When you use a web browser, it probably has a private browsing mode. This is sometimes known as incognito mode. It is designed not to save your searches or your browsing history. Once you close the browser and all related tabs, there are no records of where you have been in that browser before. If someone else were to open up your search history immediately after you got done using the computer, they wouldn’t see anything that you searched for in incognito mode.
Many people assume that this means it’s private. The computer isn’t keeping any records of where you go on the Internet or what you view. But is that actually what’s happening? Probably not.
Your ISP still has the record.
The reality is that your Internet service provider (ISP) still sees everywhere that you go on the computer. These records are still kept, so they can effectively demonstrate what web pages you visited, what you searched for and if you downloaded anything. For most people, this won’t be an issue, but it is worth noting that your ISP does technically have all of this information at its disposal. Incognito mode is not necessarily private.
All the incognito mode on the browser does is prevent that browser from saving the information locally. If you share a computer with other users in your home, for instance, they’re not going to be able to look at the websites you visited. But it is only preventing local storage of that information. All of the actual records still exist, whether you were in private mode or not.
If you’re facing questions regarding Internet usage and things of this nature, be sure you understand exactly what legal options you have.
