What is the Meaning of Incognito Mode in Google Chrome

Incognito mode, also known as private browsing, is a feature of Google Chrome that allows users to browse the web without leaving any traces of their activity on the computer. When a user opens a new incognito window in Chrome, the browser will not save the browsing history, cookies, or other information about the websites that they visit. This means that other people who use the same computer will not be able to see what websites the user has visited, and the user’s activity will not be linked to their Google account.

Incognito mode is useful for a number of different purposes. For example, it can be used to protect the user’s privacy when they are using a shared or public computer. It can also be used to prevent websites from tracking the user’s activity, or to avoid conflicts or errors caused by multiple users logging in to the same website or service with the same account.

How to Active Incognito Mode

When it comes to private browsing, your best option is going Incognito. Making the switch to an Incognito window on Google Chrome is super easy. You can even use a keyboard shortcut to do so. It will make your life a whole lot easier as you would no longer need to look for the right option.

Once you switch to an Incognito window, you will not need to worry about your browsing history being stored on a local machine. Many people have realized the importance of going incognito. If you are interested in opening incognito mode on Google Chrome using just a keyboard shortcut, you have come to the right place. Our post takes a close look at how you can open incognito mode on a variety of devices.

Before we share the keyboard shortcut for opening incognito mode on Google Chrome, it is important that you open Google Chrome. Then, you can proceed with the following keyboard combination to open an incognito window.

  • Mac: Hold Command + Shift + N
  • Chromebook, Linux, and Windows: Hold Ctrl + Shift + N

After you hold the keyboard shortcut as mentioned above, an incognito window should open which you can use for browsing the internet stress-free. You will instantly notice the incognito mode as the browser will have a darker color scheme. There will also be a tiny incognito icon right next to the address bar. As you browse through the incognito window, Google Chrome would not store your browsing history, saved form data, cookies, or site data locally until you close the incognito window and resume normal browsing. Keep in mind that bookmarks and downloaded files will be saved unless you remove them manually.

When you are using incognito mode, you can press Command + T for Mac and Ctrl + T for other systems to open a new incognito tab. Thus, your browsing activity on that tab would also be private. It is important that you understand that incognito mode is not perfect. It will not protect you from those that are able to view your activity such as the websites you visit, ISP, school, or even your employer.

Once you are done browsing privately and want to stop, you will need to close the incognito window. You will need to hold Alt + F4 for Windows and Command + Shift + W for Mac to do so. You can also click “X” or the close button as it is normally called to stop browsing privately.

Incognito Mode for Developers

To open an incognito tab in Google Chrome using JavaScript, you can use the window.open method, and pass the incognito keyword as the second argument. For example:

window.open("https://www.example.com", "incognito");

This will open a new tab in Google Chrome with the specified URL, and the tab will be in incognito mode. The user’s browsing activity in this tab will not be saved by the browser, and other people who use the same computer will not be able to see the websites that the user visits.

Note that this method will only work if the user has allowed pop-ups from the website where the JavaScript code is running. Most modern browsers block pop-ups by default, so the user may need to allow pop-ups in order for the code to work.

Additionally, the window.open method has been deprecated in some modern browsers, so it may not work in all cases. If you want to open an incognito tab using JavaScript, it is recommended to use a more modern method, such as the window.open method with the browsing_mode option, or the chrome.tabs.create method if you are using the Chrome Extension API. To use the chrome.tabs.create method to open an incognito window in Google Chrome, you can use the following code:

chrome.tabs.create({
  url: "https://www.example.com",
  incognito: true
});

This code will create a new tab in an incognito window with the specified URL. The incognito option is set to true, which tells Chrome to open the tab in incognito mode.

Note that this code will only work if it is executed within the context of a Chrome extension. The chrome.tabs.create method is part of the Chrome Extension API, and it is not available in regular web pages. To use this method, you will need to create a Chrome extension and include the code in one of the extension’s files, such as the background.js script.

Additionally, the chrome.tabs.create method requires the tabs permission, which must be specified in the extension’s manifest file. This permission allows the extension to create and manipulate tabs in Chrome, including opening new tabs and closing existing tabs. Here is an example manifest file that includes the tabs permission:

{
  "manifest_version": 2,
  "name": "My Extension",
  "description": "This is my extension.",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "permissions": ["tabs"],
  "background": {
    "scripts": ["background.js"]
  }
}

With this code and manifest file, you can use the chrome.tabs.create method to open an incognito tab in Google Chrome. The user’s browsing activity in this tab will not be saved by the browser, and other people who use the same computer will not be able to see the websites that the user visits.

Conclusion

Now you can easily open the incognito mode on Google Chrome by using the keyboard shortcut mentioned in our post. You can bookmark our page and share it with your friends. It is important that you are still careful when browsing the internet as there are all sorts of people on the internet. If you share your identity details, you cannot expect going incognito to be helpful. Hence, you need to think things through.