How to Go Incognito on Any Browser (Step-by-Step)

What is Incognito Mode?

Incognito mode goes by several names, some of them are “private mode” and “private browsing”. At its core, it’s a simple browsing setting that allows you to access the internet without saving certain data.

Your browsing history, cookies, and form data won’t be stored after closing the private window. But here’s a common mistake: even though you may see an anonymous icon once you open up an Incognito tab, it doesn’t make you as safe as they want you to believe you are.

The truth is that you’re not totally invisible in Incognito mode. Your internet provider, your boss, or the websites you visit can still see what you’re doing and trace it back to you. It doesn’t exactly match the expectations.

Benefits and Limitations of Incognito Mode

While Incognito mode is useful for some situations, it’s not the private browsing experience you may expect. If you think that Incognito tabs will protect you from online tracking, you’re wrong.

Advantages

• The browser won’t save your browsing history during Incognito mode.
• It doesn’t keep cookies or site data once you close the Incognito tabs.
• New Incognito windows are handy for logging into two different accounts at the same time.

Limitations

• Incognito mode doesn’t hide your IP address or make you invisible online.
• Your employer or school can still track what you’re doing in Incognito mode.
• Anything you download and any bookmarks you save in a private window stick around.

Private browsing is not the same as being anonymous, even though it sounds like it.

How to Go Incognito in Popular Browsers

Opening private browsing mode is easy in most browsers. Usually it only takes one or two clicks to get your Incognito tabs open. Here you will learn how to access Incognito mode on Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Safari, and Opera browsers.

How to Open Incognito Mode in Google Chrome

• Click the three dots in the top right corner.
• Select “New Incognito Window”.

You can also use these keyboard shortcuts: Ctrl + Shift + N (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + N (Mac).

That’s it, you’re now in Incognito mode in Google Chrome.

How to Open a New Incognito Window in Mozilla Firefox

• Click the menu in the top right.
• Select “New Private Window”.

You can also use a keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + P (for Windows) or Cmd + Shift + P (for Mac).

That’s all. Now you should see a purple mask icon in your private window.

How to Open Private Browsing Mode in Microsoft Edge

• Hit the three dots on the top right.
• Choose “New InPrivate Window”

You can also use these keyboard shortcuts: Ctrl + Shift + N (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + N (Mac).

Microsoft Edge is a decent option for private mode sessions.

How to Open an Incognito Window in Safari

• Go to “File” in the menu bar.
• Select “New Private Window”.

Or, you can use Cmd + Shift + N on Mac for the keyboard shortcut to access Incognito mode.

How to Access a Private Browsing Mode in Opera

• Click the “O” menu in the top left.
• Choose “New Private Window”.

As with the others, you can use a keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + N (for Windows) or Cmd + Shift + N (for Mac).

Opening private windows on all major browsers is easy and can be done in 2 clicks.

Is Incognito Mode Really Private?

Incognito mode hides your activity from your browser, but it’s not true private mode. It doesn’t have the capacity to hide your IP or encrypt your traffic. And if you need a true private browsing experience, you need those things.

If you’re looking for real privacy that makes it basically impossible to track your activities back to you, you need more than just a new Incognito window. As you can probably guess, we’re talking about a VPN that provides much better and safer private browsing than private mode.

CometVPN hides your IP and encrypts your connection. That’s what gives you a real Incognito mode. It makes you significantly harder to track, if not impossible.

Other tools like ad blockers and privacy-focused search engines also help. And if you find yourself using private browsing mode often, you should use them.

Private mode is just a stepping stone to full privacy with a VPN.

Conclusion

Incognito mode is useful for quick, local privacy. It helps when you don’t want your browsing history saved or need to log in to a second account. It’s easy to go Incognito, but it has its limits.

For real privacy, open an Incognito window and combine it with tools like CometVPN to get way better protection. Go Incognito, but don’t stop there. Take your online security seriously.