Put private browsing to the test
Incognito, InPrivate, private browsing: every browser has one, and many people think it makes them invisible. It doesn’t, but it isn’t useless either. In this lesson you’ll open a normal window and a private one side by side and test exactly what changes.
In this lesson
- Open a private window in your browser
- Test what a website sees in a private window compared with a normal one
- Know what private browsing is genuinely good for
You’ll need: a computer or phone and any browser. Allow about 15 minutes; part 3 needs you to log in to a website you use.
What private mode was built for
Private browsing was designed for one thing: not leaving traces on the device you’re using. When you close the private window, the browser throws away the history, cookies, logins and form entries from that session. Someone who picks up the computer afterwards won’t find them.
It was never designed to hide you from the websites you visit, from your internet provider or from the network you’re on. Most browsers say so on the page that opens with the private window, in small print almost nobody reads.
Try it yourself · part 1
Open a private window
| Browser | Shortcut on a computer | On a phone |
|---|---|---|
| Chrome | Ctrl+Shift+N (Mac: Cmd+Shift+N) | ⋮ menu → New Incognito tab |
| Edge | Ctrl+Shift+N | Tabs button → InPrivate |
| Firefox | Ctrl+Shift+P (Mac: Cmd+Shift+P) | Tabs button → mask icon |
| Safari | Cmd+Shift+N | Tabs button → Private |
Put the private window next to a normal one so you can compare them as you go.
Try it yourself · part 2
What does the website see?
- In both windows, open our IP address checker. Compare the address, provider and location. They’re identical: your connection didn’t change, so neither did what every site sees.
- In both windows, open What This Website Already Knows About You. Compare the screen, languages, timezone, graphics chip and canvas fingerprint. In most browsers they match too, so a site that fingerprints you can still recognise the browser.
- One thing usually differs: the private window starts with no cookies, so to a site you look like a first-time visitor. That’s real, but it only lasts until the window closes.
- Firefox and Brave go a little further in private windows, adding extra tracker blocking. Your IP address still stays exactly the same.
Try it yourself · part 3
What does the device forget?
- In the private window, log in to a website you use and visit two or three pages on it.
- Close every private window. (While one is still open, the private session carries on.)
- Open a new private window and go back to that site. You’re logged out, and your browser’s history has no record of the visit. That’s private browsing doing its real job.
- Now remember who could still see that visit: the website itself (you logged in, so it knew exactly who you were), your internet provider, and the Wi-Fi network you were on, such as at work or school.
- And a few things do survive: files you downloaded and bookmarks you saved during the private session stay on the device.
The scorecard
| Who or what | Does private mode hide your visit from them? |
|---|---|
| The next person to use the device | Yes: history, cookies and logins are deleted |
| The websites you visit | Only partly: they see the same IP address and usually the same fingerprint, just without old cookies |
| Any site you log in to | No: logging in tells it exactly who you are |
| Your internet provider | No: your connection is the same as in a normal window |
| Your employer’s or school’s network | No: the network still sees your traffic |
When private browsing is genuinely useful
- Using someone else’s device. Log in to your email in a private window on a shared or borrowed computer, and closing it logs you out.
- Gifts and surprises. Searches and shopping don’t end up in the history or the “recently viewed” list that someone else will see.
- Seeing a site as a stranger. Without your cookies, a site shows you what a first-time visitor sees, which is handy for checking prices or search results.
- Two accounts at once. A private window keeps a second login separate from the one in your normal window.
If what you actually want is to hide your visits from your provider or the sites themselves, private mode is the wrong tool. That’s where the next two lessons come in.
Key takeaways
- Private browsing stops your browser saving history, cookies and logins on the device.
- Websites see the same IP address in a private window, and usually the same fingerprint.
- Logging in identifies you in a private window just as in a normal one.
- Your provider and the network you’re on see your traffic exactly as before.
- Downloads and bookmarks made in a private window stay on the device.
Check yourself
Three questions. Pick one answer each and you’ll see why.
1. You open a private window. What happens to the IP address websites see?
2. You log in to your bank in a private window and then close it. What has private mode done?
3. Which of these stays on the device after you close a private window?
Want more detail? Does Incognito Mode Actually Hide Your IP Address? and ISP Tracking in Incognito Mode cover what each party can still log.
This lesson is part of the free course Privacy and VPNs, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0: you may share and adapt it for non-commercial use, with credit to ExamineIP and a link to the original.