GNOME.org

Private browsing

Private browsing is a mode which limits the way that your computer and websites can access your browsing information. It is useful if you want to lend your computer to a friend, for example, to check their email using webmail because you will not be logged into any websites in the private browsing window, nor will their information be saved. This also means that private browsing is a more secure way of accessing sensitive websites such as Internet banking and questionable content because it is more difficult for websites to identify you when in incognito mode.

  1. Select Web ▸ New Incognito Window.

  2. Browse the web using incognito mode.

  3. End the private browsing session by closing the incognito window.

You can distinguish private browsing from normal browsing by the watermark for the incognito window:

Fullscreen screenshot showing a normal session in a window on the left side of the screen and a private browsing session in a different window on the right side of the screen.

A screenshot showing a normal session with some history in the left window and a private browsing session in the right window