Google Chrome’s Incognito mode does not store users’ browsing history on the device, but this feature does not hide internet traffic from the internet service provider. Sites visited when incognito mode is on are cleared from the history and cookie records on the device, but the traffic passing through the internet connection remains visible to the service provider. What does incognito mode do and what does it not do?
Chrome’s Incognito mode offers a local privacy layer that prevents other people using the same device from seeing the browsing history. When the session opened in this mode is closed, search history, site data and cookies are deleted from the device. However, this process does not provide complete confidentiality on the network side through which the connection passes. The internet service provider still sees which domains the user is connecting to.
HTTPS connections preserve the content of the visited page. In other words, the texts read, forms filled in, or the full content of the page on a website cannot be directly viewed by the service provider. However, in standard HTTPS traffic, domain name information can remain visible to the service provider through DNS queries and SNI handshakes. Therefore, using HTTPS with Incognito mode does not mean complete anonymity against the internet service provider.
Service providers can process connection records for different reasons. Usage habits are valuable for advertising, and in some cases aggregated data can be shared with advertising companies. Network traffic monitoring can also be used for bandwidth management. Usage such as intense video watching, downloading large files or torrent traffic may result in reduced connection speed. Data storage processes of service providers are also important in responding to official requests.
Using VPN provides a different layer of privacy at this point. VPN passes internet traffic through an encrypted tunnel and can process DNS queries within its own infrastructure. Thus, instead of seeing the sites visited by the user one by one, the internet service provider sees that the encrypted data stream goes to a single VPN server. However, this structure means that trust is transferred from the internet service provider to the VPN provider.
Therefore, when choosing a VPN, it is critical that the no-logging policy is independently audited. Poor quality or free VPN services can pose a separate risk to privacy. Some free VPNs can become a new tracking point instead of protecting user data with data sharing, weak security protocols, or opaque logging policies. Independent third-party audits of reliable VPN services can show that a no-logs policy is not just a marketing statement.
RAM-based server infrastructure is also among the important technical issues that prevent data from being stored permanently on the physical disk. However, using a VPN does not mean being completely invisible on the internet. Websites can recognize users in different sessions through device configuration, screen information, plug-ins, system language and similar data using methods such as browser fingerprinting. Therefore, although VPN offers a strong layer of privacy, especially against the internet service provider, it does not eliminate all tracking methods on its own.
For users who want a lighter solution, DNS over HTTPS also stands out as an important option. This feature, built into browsers such as Chrome and Firefox, encrypts DNS queries, making it difficult for the service provider to see which domain names are being queried. However, DoH does not comprehensively hide all internet traffic like a VPN. For Apple users, iCloud Private Relay also offers an additional layer of hiding Safari traffic from the service provider.
However, this feature does not offer the server switching flexibility of a VPN and does not protect all traffic from non-Apple applications.
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