Private mode is a useful feature available on almost all browsers. Its name may differ a bit, but it always does more or less the same thing. There is nothing wrong with using that feature, so long as you know a bit how it works.

Where it protects you

The most common use of private mode is to go on a website we don't want to keep in our browser history. And that's a legitimate use for it.

Your browser won't save anything from the website you visit in incognito mode, apart from the things you have downloaded or bookmarked. Not only does it forget everything, but it also doesn't look at what has been saved from your normal session. It's like starting with a new, freshly installed browser.

You can prove it yourself : try opening your mail page or any other website where you are usually logged onto. You'll have to enter your password again. But don't worry : nothing will change on your normal browsing session !

Another advantage is that every private window is totally independent. That means that if you need to log into several different accounts on the same site at the same time, you can open multiple windows of the same browser to do that.

Although it's a nice feature to have, you mustn't misinterpret private browsing for complete anonymity online.

Where it doesn't protect you

In fact, private mode only hides your activity from other users of the computer you're using. All the protections and guarantees it gives you only apply locally, on your computer.

That means your internet service provider (ISP) can still see every website you visit. Your browser can also still remotely collect information about your private browsing activity, as Google has already been sued for tracking its users in incognito mode.

From the rest of the internet's points of view, you don't have any extra protection. Your IP address is still visible and every website can run normally.

So most tracking strategies are still active and methods like fingerprinting, which gather information about your browser, extensions, computer, location, etc. still work.

In short, incognito mode only protects you from other people using your computer or other software installed, and doesn't offer any protection from or against the outside.
But you can use other features or services to do that for you.

What you can use instead

To better protect yourself online, you can start with a few simple steps :

• Use a good privacy-first browser listed here, and make sure it has the right settings. You can find instructions on this website.
• Install a few good add-ons like uBlock Origin, Privacy Badger and HTTPS Everywhere. Make sure they are activated in private mode if you use it.
• Use container tabs to isolate different parts of your online activity. Here is some info about container tabs.

If that level of protection, which should be enough for the general user, isn't enough for you, here is the best and most impactful change you can make :

Use Tor.

Tor offers the best privacy and security options available. It only works in private mode, so none of your browsing history is kept unless you bookmark it, requests are relayed through Tor nodes, and everything is fully encrypted.