You’ve come to the right place if you want to learn the difference between surfing the internet in incognito mode and anonymous mode, as well as how to access them.
Let’s get started.
What is Incognito Mode?
Incognito mode creates a separate browsing session from the main one.Ā The details of the websites you visit will not be saved in the browsing history.
Even when you close the window after logging in to a website in incognito mode, the cookies will not be saved. At the same time, cookies used in the main session cannot be accessed by private browsing tabs.
For example, if you log into any social media account and then switch to incognito mode, you’ll have to sign in back in private browsing mode again.
When you are in private browsing or incognito mode, Third-party sites cannot track your activity easily.
Private browsing can also be used to log into social media accounts on another person’s computer without signing them out.
How to access incognito mode?
Let’s see how to access the private browsing mode in different browsers.
Chrome
- Open a standard browser window to enable private browsing mode.
- Then, click the three dots symbol in the top right corner beside the address bar.
- Select “New incognito window” from the drop menu that appears to enter incognito mode.
Firefox
- By pressing the three parallel stripes button in the upper right corner of the window, you can access the menu.
- In the drop-down menu, select “New Private Window” and click on it.
Safari
- In the Safari browser of your mac, Select File from the top menu bar in Safari, and then New Private Window from the drop-down menu.
How to delete Incognito History?
Of course, your incognito history isn’t visible, but it’s still saved in your system’s DNS cache. So by flushing the DNS resolver cache in your system, no one will be able to see the websites you’ve visited. And here is a tutorial on how to clear the DNS cache in different browsers.
Limitations of using Incognito mode
- Data is only removed from your machine is a key disadvantage of private browsing.
- Closing the incognito window won’t wipe records saved on devices other than your computers, such as your ISP server and website’s server.
- Incognito browsing does not protect you from viruses or other online hazards.
- Even if you’re browsing in Incognito Mode, system administrators can see what you’re doing if your system is connected to the workplace network.
What is Anonymous Browsing?
In simple words, Anonymous Browsing means surfing the internet without leaving the digital footprints that might expose sensitive information such as IP address. It can also prevent third parties, such as advertisers, from tracking users’ search and browsing history.
How to browse anonymously?
There are a few options for safeguarding your online privacy. These are a few effective ways to remain anonymous online.
Use a VPN connection
Using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to browse the internet anonymously is a good idea. This encrypts the data packets and sends the online traffic through the VPN provider’s servers. The websites you visit won’t see your original IP address.
Instead, they can only see the VPN server’s IP address and hence won’t find your original identity. Here is a list of the best Free & Premium VPN services to Secure Connection and Protect privacy.
Use Tor browser
Using Tor Browser, you can avoid surveillance by intel agencies and internet service providers, and search engine profiling. The TOR browser encrypts and routes your web traffic across a network of other TOR users for increased anonymity. It makes your search queries appear to come from various IP addresses known as exit-nodes. So using tor is the best option for anonymous browsing.
Use Proxy Browsers
A proxy web server or a proxy browser can assist you in deleting the cookies and removing some hidden scripts which steal your data and credentials. These proxy browsers can eliminate a large number of tracking features from a website. To know more about the best proxy web servers, feel free to read Proxy Browsers for Online Privacy.
Select a browser that respects your privacy
Web Browser is the portal to the internet world. You must ensure that it is secure if you want to browse safely online. So many modern browsers are actually data harvesting tools for ad agencies. Companies make money through their advertising partners with customized and personal ads by gathering data through your browsers like google chrome which tracks every click you make. Here is a list of the topmost secure, Privacy-friendly browsers that can protect your online privacy.
Install privacy-enhancing browser add-ons
These are the numerous browser extensions available that might help you improve online privacy and anonymity. Aside from an ad blocker and VPN browser extension, you may also use specific add-ons and extensions to help you avoid being tracked by Internet service providers.
Difference between Incognito mode and Anonymous mode
Incognito browsing does nothing to disguise any sensitive information like IP addresses. It just simply does not keep cookies or browser history. You’re merely hiding stuff from yourself when you’re in private browsing mode, not from the outside world! Your internet service provider and the website you visit will know who you are and what you are doing in incognito mode.
But if you surf the internet in anonymous mode, You can surf the web without revealing your identity! Even Your ISP or the website you visit will have no idea who you are or what you’re looking at.
Final words
I hope you have better understood the difference between using private browsing mode and Anonymous mode to surf the internet. If privacy is your main concern, use a VPN like ExpressVPN and browse anonymously. If you are using a public computer and just don’t want your browsing history and cookies to be stored, use incognito mode.
You may also be interested in learning about how to create anonymous email to protect online identity.
