What is the difference between guest mode and incognito mode in Chrome

What are the differences between incognito and guest modes in Google Chrome? Learn more about what these functions are for. Find out what is the difference between guest mode and incognito mode in Google Chrome

What you do online is personal, so Google Chrome offers a couple of ways to keep your browsing private. The two main options for this are incognito mode and guest mode, but how are they different?

Let’s take a quick look at guest mode vs. incognito mode in Chrome, including what they do and when you should use each.

What is the difference between guest mode and incognito mode in Google Chrome

What is incognito mode in Google Chrome?

incognito mode , known as private browsing in most other browsers, has been around for years and is a basic web browsing feature. In incognito mode, you can browse the web without Chrome saving session information. When you close an incognito window, all information about that session disappears, except for certain types of data that you save.

This means that Chrome will not save any browsing history, cookies, or form data created in the incognito window. It also blocks the functionality to reopen closed tabs with Ctrl + Shift + T and disable extensions (unless you manually enable them). However, files you download and bookmarks you create will persist after the incognito session ends. You will need to remove them manually if you wish.

Starting an incognito session basically opens a new browser window that has never been seen on the internet before. Because there are no cookies, you are not logged into any sites and none of them are personalized to you. As long as you are not logged in, sites will have no idea who you are and they will not know that you are using an incognito window

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Incognito mode has many uses, such as:

• Sign in to one of your accounts on a friend’s PC without forcing them to sign out
• See how a web page looks to the public
• Looking for something without affecting your recommendations
• Testing if one of your installed extensions is breaking a website
• Bypass page display limits
• Use a shared PC to buy surprise birthday gifts or the like

While it’s incredibly useful, keep in mind that it’s not invisible in private browsing. Websites can still identify your general location through your IP address, and the incognito feature does not hide your browsing activity from your ISP or network administrator.

To open a new incognito window, open the three-dot menu at the top right of Chrome and choose New incognito window or press Ctrl + Shift + N ( Cmd + Shift + N on a Mac). On the first screen you see, you can enable Block third-party cookies if you do not want sites to track you on the web. This is a good idea for incognito browsing, but be aware that it can harm some sites.

Opening an incognito window starts a new incognito session, which persists in any other incognito windows you open. You’ll know you have more than one open if you see a number next to Incognito at the top right of your browser.

Once you close all open incognito windows, the session ends. Open a new incognito window to create a new one.

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What is guest mode in Google Chrome?

guest mode it’s a separate feature from incognito mode in Chrome; These are not the same. Guest browsing takes advantage of Chrome’s profile switch feature to give you a blank profile for someone who is temporarily using Chrome.

Just like in incognito mode, Guest Browsing does not keep any logs of browsing history and disables all extensions. However, in guest mode, the user is also unable to view or change any Chrome settings (other than the default search engine). A guest user cannot see the browsing history, bookmarks, or downloads of the main Chrome profiles. They also cannot add new bookmarks to the guest profile.

Guest mode is most useful when you’re browsing someone else’s computer, letting someone else use yours, or working on a public machine.

To open a new guest window, click the profile switcher at the top right of Chrome, which shows your current profile picture. Click on Guest in Others to start a new guest session. To close the guest browsing session, simply close the guest window.

Just like in incognito mode, closing this window will erase all browsing traces of the guest user, as well as any downloaded files. Starting a new guest window starts the process over again, with no links to the previous guest window. Unlike incognito, you can’t have more than one guest window open at a time.

The differences between incognito mode and guest mode in Chrome

As we have seen, incognito and guest modes in Chrome are quite similar. But guest mode isn’t exactly the same as incognito, so when should you use each of them?

Both are suitable when you want to erase all traces of your browsing as soon as you close the window. However, incognito mode is primarily designed for you to use on your own computer, while guest mode is designed to use a computer that you don’t own. This makes more sense because you still have access to all your bookmarks and you can change your browser settings in incognito mode.

Thus, incognito mode allows the primary user of Chrome to browse without logging history, while guest mode allows someone else to use the browser without access to the primary user’s information. Both prevent any information about the session from being saved, so there’s really no wrong way to use these modes.

If you want to start a blank browsing session in guest mode or have a friend browse using an incognito window, go for it. Just be aware that doing this may cause a friend to see personal information from your browser.

Master using guest mode and incognito mode

Now you know how guest mode and incognito mode differ in Chrome. Use them wisely when you want to browse without the session being linked to your main profile. Just remember that you’re not totally invisible when using either mode, without employing some extra protections.

If this has you interested in making your browser more private, there are Chrome privacy settings you should also check out.

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