Peter wrote this week with a suggestion about something he thought would be interesting and also helpful to others. I agreed. I also realized that I have not mentioned it in a few years but it has been around for years. However, many people never use it. Others use it because of what they think it does, but in actuality, it does not. A neat topic!
Today we will have a closer look at private browsing. Also, keep in mind that each browser seems to call it something different; however, they work the same way. By-the-way, Chrome names it “Incognito Window”, Edge, “InPrivate Window”, Firefox, “Private Window” and with MSIE it is, “InPrivate Browsing.”
Its name in each browser gives you an idea of what it does. Wester’s Dictionary defines incognito as “with one’s identity concealed.” So that explains it!
OK, that definition does not explain it. Does it sound like all of your browsing information is kept secret? Like it hides you so that no one can see at what you are looking. Sounds like it also stops your service provider from knowing what you have looked at or even what you filled out online. If that is your understanding of what it does you will be sadly disappointed. That is not what it does at all.
Private browsing by any name means, in truth, that your browsing history, any cookies your computer records, places you have been, things you have input, are no longer available on your computer…only. Private mode means that when you close the private mode down after surfing your cookies are not kept. That means that the sites you visited will have no record that you were there next time you visit.
Without private mode they will record the last time you were there with some other information about your visit. Your browser history from your computer will be deleted in private mode. However, your internet provider will still be able to track your internet history, length of time you visited a site, how long you remained on each page, etc. The websites will not have a record either.
When private browsing you will most likely notice less advertising related to your browsing activity since no one will know you were there (since your cookies are gone when you close the browser). If you search for bananas online and later go back online you will not see bananas showing up in an unrelated search.
It only keeps a secret of what you are doing online from your local computer and most sites, nowhere else. So, why use it at all?
Pretend you are shopping online for a gift for your significant other. I mean, you know it is Christmas time! You search for a “flux capacitor” in the regular browsing window. You find a couple and read all about it. Well, cookies from that site will be saved to your browser. When the other person opens that browser minutes, hours or days later and searches in Google, guess what? Ads for a “flux capacitor” will appear in Google so you are given away for what you were getting for a present. Cookies are shared from site to site so that is why you see advertisements for things you have been looking for all over the net. It may seem like magic until you realize why.
Another pretend situation is that you do not want another person that uses your computer to know where you have been or what you have looked at online, but why not? Hmm.
