Chrome’s incognito mode can be a useful tool for various reasons. For those of you familiar with it you likely know your own use-case for incognito mode, so we’ll skip the multitude of scenarios for which it can be applied.
For those of you not acquainted with incognito mode, here’s what it is and how it works.
Incognito mode opens a new window where you can browse the Internet in private without Chrome saving the sites you visit. You can switch between an Incognito window and any regular Chrome browsing windows you have open. You’ll only be in Incognito mode when you’re using the Incognito window.
Google Support Blog
Fair warning, this does not make you “invisible” on the web. Your activity is still viewable by third parties including but not limited to:
- Your Internet service provider
- Your employer (if you’re using a work computer)
- The websites you visit themselves
However, if you find a need to enable extensions in incognito mode, the steps are simple. Here’s all you need to do.
In your Chrome browser select the menu button at the top right corner and scroll over “more tools.” From there click the extensions link. You will be greeted by a list of your available, installed extensions. (this also might be a good time to check and see if you have any unused extensions that can be deleted)
You will see below each extension a check box marked “allow incognito.” Some extensions, depending on the developer, will be grayed out and this option may be unavailable. Find the extension you wish to enable, click the check box and close the extensions page.
You will notice the warning that follows. While Chrome will not track or save any data, the extension is not prevented from recording browsing history. No need to worry though. Google is pretty strict on what the developers can and can’t track and only allows the extensions from the Web Store to do so in accordance to what is need for the extension.
To access incognito mode, simply click the Chrome menu and select “new incognito window” or alternatively use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shft+N. These steps work for Chrome on all platforms.
In web development we use this incognito feature to get less biased search results when checking SEO rankings for a site or search term and when we need to see all the latest CSS changes made in the style sheet. As previously stated, the use-cases are varied by individual. Either way, if you need that extension while incognito, now you have it.
