Incognito mode — private browsing — is one of the most misunderstood features in any browser. It does something real, but far less than most people assume.
What it actually does
Private browsing is about local traces. When you close a private window, the browser does not keep that session's history, cookies, or form entries on your device. It is genuinely useful for one thing: not leaving a record on a shared or family computer. That is the problem it was built to solve.
What it does not do
Almost everything else people expect, it does not do. It does not hide your activity from the websites you visit — they see you exactly as before. It does not hide anything from your internet provider, your employer or your school network; they see the same traffic either way. It does not change your IP address. And it does not make you anonymous.
Fingerprinting ignores it entirely
Here is the part most relevant to tracking: private browsing does nothing against fingerprinting. A fingerprint is built from your screen, fonts, GPU rendering and other traits — and those are identical in a private window. A site that fingerprints visitors can recognise you across normal and private windows alike. Incognito clears stored data; it does not change what your browser reveals.
When to use it — and when not to
Use private browsing for what it is good at: keeping a local device clean of history. Do not rely on it for anonymity, for hiding from a network, or for escaping trackers. Those need different tools entirely — and confusing the two leaves people feeling protected when they are not.
The takeaway
Incognito mode hides your browsing from other people who use your device — and almost nothing else. It does not hide you from websites, networks or fingerprinting. Knowing that line is the difference between using it correctly and trusting it for protection it was never designed to give.