![]() On Google, your searches are tracked, mined, and packaged up into a data profile for advertisers to follow you around the Internet through those intrusive, annoying, and ever-present banner ads, via Google’s massive ad networks, embedded across millions of sites and apps. Unfortunately, people think that they can make searching Google and browsing the rest of the web anonymous by using Chrome’s so-called “Incognito” mode (also known as Private Browsing mode) or its “Do Not Track” browser setting. Sadly, neither of these mechanisms protect you from Google search tracking or its trackers on other websites. We believe it is important to expand a bit on these myths so that you don’t have a false sense of security if you choose to utilize those methods.Ī lot of people are shocked to learn that websites can still track you even in Chrome’s “Incognito” mode. The truth is that Chrome’s Incognito mode only prevents your browser history from being recorded on your local device and does not offer any additional protection such as preventing the websites you visit from collecting your information (e.g., your searches on a search engine). It is simply a myth that Incognito mode protects your online privacy in any significant way it is really more of an offline protector. You can easily still be uniquely identified and tracked while using Incognito mode through “ browser fingerprinting.” Just as each person has a unique fingerprint, so does every browser. Websites can look at your IP address, version numbers of your browser, the plugins it uses, and dozens of other points of browser information to create a unique ID - a browser fingerprint -that can then be used to track you. That is, while in Incognito mode, Google is still tracking your searches, and can use them to send intrusive ads at you across the Web on the millions of sites and apps that run Google ads. ![]() Sure, your search or browser history won’t be on your computer, but Google still knows it. And when you get served an ad based on that "incognito" search you did recently (like, let’s say that surprise vacation you were planning), it’s not so private anymore. On the other hand, DuckDuckGo doesn’t track your search history at all, regardless of whether you’re “incognito” or not. We surveyed 5,710 random Americans about Incognito mode to understand what people know about and how they use this common feature. 65% of respondents reported feeling “surprised”, “misled,” “confused,” or “vulnerable” upon learning about the limitations of Incognito mode. Note that some browsers other than Google’s Chrome browser do have private browsing modes that do more to protect you online. Nevertheless, we suggest adding our browser extension to Chrome or other browsers as it blocks more web trackers as you surf the web, helps you use more encryption, and reveals the privacy practices of every website you visit. In trying to escape Facebook and Google web tracking, you might have turned on the “Do Not Track” browser setting. Unfortunately, it's voluntary and Facebook and Google do not respect it.
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