What does the 'Incognito Mode' Do?

Many users believe that browsing in Incognito mode is totally safe and invisible. Unfortunately, this is not true entirely and many aspects of their browsing activities can easily be tracked and observed by third parties. Before we go into details, let's start by explaining what exactly is the Incognito mode.

Nowadays, almost all browsers feature a variation of Incognito mode. Any browsing carried out while this mode is engaged will not leave traces on the device itself. However, that doesn't mean that your ISP or advertisers can't continue to track the users.

Benefits and misconceptions 

The Incognito mode does have its benefits. On a shared computer you can safely search the Web without your action being marked in the browser history. The most often used example is that you can use this mode to go shopping for presents for your loved ones, without them accidentally finding it while clicking around in the history. 

At the same time, while giving the impression of anonymity, the mode doesn't hide your actions to a sufficient enough degree. For example, your IP address remains visible, as masking it isn't one of the features of Incognito mode. The same also is true for the targeted advertisements that you will continue to receive, as they are based on the previous history and searches conducted in the browser. 

No matter if you have Incognito mode turned on or not, your ISP (Internet Service Provider) will know exactly what you are doing. Your outgoing traffic still moves through the ISP and creates logs. 

In short, the Incognito mode is not sufficient to keep you safe and anonymous on the Internet.