failed in its mission. This means that you’ll have to take your privacy online more seriously and take steps to ensure that you’re not being tracked and that your sensitive information is secure. Privacy-oriented browsers such as Tor and Brave offer a safer way to browse online. A good VPN hides your location, IP address, and protects you from malware and spyware. Add an ad blocker to your security suite to prevent pop-ups and pop-unders from snooping on your activities and interactions online.