Browse in private with incognito mode
If you don’t want Google Chrome to save a record of what you visit and download, you can browse the web in incognito mode.
Use incognito mode for private browsing
You can open an incognito window on your computer and mobile devices to prevent Chrome from saving your browsing history.
Computer- Open a Chrome window
- In the top-right corner of the browser window, click the Chrome menu
.
- Select New Incognito Window.
- A window will open with a gray figure in the top-right corner
- To close incognito mode, go to the corner of each of your incognito windows and click the X.
Incognito mode isn't available if the account is a part of Windows 10's "Family Mode."
Tip: You can also press Ctrl + Shift + N (Windows, Linux, and Chrome OS) and ⌘ - Shift - N (Mac) to open an incognito window.
- Open a Chrome window
- Touch the Chrome menu, which may look like either three dots
or a tab
.
- Touch New incognito tab.
- A window will open with a gray incognito icon
.
- To close incognito mode:
- If you have Android 5.0 (Lollipop) or later, swipe from the top and touch Chrome: Close all incognito windows.
- If you have an earlier version of Android, go to the corner of each of your incognito windows and touch the X.
- Open a Chrome window
- Open the Chrome menu icon
- Select New Incognito* Tab.
- A window will open with a gray incognito icon
- To close incognito mode, go to the corner of each of your incognito windows and touch the X.
Note: Your iPhone or iPad might store information about some websites you visit in incognito mode, even though Google Chrome doesn't. This is because regular and incognito mode tabs share HTML5 local storage in iOS devices. HTML5 websites can get this information about your visit in this storage area.
You can switch between an incognito window and any regular windows you have open. You'll only be in incognito mode when you're using the incognito window.
How incognito mode works
What you view
Incognito mode opens a new window where you can browse the Internet without Chrome saving the sites you visit. You can open many tabs in incognito mode and navigate back and forth between the pages you visit. When you close the tabs, Chrome won’t save the sites you’ve visited.
Be careful. There are a few sources that can still see your browsing activity even in incognito mode, including:
- Your service provider
- Your employer
- The websites themselves
What you've downloaded
Chrome won’t save a record of the files you download in incognito mode. However, the downloaded files will be saved to your computer’s Downloads folder, where you and any other users of your computer can see and open them, even after you close your incognito tabs.
For more information about what's stored in incognito mode, visit the Chrome Privacy Policy.
Related articles
- To let others use Chrome on your computer without saving their browsing history or changing your Chrome profile, use Guest mode.
- Learn how to delete your browsing history.
Laura is a Google Chrome expert and author of this help page. Leave her feedback about the page.
