When we move around the internet, we generally use specific programs that serve as intermediaries for it. This is the case with the popular web browsers that most of us have installed on our computers. There are those who prefer to use Chrome, others opt for Microsoft‘s Edge, or Firefox , among many other proposals of this type.
In addition, the developers of these programs are aware of their current importance, so they do not stop improving them with updates. But there are a number of premises that every developer of a browser must take into account, and those are the functionality, security and appearance of these programs .
Keep in mind that the internet, in addition to being full of content of all kinds, is also full of dangers that threaten us. When we talk about dangers we refer to malicious codes that are waiting to be able to access our equipment and its corresponding data. Hence the importance of security when we opt for one browser or another.
Data stored by default browsers
In the same way, here we must take into account everything related to privacy that these software solutions propose to us. And, as a general rule, the vast majority of the websites that we visit are recorded in the history of your browser . In turn, the browser itself will remember the URLs of the websites we regularly visit, the files we have downloaded from them, the data cookies that track our activity on certain sites, etc.
Also, these programs store what we have typed in search engines, or logins to online accounts that we normally access. On the assumption that we are working on our own computer and to which no one else has access, all these movements can be very helpful. They improve the experience of using the program since in the future we will be able to save a significant amount of time. We will not have to re-enter access credentials, the browser can automatically fill in the URL to which we are going, etc.
Likewise, if we come across something useful but don’t remember where we see it, a quick glance at the history will tell you the correct URL. It is also interesting to know that if we cannot remember passwords, the browser can remember them for us.
When is it better to use incognito mode in a browser
However, someone else may be using the same computer and it is somewhat uncomfortable for us to know that they will have access to all that stored information. This is precisely where the so-called private mode or incognito mode of the browser comes into play. The main advantage that we find when opening a window of this type is that all the data named before disappears as soon as we close the browser .
It may be the case that we are browsing websites that we do not want others to see in the future. Likewise, the situation may arise that we are planning some kind of meeting or surprise for the couple and we do not want them to be able to follow up from the PC. And it is enough that another person took a look at the browsing history to get an idea of what we have been doing with this program in the past. Precisely there is the importance in certain cases of using the incognito or private mode .
This navigation mode that we are talking about here is also almost essential when, for example, we are using a computer in a library or in any other public place. There are many centers that currently put at our disposal a computer with internet connection and free of charge. However, we are not interested in future users knowing all kinds of personal data, so opening a window in incognito mode is essential.
What does this mode not do and we think it does
However, the incognito or private mode, which we find in most internet browsers, also has certain limitations. By this, what we mean is that there are users who do not know very well what they are protected against, and what they are not protected from. To begin, the first thing we have to know is that what this private mode does is automatically delete the previously mentioned data when closing the program .
That does not mean that, when using an internet browser with this mode activated, we are already completely invisible. With this, what we want to tell you is that the websites that we visit will continue to see our IP address. In the same way, we must bear in mind that if we are in a company or educational center, network administrators will continue to see our movements here. Not to mention our connection provider, who can also see the movements or the pages that we visit if they wish.
That is to say, by opening a window in incognito mode we are not invisible, what we achieve is that the program we use does not save any of our browsing . To go one step further In this sense, we recommend trying other options such as the Tor browser. It uses Tor’s private network, which, if it hides a lot more from us on the internet, but that is another matter.
Open an incognito window in the main programs
We have already mentioned previously that most current browsers have a function of this type to navigate with more privacy. That is why below we are going to show you how to open a window of this type with each of the main browsers. Keep in mind that the process is quite simple to carry out and is very similar in most of all these programs.
As a general rule, we will find a specific function for this in the main menu of each of the applications of this type.
- Open in Google Chrome : we open a new window of this type from the program menu and selecting the New incognito window option.
- Activate the function in Firefox: it works very similarly in the Mozilla browser , since we only have to access its main menu and click on New private window.
- Browse privately in Edge : in the case of Microsoft’s browser, we only have to access its menu again and click on New InPrivate window .
