Incognito mode, or sometimes called private mode by various browsers, is basically a means to provide some level of anonymity for users while browsing the Internet. These browsers such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari accomplish this by making sure all of the information that you are viewing and entering onto the website is not stored on your machine. Essentially, running in incognito mode disables storing of browsing history, cookies, site data and forms you've filled. This way, the user ensures that whatever content they are viewing cannot be later found from searching on the same machine they're using.

Things to Still Consider when using Incognito Mode

There are some key things everyone should consider while using an incognito or private mode on a browser. For starters, you must be aware that the only thing this mode accomplishes is the feature of not storing the website data of any website you visit while running in that mode. This means any password you entered on a website you access will not be saved on your machine. That does not, however, mean that that website cannot still track you or log your activity; likewise for your Internet Service Provider (ISP). There are even debates and rumors suggesting that not even the browser companies which offer this feature, in fact, cleans your information from their servers.

Add-ons and plugins which have been on your machine prior to you turning on incognito mode can actually retain any information they gathered prior to that moment. For instance, the Adobe Flash Plugin will recall your settings on a website if you access it at any time before in a normal browsing mode from the browser even if you access it while using incognito mode.

Another thing to be aware of is that this feature does not prevent other monitoring software from working on the browser. For instance, if there is a keylogger on the system or some parental control software, private browsing will not suddenly make these applications stop monitoring your activity online.